Ashraf Abbasi

Ashraf Abbasi (Urdu: اشرف عباسی; Sindhi: اشرف عباسي) was a Pakistani politician and the first female Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan.^[1] She was a close supporter of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and its leaders Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto. She was also a member of the West Pakistan Assembly from 1962 until 1965. She joined the PPP and won from her constituency in 1970.^[2][3]

Ashraf Abbasi
9th & 12th Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Pakistan
In office 3 December 1988 – 6 August 1990
Preceded by	Wazir Ahmed Jogezai
Succeeded by	M. Nawaz Khokhar
In office 11 August 1973 – 10 January 1977
Preceded by	Mohammad Hanif Khan
Succeeded by	Abul Fateh
Personal details
Died	4 August 2014 Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan
Nationality	Pakistani
Political party	Pakistan Peoples Party
Children	3
Alma mater	Dow Medical College
Occupation	Politician
Profession	Physician

Personal life

Abbasi received her secondary education from DJ College Sindh in 1940. She also studied at the Lady Hardinge Medical College in Delhi. She obtained her MBBS degree from the Dow Medical College Karachi. Abbasi opened her clinic in Larkana. She also served at Civil Hospital Larkana. She participated in the promotion of education. She died on 4 August 2014 in the village of Waleed, Larkana. She was the mother of three sons, including Safdar Ali Abbasi, who became a PPP senator, Munawar Ali Abbasi(Ex-MPA Sindh Assembly), and Akhtar Ali Abbasi.^[2][3]

Career

Abbasi was a member of the West Pakistan Assembly from 1962 to 1965. Later, she joined the PPP, winning a National Assembly seat in 1970. She became the first woman deputy speaker of the National Assembly, serving from 1973 to 1977 and again from 1988 to 1990.^[1] She also served as the chairperson of the Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology, Larkana campus, and was a member of the Allama Iqbal Open University, Islamabad, and University of Sindh, Jamshoro, syndicates. She was also a member of the constitution committee. She established the Mothers Trust in 1996 to help poor women. Abbasi wrote her biography titled Jaikey Halan Haikliyoon ("The Women Who Walk Alone").^[2][3]

Publications

• Jaikey Halan Haikliyoon ("The Women Who Walk Alone").^[2]