Parveen Shakir PP (Urdu: پروین شاکر; 24 November 1952 – 26 December 1994) was a Pakistani poet, teacher and a civil servant of the government of Pakistan. She is best known for her poems, which brought a distinctive feminine voice to Urdu literature, and for her consistent use of the rare grammatical feminine gender for the word “lover”.
Since her death, the “Parveen Shakir Urdu Literature Festival” has been held every year in Islamabad in her memoriam
Parveen Shakir started writing at a very young age. She wrote both prose and poetry, contributed columns in Urdu newspapers, and a few articles in English dailies. Initially, she wrote under the pen-name “Beena”
After teaching for nine years, she joined the Civil Service of Pakistan and worked in the customs department. In 1986, she was appointed second secretary of the Central Board of Revenue (now Federal Board of Revenue) in Islamabad, Pakistan.
In 1976, Parveen Shakir published her first volume of poetry Khushbu (Fragrance) to great acclaim. She was awarded one of the highest honours of Pakistan, the Pride of Performance, for her outstanding contributions to literature.[3] She subsequently published other volumes of poetry including Sad-barg (Marsh Marigold) in 1980, and Khud Kalāmi (Soliloquy) and Inkār (Denial) in 1990. These poetry books are collected in Māh-e-Tamām (Full Moon). She also published a collection of her newspaper columns, titled Gosha-e-Chashm (Corner of the Eye). Kaf-e-Āina (The Mirror’s Edge) was released posthumously with works from her diaries and journals.
