Parveen Shakir was born on 24 November, 1952 in Karachi, Pakistan. She received two undergraduate degrees -- in English literature and linguistics.
Parveen held MA degrees in English Literature and Linguistics from University of Karachi. She was a teacher at Karachi University and Trinity College, Connecticut, USA, for 9 years before joining the Pakistan Civil Service, where she served in the Customs department. In 1986, she was appointed second secretary, CBR in Islamabad.
In 1990, she taught at Trinity College, Connecticut, USA, and then did her masters in public administration at Harvard University in 1991.
She married Naseer Ali, a doctor by profession, whom she later divorced. In 1994, she died in a car accident at age 42 in Islamabad. She is survived by her son, Syed Murad Ali. Her unique honor was that when she appeared in the Central Superior Services Examiation in 1982 there was a question on her poetry in the Urdu examination.
For more informations about Parveen Shakir's poetry visit:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parveen_Shakir