• October 29, 2023
• General News, Obituaries
• Web Desk

KARACHI: Prof Shahida Kazi, one of the first women journalists of Pakistan in the print media
and a great teacher who mentored thousands of students currently associated with different
media houses passed away on Saturday after a brief illness. She was 79.
A highly prolific journalist of her time, Prof Kazi had many distinctions to her credit; she was the
first woman who received her Master’s degree in journalism from Karachi University (KU) in
1963-65. She was also among the foremost female news producers and news editors of the
Pakistan Television.
“It’s a great loss. She was an excellent teacher and a fine human being. She used to encourage us
a lot to read diverse subjects and improve our understanding and knowledge,” shared Dr Asmat
Ara, one of her students, now heading the mass communication department at the KU.
Recalling her interactions with the late journalist, she said one of Prof Kazi’s special traits was
that, unlike other teachers, she appreciated disagreement.
“We never feared sharing our thoughts and opinions with her. Prof Kazi contributed a lot to our
personal development for which we would always remain indebted to her,” she added.
Born in 1944, Prof Kazi belonged to a highly distinguished family of Sindh. Her great uncle
Allama I.I Kazi was a well-known writer, religious scholar and academic, along with being the
founder and the first vice chancellor of Sindh University.
Prof Kazi joined Dawn as the paper’s first woman reporter in 1966 and covered diverse subjects.
From 1972 onwards, she worked as a news producer and a news editor at the Asian Television
Service (a subsidiary of PTV) and later at the state TV.
In 1985, she joined KU’s mass communication department as a lecturer and later became its
chairperson in 1999. She also headed the departments of media studies and mass communication
at Jinnah University for Women and Institute of Business Management.
Prof Kazi also received the Cairo Air Crash Journalist Victims Gold Medal

She penned research articles on media and communication, education, women’s issues and social
problems in different magazines and publications. Her books include Television Journalism and
Pakistan Studies in Focus. This year, her autobiography Sweet, Sour and Bitter — A Life Well
Lived was launched.
Her funeral prayers will be held at Jamia Masjid, Faizan-i-Bismillah, Sunny Side Road, Civil
Lines, after Zuhar at 1.15pm on Sunday (today). She will be laid to rest at the KU graveyard.

Source: Dawn