Artist, rights activist dies

Lahore: LalaRukh, a founder member of Woman Action Forum (WAF), an internationally acknowledged artist and a life long crusader of the rights of the oppressed (specially women), died here on Friday.

LalaRukh was suffering from cancer. She was 69. She had been affiliated with NCA for 25 years and was the head of the Fine Arts Department as well. According to one of her closest friends Bunny, Nighat Saeed, another founder member of WAF, LalaRukh was a woman of great integrity and remained committed to her cause of helping out the oppressed till her last breath. She even got her studio destroyed during the expansion for the Orange Train Project. She was not only a founding member of Women Action Forum but one of the most resolute members. 

She is in the extreme left in this iconic duppata burning picture in Zia's era. She worked for several years in NCA as an artist, highlighted the issues related to women's rights and worked against the discriminatory laws in Pakistan.  She was the daughter of Hayat Muhammad Khan, founder of All Pakistan Music Conference.