KARACHI, June 9: Speakers at a meeting here on Sunday paid tribute to noted educationist Gool K. (Khurshid) Minwalla, saying she was a pioneer in social work, particularly in the fields of health and education, in the country.

At a condolence meeting organized for the late Minwalla by the Karachi Theosophical Society (KTS) in Jamshed Memorial Hall, they said she was also a champion of the cause of women.

She worked in the field of social work for more than seven decades. Born on May 1, 1913 in Karachi, she was educated at Mama Parsi Girls School. She also taught at her alma mater briefly.

The speakers said she was influenced by Jamshed Nusserwanji Mehta, who brought her to the KTS which she joined in 1935. She assisted Mr Mehta for 17 years in the KTS’s work and after his death in 1952, she became the chief of the Theosophical Society in Pakistan.

They said she formed the Karachi branch of the Theosophical Order of Service (social arm of the KTS), which was still active and deeply involved in an education support programme for needy students.

They said she loved animals. A life-long vegetarian herself, she founded the Pakistan Vegetarian Society and its magazine, Vege Voice, both of which were being revived.

With Mr Mehta’s guidance, she went over to get training in the educational philosophy of Dr Maria Montessori in 1939, and after her return, she initiated the Montessori education system here. It was due to her efforts that the Pakistan Montessori Association received international recognition.

She was one of the first few who joined hands with Begum Ra’ana Liaquat Ali Khan when she formed the All Pakistan Women’s Association.

The speakers said she served the Poor Patients’ Relief Society, set up in 1915, all her life. It ran three charitable Mother and Child Health Care Centres up to 1970s. Two of these centres, in Ranchhore Lines and Soldier Bazaar, were functioning, but the building of the third at Lea Market was pulled down by the KMC under a road-widening project many years back.

The speakers said Minwalla’s social welfare activities encompassed organizations such as the Poor Patients Relief Society, Poor Families Welfare Society, Ida Rieu Poor Welfare Association, etc. She served on the Board of Secondary Education, Karachi University, National Council of Social Welfare, Pakistan Red Crescent Society, Pakistan Leprosy Association, United Nations Commission on the Prevention of Crime and Treatment of Offenders, etc.

Former Sindh minister Tazeen Faridi, Rear Admiral M. I. Arshad, Dara Mirza, Amanullah Amir, Siraj Ahmed, Bhagwan Bharwani, Prof S. M. Saeed, Visharam Tharwani, Roshan Babaria, Ruth S. Ahmed, Martin Preira, and a few family members of the late Minwalla also spoke at the meeting.