KARACHI, Feb 14: Rich tributes were paid on Saturday to Prof Sadiqua N. Jafarey at a meeting that was held in the PMA House to congratulate her on receiving the international FIGO Award.

Well-known professionals who spoke on the occasion were of the view that Prof Jafarey was a born teacher. She has a motto which she adhered to throughout her career.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Shahida Zaidi said Prof Jafarey had spent the last several decades in teaching and training the students. Her contribution in the area of obstetrics and gynaecology could not be ignored.

Dr Badar Siddiqui opined that she had managed to create a ripple effect in society. She not only had a motto but also stuck to one. Very few people could boast of having done the same.

Prof Jafarey was a humble person who had given up her practice just to create awareness of maternal deaths, said Dr Shershah Syed. Several people had joined in the struggle against such deaths because of her.

Dr Aziz Khan Tank said she had always encouraged the College of Family Medicine. A memento was also presented to Prof Jafarey.

In her address, Prof Jafarey said the award that she had received recently was a recognition of the good work performed by her colleagues. The speeches that had been made showed that many professionals now understood the importance of combating the country's high maternal death rate, she said.

She expressed the hope that maternal death rate would soon be brought down.

Mrs Imtiaz Kamal, Dr Nabila Ali, Dr Asif Zia, Prof Rahat Qureshi, Dr Asif Aslam, Dr Razia Qureshi, Prof Sirajudaula Syed and Dr Haseeb Alam were among those who spoke on the occasion.