KARACHI:
The mother of the orphans, Bilquis Edhi, is no more. A nurse by profession, she was the loving and supportive wife of Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistan’s world-famed philanthropist. Just like her husband, Bilquis Edhi too was a humanitarian and philanthropist, and served as the co-chair of Edhi Foundation. She stood by Edhi Sahib through thick and thin.
Abdul Sattar Edhi’s possessions at the time of his marriage were an old car as well as a small dispensary which served as his office. There wasn’t much that they had, but even with very limited resources, the couple managed to look after orphans. The major responsibilities that Bilquis Edhi performed included looking after the ladies section and giving away children for adoption to the right parents. Later on, when the foundation expanded across Pakistan, she regularly visited Edhi Homes all over the country to monitor their activities and give suggestions and recommendations on how to manage things more efficiently. She spent more than six decades of her life serving humanity and looking after children as if they were her own. But what is most extraordinary is that her charity has managed to save over 42,000 unwanted babies by placing cradles at different locations across the country.
In recognition of her services to humanity, Bilquis Edhi was awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the Lenin Peace Prize by Russia, and the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award for Social Justice. Considering the political and socio-economic mess Pakistan is currently embroiled in, the country needs more women like Bilquis Edhi who have helped serve the poor and the people in need without looking at race, creed, culture or religion.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 18th, 2022.
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