Veteran journalist and mass communication teacher Prof Shahida Kazi passes away at 79

Prof Shahida Kazi, one of the first women journalists of Pakistan and veteran mass communication teacher, passed away on Saturday at Dr Ruth KM Pfau Civil Hospital. She was 79.

Journalist Tahir Siddiqui, in whose home Prof Shahida lived, said that she had undergone a minor surgical procedure a few days ago.

In a Facebook post, Siddiqui wrote that Prof Shahida was admitted to the Civil Hospital on Saturday morning in a critical condition. She later passed away.

Her funeral prayers will be offered today (Sunday) at the Jamia Masjid Faizan-e-Bismillah in Civil Lines after the Zuhr prayers.

She will be laid to rest at the graveyard of the University of Karachi (KU) where she spent many years teaching mass communication.

Prof Shahida was born in Karachi in 1944. She completed her matriculation from St Lawrence Convent School and later attended St Joseph’s College.

She was the first and only female student who graduated from the newly established journalism department of the KU in 1965.

Prof Shahida started her journalistic career in 1966 and became the first female correspondent of Dawn. Later, she joined the Pakistan Television and became the first female news producer there.

In 1971, she witnessed the fall of Dhakha when she was working for the Asian Television Agency.

Later, she joined the KU’s journalism (now mass communication) department as a teacher. She also served as the chairman of the department. She taught hundreds of students who are currently serving in the media industry.

In February this year, she published her short autobiography titled ‘Sweet, Sour & Bitter: A Life Well Lived’. At the launch of her book, she remarked that she had thoroughly enjoyed every phase of her career be it working as a journalist for media organisations or being part of a varsity’s faculty. “I would like to suggest working with passion and enjoying it. I adopted this rule in my life and hopefully, it would work for others too,” she maintained.

Members of the journalist fraternity expressed grief over the demise of the veteran journalist and academic.

Saeed Sarbazi, the president of the Karachi Press Club that had recently conferred life membership to Prof Shahida, and other office bearers of the club in a statement offered condolences to her family and prayed for blessings on her soul.

KU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Khalid Mahmood Iraqi also expressed sorrow and praised Prof Shahida for her academic services at the varsity.