Viqar-un-Nisa Noon
Viqar-un-Nisa Noon | |
---|---|
![]() Noon in 1958 | |
Spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan | |
In office 16 December 1957 – 7 October 1958 | |
Prime Minister | Feroz Khan Noon |
Preceded by | Mrs. Chundrigar |
Succeeded by | Mrs. Nurul Amin |
Personal details | |
Born | Victoria Rekha July 1920 (1920-07) Austria |
Died | 16 January 2000 (aged 79) Islamabad, Pakistan |
Nationality | ![]() ![]() |
Spouse | Feroz Khan Noon |
Awards | ![]() |
Begum Viqar-un-Nisa (also known as Viqar un Nisa Noon or Viqarunnisa Noon; 1920 – 16 January 2000) was the spouse of the Prime Minister of Pakistan from 1957 to 1958.
By profession, she was a social worker. She married 7th Pakistani Prime Minister Sir Feroz Khan Noon in 1945. She participated in the Pakistan Movement, which led to the creation of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Viqar was an Austrian by birth and origin, and her name at birth was Victoria Rekha.[1][2]
Involvement with Pakistan Movement
After her marriage, she converted to Islam, and renamed herself from Victoria to Viqar un Nisa. The Noons left Delhi the same year after Sir Feroz Khan Noon resigned from the Indian Viceroy's cabinet and moved to Lahore.[2] Lady Noon had firsthand exposure to Pakistani politics and involved herself with local politics, becoming a member of the Punjab Provincial Women's Subcommittee, organizing rallies and processions for the Muslim League. During the Civil disobedience movement in Punjab, Lady Noon helped organize protests and demonstrations against the British-backed Malik Khizar Hayat Tiwana's cabinet, being arrested three times.[2]
Accession of Gwadar
Viqar-un-Nisa Noon played a big role in the accession of Gwadar to Pakistan. She reportedly worked hard in London in 1956 to get Gwadar for Pakistan through British PM and parliament's approval for British colony Oman to give custody to Pakistan. She visited Winston Churchill for lobbying at British parliament in 1956 for ' Gwadar port' to be given to Pakistan[3] and get approval from House of Lords.[4][5][6][7]
Social work
Following the independence of Pakistan from British rule in 1947 and the mass transfer of people across the border, she engaged in ameliorating the refugee crisis, lending assistance to various refugee camps and committees.[2] She was involved with the Red Cross and engaged herself in local social work. She helped found Viqar un Nisa College for Women, Rawalpindi, Pakistan[2] and the Viqarunnisa Noon School and College, a prestigious school and college for girls in Dhaka, Bangladesh.[8]
Later life
Her husband Feroz Khan Noon later became the first Governor of East Pakistan and ultimately the Prime Minister of Pakistan in 1957. After his death, she continued to be involved in social work activities, along with other prominent lady social workers of Pakistan, such as late Begum Mahmooda Salim Khan, Attiya Inayatullah and Begum Zari Sarfaraz; and remained a senior and executive member of such organisations as the Family Planning Association of Pakistan, Pakistan Red Crescent Society, the National Crafts Council of Pakistan and others.[8]
For a brief while, she also remained Federal Minister for Tourism and Culture in the Government of Pakistan, during the regime of Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq.[9] In her later life, she spent a great deal of her time at her cottage "Al-Feroz", in the hills near Abbottabad, Pakistan, and in scenic Islamabad, where she found creative solace to paint and write.[8]
Awards and recognition
In 1959, she was awarded the Nishan-e-Imtiaz (Medal of Excellence) for her services to the nation by the Government of Pakistan.[8]
Death
Viqar-un-Nisa Noon died on 16 January 2000, aged 79, in Islamabad after a prolonged illness.[2]
According to the newspaper Dawn in January 2021, "GWADAR plays a pivotal role in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is termed a game-changer that is bound to boost the national economy". Many credit then-Prime Minister Feroz Khan Noon and his wife for making it possible.[10]
Acknowledgment
- Viqar un Nisa Noon Girls Higher Secondary Institute, Rawalpindi, Pakistan
- Nishan e Imtiaz, Pakistan
- Vicky Noon Educational Foundation
- Viqarunnisa Noon School & College, Dhaka, Bangladesh[11]
References
- ^ Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, Freedom at Midnight, 1975.
- ^ a b c d e f "Profile of Begum Viqar-un-Nisa [1920-2000]". Story of Pakistan website. 23 October 2013. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ "Gwadar, Victoria and Aga Khan". www.ourbeacon.com.
- ^ "Who do we thank for Gwadar?". Daily Times (newspaper). 23 May 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Dhillon, Ali Ahmad (17 January 2019). "Gwadar Ki Shaan, Begum Waqar Un Nisa Noon!". Daily Urdu Columns.
- ^ Jones, Jeremy (10 March 2013). Oman, Culture and Diplomacy. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 9780748674633 – via Google Books.
- ^ "Purchase of Gwadar". Dawn (newspaper). 18 December 2018. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Founders of 'Vicky' Noon Educational Foundation (Profile of Viqar-un-Nisa Noon)". Vicky Noon Educational Foundation website. Archived from the original on 23 September 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2021.
- ^ Pakistan Affairs. Information Division, Embassy of Pakistan. 1980.
- ^ Honouring the Noons, Dawn.com. 28 January 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ^ "History: Viqarunnisa Noon School and College". Viqarunnisa Noon School and College. Retrieved 9 February 2023.
External links
- Official website of the Viqarunnisa Noon School & College
- v
- t
- e
- East India Company
- Indian Rebellion of 1857
- Deobandi Movement
- Barelvi Movement
- Aligarh Movement
- Urdu movement
- Partition of Bengal
- Lucknow Pact
- Khilafat Movement
- Shuddhi movement
- Nehru Report
- Fourteen Points of Jinnah
- Allahabad Address
- Now or Never pamphlet
- World War II
- Two nation theory
- Round Table Conferences
- Lahore Resolution
- Direct Action Day
- Muslim nationalism in South Asia
- Cabinet Mission
- Indian Independence Act
- Partition of India
- Radcliffe Line
- Durand Line
- Objectives Resolution
- Independence
- Pakistani monarchy
- Republic Day
- Kashmir conflict
- National symbols
- Constitution of Pakistan
- British heritage
![The leaders of the Muslim League, 1940. Jinnah is seated at centre.](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/89/Muslim_League_leaders_after_a_dinner_party%2C_1940_%28Photo_429-6%29.jpg/70px-Muslim_League_leaders_after_a_dinner_party%2C_1940_%28Photo_429-6%29.jpg)
![Flag of Pakistan](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Flag_of_Pakistan.svg/70px-Flag_of_Pakistan.svg.png)
![State emblem of Pakistan](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/State_emblem_of_Pakistan.svg/70px-State_emblem_of_Pakistan.svg.png)
- Muslim League
- Unionist
- Student Federations
- Khaksars
- Renaissance Society
- Philosophical Congress
- Dawn newspaper
- Daily Jang newspaper
- Nawa-i-Waqt newspaper
- Zamindar newspaper
- Sir Syed Ahmad Khan
- Aga Khan III
- Khwaja Salimullah (Nawab Salimullah)
- Syed Ameer Ali
- Mohammad Ali Jauhar
- Maulana Shaukat Ali
- Hakim Ajmal Khan
- Muhammad Iqbal
- Muhammad Ali Jinnah
- Fatima Jinnah
- Liaquat Ali Khan
- Sadeq Mohammad Khan V
- Mian Muhammad Shafi
- Mian Abdul Rashid
- Nawab Waqar-ul-Mulk Kamboh
- Mohsin-ul-Mulk
- Bahadur Yar Jung
- Baba-e-Urdu Maulvi Abdul Haq
- Abdul Qayyum Khan
- Abdur Rab Nishtar
- Chaudhry Khaliquzzaman
- Choudhary Rahmat Ali
- A. K. Fazlul Huq
- Jamaat Ali Shah
- G. M. Syed
- Raja Ghazanfar Ali Khan
- Jafar Khan Jamali
- Ghulam Bhik Nairang
- Hasrat Mohani
- Nawab Mohammad Ismail Khan
- Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
- Jogendra Nath Mandal
- K. H. Khurshid
- Khawaja Nazimuddin
- Mahmud Husain
- Mohammad Amir Ahmed Khan
- Muhammad Zafarullah Khan
- Qazi Mohammad Isa
- Ra'ana Liaquat Ali Khan
- Ashraf Ali Thanwi
- Shabbir Ahmad Usmani
- Zafar Ali Khan
- more
- Hamid Nizami
- Abdullah Haroon
- Yusuf Haroon
- Mahmoud Haroon
- Altaf Husain
- Adamjee Haji Dawood
- Muhammad Shafi Deobandi
- Zafar Ahmad Usmani
- Ahmed Ali Lahori
- Malik Barkat Ali
- Aslam Khattak
- Yusuf Khattak
- Mian Iftikharuddin
- Shahnawaz Khan Mamdot
- Iftikhar Hussain Khan Mamdot
- Sikandar Hayat Khan
- Shaukat Hayat Khan
- Muhammad Asad
- Ziauddin Ahmad
- Abu Bakr Ahmad Haleem
- Maulana Ghulam Rasool Mehr
- Hakeem Mohammad Saeed
- Chaudhry Ghulam Abbas
- Muhammad Abdul Qayyum Khan
- Sardar Ibrahim Khan
- Fida Mohammad Khan
- Sheikh Sir Abdul Qadir
- M. M. Sharif
- Sahibzada Abdul Qayyum
- Jalaludin Abdur Rahim
- Z. A. Suleri
- G. Allana
- Ishtiaq Hussain Qureshi
- Jalal Baba of NWFP
- Mohammad Abdul Ghafoor Hazarvi
- Muhammad Karam Shah al-Azhari
- Amin ul-Hasanat (Pir of Manki Sharif)
- Syed Wajid Ali
- Hafeez Jalandhari
- Jahanara Shahnawaz
- Lady Abdullah Haroon
- Muhammad Ismail Zabeeh
- Fatima Begum
- Naseer Ahmad Malhi
- Ahmed Saeed Nagi
- Niaz Ali Khan
- Amir Habibullah Khan Saadi
- Habib Rahimtoola
- Sharif al Mujahid
- Fatima Sughra Begum
- Abdul Sattar Khan Niazi
- Viqar-un-Nisa Noon
- Amir Abdullah Khan Rokhri
- Abdul Hamid Qadri Badayuni
- Sardar Aurang Zeb Khan
- Abdullah Ropari
- Muhammad Ibrahim Mir Sialkoti
- more
- Idea of Pakistan
- Jinnah: India, Partition, Independence
- Notes on Afghanistan and Baluchistan
- Pakistan: A Personal History
- The Myth of Independence
- Pakistan: A Hard Country
- Now or Never; Are We to Live or Perish Forever?
- Causes of Indian Mutiny of 1857
- Youm-e-Pakistan (23 March)
- Youm-e-Dastur (10 April)
- Youm-e-Takbir (28 May)
- Youm-e-Azadi (14 August)
- Youm-e-Difah (6 September)
- Youm-e-Tasees (24 October)
- Youm-e-Iqbal (9 November)
- Youm-e-Viladat (25 December)