KARACHI, March 8: Begum Doulat Khanum, who died here on Sunday, was laid to rest at Ali Bagh in Lyari on Monday. Soyem will be held at her residence, 2-Sunny Side Road, Civil Lines, on Tuesday between Asr and Maghrib.

Begum Doulat Hidayatullah was born on Sept 15, 1915, and was the eldest child of Haji Sir Abdoola Haroon and Lady Nusrat Haroon. Being the eldest she was really close to both her parents and she became Haji Abdoola Haroon's personal assistant for political and social uplift activities.

After graduating from St Josephs College, Karachi, she accompanied her parents to the Imperial Economic Conference in 1932 where Haji Sir Abdoola Haroon represented the Muslim businessmen of India.

Her charm won over the international press who printed her interviews. She served as joint secretary of the Sindh Muslim League and the Istkhawal Khawateen, a cultural and social organization founded by her mother whom she used to accompany to meetings of the Ladies of the Empire Association.

Begum Hidayatullah was a founder member of the All Pakistan Women's Association and was later appointed life president after the demise of Begum Raana Liaquat Ali Khan.

She was also president of the Muslim Ladies Industrial Home, president of the executive committee of the Anjuman Khawateen Hussaini, and president of Shobai Khawateen, Rizvia Shaheed-i- Karbala Trust, consultant executive of the Nusrat Community Centre, president, International Women's Club, chairperson, Board of Haji Abdoola Haroon Association and Orphanage, patron, Anjuman Jannatul Baqi, Nazimbabad, chairperson, Friends of APWA, and chairperson of the Ladies Horticultural Club.

She attended several international Conferences on behalf of these organizations and also represented Pakistan in various women's delegations. In 1938, she married Anwar Hussain Hidayatallah, son of the late Sir Ghulam Hussain Hidayatallah, former chief minister Sindh, 1937-38, 1942-43 and governor of Sindh, 1947-48. Anwar Hussain Hidayatullah was a member of the Sindh Assembly, ambassador to Brazil, Morocco and Tunisia.

Begum Hidayatullah donated generously for social uplift and religious causes. She leaves behind two sons and two daughters, apart from several grandchildren and great grandchildren. Her eldest son, Zain, died in the 1983 Gulf Air crash in Abu Dhabi. She is also survived by two brothers and three sisters, Yusuf and Mahmud Haroon, Zeenat Rashid, Afsar Pasha and Laila Sarfaraz Khan.

CONDOLENCE MEETING: The All Pakistan Women's Association held a condolence meeting at its headquarters here on Monday to mourn the demise of its patron and founder member Begum Doulat Hidayatullah.