Nurse by profession and activist by choice, Bilquis Edhi is a household name not only in her native Pakistan but across the border too. She is recognized in many countries all over the world for her selfless humanitarian work in collaboration with her husband Abdul Sattar Edhi. She has been awarded the Hilal-e-Imtiaz in Pakistan for her services in the humanitarian field.
India, too, feels it owes a debt to Bilquis Edhi, especially since the story of Geeta hit headlines. The saga of the deaf-mute girl who strayed across the border and was sheltered and cared for by the Edhi Foundation for over a decade has touched many hearts in India. People are all the more impressed that Geeta’s religious and cultural beliefs were given absolute respect at the Edhi centre which was her home for over a decade.
The Harmony Foundation of India announced that its board had unanimously chosen Bilquis Edhi as the recipient of the 2015 Mother Teresa International Award, instituted by the Foundation in 2011. The chairman of Harmony Foundation, Abraham Mathai said Mrs. Edhi had impressed everyone in India with her selfless and tolerant approach in her volunteer services. She will be sharing the award with global humanitarian medical aid organization Medicins Sans Frontieres at a ceremony in Mumbai on November 22 this year.
In receiving the prestigious award, Bilquis Edhi is in august company; two Nobel Prize recipients, the Dalai Lama and Malala Yousafzai have already been beneficiaries of this honour.