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Some Womens In P.A.F
An important link in the chain of welfare bodies used to be an association of station
wives commonly referred to as Ladies Club, which was a legacy from Royal Indian
Air Force days. There was one at each command location such as Air Headquarters
and one at each station. The wife of the ranking commander was traditionally the
president of the club. While the wives of British Cs-in-C were more than eager to
supplement their husband's efforts to improve the lot of the officers' and Airmen's
families, it was difficult for them to develop an instinctive understanding of the
social mores and domestic problems of the Pakistani community. Such rapport was
important in addressing what were essentially humanitarian issues. The wife of the
first Pakistani C-in-C, Mrs Amina Asghar Khan on the other hand, had had personal
knowledge of the typical needs of PAF families and frequent contact with most of
the senior officers' wives' both at the Air Headquarters and at the stations. She was
thus able to bring about a greater cohesion among the local members of Peshawar as
well as basic coordination between the station clubs.
(Mrs Asghar Khan encouraged welfare activities)
It was the wife of Asghar Khan's successor, however, who saw the need to knit this
PAF-wide network welfare bodies into a properly established association with
clearly defined goals. Mrs Farhat Nur Khan launched the Pakistan Air Force
Women's Association (PAFWA) in December 1965, with its central office located at
with Air Headquarters and a branch comprising the erstwhile ladies club at each
station. The aims and objectives of PAFWA formulated in 1965 were as follows:
(Mrs Nur Khan established PAFWA on a PAF wide basis)
a. To coordinate the welfare work of the Association's branches throughout the PAF
with a view to promoting social uplift amongst the families through a spirit of self
help and self reliance.
b. To extend to PAF personnel and their families such welfare amenities as were
beyond the scope of the official organization.
c. To undertake relief work whenever necessary, to provide material assistance to
persons affected by natural calamities and to assist those living in economically
depressed areas.
d. To assist Air Headquarters and station administrators in determining the
requirements of educational and health facilities.
e. To maintain liaison with concerned PAF formations to ensure proper utilization of
amenities.
f. To liase with other social and welfare organizations in the country to obtain
maximum assistance.
A sum of Rs. 100,000 was denoted from the PAF's central welfare fund to PAFWA to
get it raised off the ground. Work started in earnest and funds raised at the central
and branch levels were pooled in order to make PAFWA a financially viable entity.
A committee of ladies toured all PAF stations and submitted several
recommendations concerning schools, hospitals and other welfare-related facilities.
(Mrs Rahim Khan appreciating airmen's wives's creations)
The first welfare project of national scope organized by the fledging association was
the distribution in 1966, of sorely needed survival goods such as quilts and warm
clothing in the depressed Skardu region of the Northern Areas. The items were
collected by the PAFWA branches at all stations shipped to Peshawar and from
there, under the central body's supervision flown by C-130s to their destination, to
be distributed by PAFWA members.
Amongst the earliest calamity relief undertakings by PAFWA was participation in
the national drive to aid the victims of an earthquake in Turkey in August 1966. In
February 1967, a system of academic scholarships for children of airmen was
launched and this expanding project continues to benefit a very large number of
students to this day. Industrial homes were established all over the PAF and
courses offered in vocations such as knitting, stitching, embroidery etc; merit
certificates were awarded to ladies who achieved specified levels of proficiency. A
PAFWA newsletter was brought out which disseminated news of the activities of
various branches.
(Mrs Zafar Chaudhry showing Mrs Nusrat Bhutto products of PAFWA's industrial homes)
After Mrs. Nur Khan's vigorous development of this centralized concept of welfare
promotion, a succession of PAF First Ladies carried on the good work each in turn
adding an innovative here an augmentation there, and PAFWA flourished as a
centre of humanitarian and vocational pursuits spreading its benefits to more and
more of the needy and deserving.
(Mrs Anwar Shamim gave PAF families a new dimension with Mujahidda Academies)
PAFWA's scope of activities was substantially enhanced under the presidency of
Mrs. Tahira Anwar Shamim who took over in July 1978. She added some major
institutions to PAFWA's organization and mode of operation. A centrally organized
and collectively funded all PAF meena bazaar, called Jashn-e-PAFWA, was
inaugurated at Peshawar in April 1980, and repeated in 1981 and 1982. The funds so
generated enabled a significant expansion of the facilities offered by the industrial
homes later renamed as Markaz-e-PAFWA. In addition, a central Mujahidda
Academy was established and co-located at Air Headquarters at Peshawar, and later
a branch at Chaklala. The Academy offered in addition to the standard range of
domestic science subjects courses as diverse as car driving, boutiqueware, French
language and Islamic Studies. The Chaklala branch of the PAFWA Academy took
another step by organizing formal courses in computers, accounting and typing and
in affiliation with the Punjab University a recognized course leading to a B Ed
degree.
(Mrs Zulfiqar Ali Khan distributing warm clothing among the needy)
A curious sidelight on the direct involvement of PAF's First Ladies in the welfare
aspect of PAF activity, both at Headquarters and Base levels, concerned their
having to deal with certain officers of the administration frequently and regularly, to
plan this project or sort out that problem. With the best of intentions on all sides
there was sometimes an encroachment upon other PAF priorities. If a certain
PAFWA project was held up because of pressing official commitments or if a
particular officer's professional duties compelled him to postpone his attention to
some pet PAFWA requirements the First Lady tended occasionally to view the
situation as a command crisis and many are the tales of woe (sometimes
exaggerated) narrated by victims of such circumstances!
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(Mrs Asghar Khan encouraged welfare activities)
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(Mrs Nur Khan established PAFWA on a PAF wide basis)
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