Jennifer Musa (1917-2008): The Queen of Baluchistan

Adil Najam in All Things Pakistan:

ScreenHunter_03 Jan. 14 14.15 A friend recently sent me a two year old obituary of Jennifer Musa (today is her second death anniversary). I must confess, I had never heard of her. But the tag line of the article from London’s Daily Telegraph was enough to send me on a search for more information on her. The line read:

Irish nurse who became head of a tribe in Baluchistan and dedicated her life to its interests

As if that was not enough, the second paragraph of the same article had me running to find out more. It read:

“Mummy Jennifer”, as she was known, married the scion of a noble Pathan family that played a key role in bringing the oil-rich province of Baluchistan into Pakistan after its creation in 1947. She founded an ice factory, became the first woman member of the national assembly from her province, and later acted as an intermediary for rebels who staged an armed uprising against the federal government.

What I found was a remarkable story that deserves to be shared with others.

More here.