12 years later, fans and admirers continue to admire Abeda Iqbal Azad, who passed away on April 20, 2012, for her poetic and prose works. A virtual event was held to pay tribute to the late writer in connection with her 12th death anniversary. Remembering the literary achievements of Abeda, Urdu scholar Prof Sahar Ansari said it was evident in her writings that she had a strong understanding of Pakistan’s cultural multiplicity. He added that the late author had an optimistic mind, and she would be missed both for the beautiful words she wrote and her personality. He said that her work pulled together cheerful and bright critical attention for giving an exceptional analytic view of Pakistan’s politics and culture from the time of Pakistan’s 1971 loss of East Pakistan till the 21st century. “Abeda’s analysis is an honest evidence of Pakistan’s political history.”
Another literary scholar, Dr Javed Manzar, said, “This is quite befitting for Abeda that she, through her short stories, poems, and columns, made a great impact on Urdu literature.” He added that the late author was a creative talent and a fiery explorer who investigated life through her works.
Literary critic and journalist Zaib Azkaar Hussain said Abeda’s writings for the rights of women and children could be taken as a charter for human rights. “She wrote about social injustices, political disorders, and socio-economic inequality. The realism of life is exhibited in Abeda Iqbal’s literary works as she studied life and possessed enough courage to express it in her creative writings.”
Abeda was born to a businessman-cum-educationist, Gholam Rabbani, in Bangladesh. She started her literary career as a feature writer with Bangladesh Observer and Bangladesh Times. She earned an MBBS degree in Dhaka and moved to Karachi after marriage.
