Tehmina Durrani

Tehmina Durrani (Urdu: تہمینہ درانی), a Durrani Pashtun, is the daughter of the former Governor of State Bank of Pakistan, and former Chairman of Pakistan International Airlines, S.U. Durrani.

Durrani's first husband was Anees Khan, the Personal Security Officer of the Governor of Punjab (Ghulam Mustafa Khar). Durrani divorced Khan and married Governor Khar. It was Durrani's second marriage and the sixth marriage for Khar. The couple later divorced after having four children. After her divorce, Durrani wrote "My Feudal Lord" in 1991, detailing her marriage with Khar. The book became a bestseller worldwide, but stirred controversy in Pakistan for its detailed description of abuse inflicted on her by a powerful political figure. Further, its revelation of the misuse of Islam to conceal the exploitation of females also garnered both negative and positive publicity. A debate whether or not parts of the book are exaggerated or completely untrue continues to persist.

Durrani is a close friend of veteran philanthropist Abdul Sattar Edhi, and helped author his autobiography, entitled "A Mirror to the Blind".

Durrani has also written the novel "Blasphemy" which was another success. Durrani has won many worldwide awards for her book "My Feudal Lord" and is considered an idol by many women in Pakistan.

Durrani is currently married to Mian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, Chief Minister of Punjab, and brother of Nawaz Sharif, former Prime Minister of Pakistan. It is the third marriage for both Durrani and Sharif. [http://pakistantimes.net/2005/02/07/top10.htm]

Tehmina Durrani is currently associated with a non-governmental organization that works for the social rehabilitation of women after abuse. In 2001, Durrani publicly took on the caregiver role of Fakhra Yunas, the former wife of Bilal Khar, a former politician and the son of Ghulam Mustafa Khar from his first marriage. Yunas had been a victim of an acid attack by her husband. Durrani took Yunas abroad, capturing media attention and spurring her commitment to bring Khar, convicted of the attack, to trial. She was inititally denied passport to leave Pakistan for Yunas's surgery. But later on under pressure the government allowed her to leave Pakistan with Yunas. Durrani was also successfully able to provide reconstructive surgery free-of-cost to Yunas, courtesy of Italian cosmetics firm Sant'Angelica. The firm is now working in Pakistan for many such battered and abused women.

Durrani currently lives in Lahore with her children.

External links

* [http://www.jazbah.org/bookmfl.php Breaking The Silence In Tehmina Durrani’s My Feudal Lord]
* [http://www.verveonline.com/26/people/tehmina/tehmina.shtml Out Of The Realm Of Fear]
* [http://www.guidoharari.com/ing/portfolio.asp?sezione=Portraits Portrait of Fakhra Yunas and Tehmina Durrani]