A tribute was paid to Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan, a pioneer of women’s rights in Pakistan, on her 121st birth anniversary, who laid the foundation for extraordinary military and professional training for women and played the distinguished role of the first female ambassador of the Muslim world.

In a statement issued by the Quaid-e-Millat Liaquat Ali Khan Memorial Committee, President Mahfooz-un-Nabi Khan called her the greatest champion of women’s empowerment in the country’s history.

Highlighting her outstanding services in the field of education, Khan said that she played a key role in introducing home economics as an academic subject in educational institutions. He also credited her with laying the foundation of the cottage industry and said that if this industry had been promoted, Pakistan could have stood in the ranks of developed countries like Japan.

Her efforts to advance the role of women extended to the armed forces, where she established organizations like the Pakistan Women National Guard and the Women Naval Reserve. Through these initiatives, military and professional training was provided to women, which was unprecedented in the developing world.

The statement added that Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan was a very courageous woman. After the martyrdom of her husband, she refused to accept the state honorarium and preferred employment, and proved her mettle by serving as an ambassador.

The establishment of the All Pakistan Women’s Association (APWA) is another of her major achievements, which laid the foundation of the first major women’s organization in the Muslim world. Her services were recognized at the global level when the United Nations honored her with a high international award, recognizing her as the first female human rights defender of the Islamic world.