LARKANA: Comrade Zaibunnisa aka Shanta Bukhari, wife of a prominent leftist of subcontinent Jamaluddin Bukhari who was lovingly called ‘Amma’ by the party men was buried in the Qaim Shah Bukhari graveyard here on Saturday evening.

She died in Karachi on Friday. She was 90 and left behind eight sons and a daughter to mourn her loss.

A large number of people from all walks of life, including former ambassador to UAE, Abdul Razzak Soomro, former provincial minister Abdul Ghafoor Bhurgri, former MPA Haji Munwar Ali Abbasi and former mayor of Larkana, Qurban Ali Abbasi, attended the funeral.

She was born in Otha Boondi village of Rajasthan (India) and was raised by her grandmother after her mother died early. Later she resided with her aunt Ms Sughra who was a front ranking leader of the Communist Party of India.

She had been associated with the party since the age of 11 and led the party’s women wing in Ahmedabad (India). After marrying comrade Jamaluddin Bukhari, a prominent communist leader, in March 1943, she lived near Lighthouse Cinema in Karachi and formed a union of women working in factories.

She had inborn leadership qualities and all throughout her life she worked for the rights of workers, organising them into labour unions against all odds.

She located and helped female labourers form themselves into trade unions, some of which are; the Hyderabad-based bangle makers; municipal sanitary workers; domestic workers, handloom workers and the dais etc.

Published in Dawn, July 27th, 2014