Eminent educationist, journalist and writer Anita Shah Lakyary passed away in Karachi after she lost her battle with cancer. She was 50.
Lakyary was born in Hyderabad on November 15, 1974. After completing her higher education in Business Administration and Sociology, she went abroad to complete her diploma in journalism and other related courses. She honed her skills as an investigative journalist, reporting on social and political issues.
Lakyary wrote extensively about women to create awareness amongst women hailing from remote areas of the country. In 1997, she started writing columns for the Sindhi language daily Kawish and later joined the BBC.
Besides working as a dynamic journalist, she taught English at different educational centres in Hyderabad. She also served as a research associate and instructor in different educational institutes in the country and represented Pakistan at more than 50 international conferences.
Her work on social issues and women's rights received worldwide recognition. In 2007, she got an opportunity to work as a reporter and producer of a talk show Beyond the Headlines for Voice of America. She produced around 40 episodes of the show.
The domain of her social work was vast, and she always emphasised promoting people belonging to remote areas of Sindh.
To further her work, she formed a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Truce, which worked to uplift people living in impoverished areas of the country.
Later in her career, she started work with the provincial government, rising to the post of deputy secretary in the Sindh Government's Culture Department. During her tenure there, she proposed different ideas to promote Sindhi culture.
She continued journalistic efforts, writing on sensitive social issues for English language dailies Dawn and The Express Tribune in 2017.
Upon her passing, many admirers and students of Lakyary took to social media websites to express their grief for her passing and termed it a massive loss for Sindh.
Prominent names of Sindh media, including Bedal Masroor and Saher Imdad, said Lakyary was a trendsetter in Pakistani media who promoted the oppressed class of the country.