Living in a huge residence in Mohalla Baqar Shah, Koocha Dilawar Khan, an old area of Peshawar, veteran journalist Shamim Akhter never really thought she would become one. She didn’t even know that she would become an avid reader which would manifest as a writer and then a journalist within her.
It all began one day when she randomly picked up the first book from the huge library in her house —a library that comprised of books from all languages and genres, from all parts of the world. Inspired by her elder brother, her love for reading developed under his shadow.
Among the four siblings, she was the only one who had the curiosity to read every book in that library. The walls of the large room were lined with shelves filled with books organisedin different sections right up to the ceiling. She read many books from there and felt they were not enough to quench her thirst for reading.
Ofcourse, her passion for reading, gave Akhtar a vocabulary and knowledge unmatched with that of most people of the time. Belonging to a progressive family where her brother servedin the Navy, she was encouraged to study and learn whatever she wanted to.
“Soon after completing my matriculation, I came to Karachi as I always admired this city and wanted to live here,” shares Akhtar. “Back in the 60s it was a beautiful city with open spaces, fresh air, a great fashion scene, and independent culture which was quite the opposite of what we had in Peshawar where other than a few families, educating girls was not very common.”
Akhtar came to Karachi when her elder sister completed her intermediate and got admission into Dow Medical College. “I landed in St-Joseph college for my intermediate,” she narrated reminiscing the day when she arrived in Karachi as a young girl.
She shared how she has seen the beautiful and peaceful city falling into shambles before her eyes from being one that was so full of life, with a verve of life, the spirit to grow and the innate capacity to provide. “Karachi has been brutally politicised and now it is not what it used to be,” she says.
She recounted that it wasn’t easy for her to get into college in Karachi. “My admission in the college was difficult as all the admissions were closed and no one was allowed despite securing a good percentage in matric,” she shares, her characteristic wide smile lighting up her face. “But one day when we went to St. Joseph’s College, my brother was wearing his navy uniform and maybe that intimidated the principal. I must say that I landed into good hands and since then I never looked back.”
Short, silvery hair, wrinkled hands, and a soft voice add to her warm personality, and while age has graced her personality, her professional experience makes her an institution in herself. Her intensive reading created a sensitive writer in Akhter, who wrote stories narrating her experiences. Her love for reading was not in any specific language but Urdu, English, and just about any book she got her hands on.
“Most of the time my elder brother would scold me for reading books that were not age-appropriate for me, but I didn’t care what I was reading because I never hesitated to learn,” she says, a glint in her eye. “Most of the time I read these books when he was not around and snuggled in a quilt, I used to hide myself and my books away from him. But I never gave up. reading what I wanted to read.”
Akhtar recalled an incident when once she got caught by her brother, and was scolded too.“My heart was pounding with fear and anxiety, but right after being reprimanded I went back to the book!” she recalls. “My passion for reading came from anything that had words in it that I could learn from or gave me knowledge. I had this curiosity to read everything, from magazines to newspapers, every book from Geeta to Bible and from medical books to philosophical works.
She completed her Masters in philosophy from the University of Karachi and had no plan to work or do anything in particular, but she used to write stories in her whenever she had the time. One day her brother-in-law suggested that she visit the office of Akhbar-e-Khwateen, [a women’s magazine in Urdu] which was near their residence on Sharae Faisal.
“He said you are such a talented girl and write so well, why don’t you go to the newspaper office and see if you can write anything for them,” she recounted how she fell into journalism by chance.
One day, she went. “But before going I thought that I should write a story and take it along with me to prove how well I could write as it would save me another trip to the office if they asked to write anything,” says Akhtar. “They liked the story and printed it and then printed a few more that I wrote. They kept printing my stories and sometimes they would they also ask me to write stories for Eid and other special occasions.”
Seventy-eight-year-old, Akhter started her career with Akhbar-e-Khwateen on April 1, 1967, as a feature writer when one day the editor of that time Musarrat Jabeen offered her a job if she wanted to work in the newspaper because she already wrote for it regularly.
Once she joined the newspaper, there was no turning back for her. With time she made her place in the journalist fraternity, and within the next eight years, she became the editor of Akhbar-e-Khwateen.
Since Akhter was brilliant at writing in both English and Urdu, many a time she was questioned if she took help from her husband who was a well-read man and well-reputed in the literary circle.
“When in 1996 Akhbar-e-Khwateen was closed down I was left with nothing and I started writing freelance for English dailies,” she recounts. “Many a time people used to question my write-ups but they never knew that I am a well-read person who has been taught by some of the best teachers,” she said remembering her English teacher from Peshawar who ignited the love of English and grammar in her when she was young.
Akhter has a PhD in social justice because she wanted to find the meaning of philosophy of life and what the ultimate good is.
Akhtar has written three books, each of a different genre, which reflects her versatility in her craft. While Tay Se Titli (2009), Tuway Se Tanveer is a children’s book in Urdu, Dil Mein Chubhe Kantay (2016) is for mature minds. The third one is titled Pakistani Children’s Art (2007).
The seasoned journalist with over 50 years of experience wrote for many international publications and preferred writing in English after her newspaper was shut down because the readership and exposure are better in the language and at the end of the day everyone has to put food on the table.
“While Urdu writing was paid Rs150-250 per article, English write-ups were paid Rs3000, and we had to put food on the table as well,” she explained adding that after Akhbar-e-Khwateen, she learned to use to computer in 1997 to keep up with the world so that shewould stay relevant in the new tools of journalism. However, with time she realised that her strong side is writing and that is what makes her stand out among her counterparts.
“I never knew I could write books and that too for children, but once I started working with the idea of writing for children, I loved it,” she said.
Akhter’s husband died 13 years ago and since then she has lived alone and found solace in her writing, “I do not ask people to read specific writers or read the specific type of books, I tell them to read anything and everything because the most important thing is to read,” she says. “My favourite writer from whom I learned a lot is Munshi Prem Chand, but no one believes that I equally love reading Reader’s Digest too, because I just loved reading no matter what it is.”
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