Dear Heart

Born Alys Catherine George in London in 1914, Alys Faiz arrived in Amritsar, India in 1938, on a visit to her sister Christabel Taseer and her brother-in- law Dr M D Taseer. Dr Taseer was at the time the Principal of MAO College Amritsar, and this is where Alys met her future husband Faiz Ahmed Faiz, a lecturer at the college. In 1941, Dr Taseer was appointed Principal of SP College, Srinagar and it was in Srinagar that Alys and Faiz were married the same year. Their nikah was performed by Sheikh Abdullah.


Alys Faiz had a long and illustrious career as a journalist, teacher and human rights activist. As editor of the Women's and Children's page of the Pakistan Times from 1951 to 1962, she was the rst woman journalist in Lahore post-partition. She was also on the editorial team of the weekly Viewpoint in the 1980s. In fact, Alys Faiz had a pioneering role in many organisations in Pakistan. She was a founding member of the Democratic Women’s Federation, the Peace Committee, the Business and Professional Women’s Club, The Children’s Aid Society, Women’s Action Forum, and the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. 


She set up the first children’s Puppet Theatre at the Alhamra Arts Council, Lahore in 1959, and also ran a children’s theatre group in Karachi. She was instrumental in setting up the museum collection of Lok Virsa in Islamabad for which she travelled to every part of Pakistan. She also worked with UNICEF Islamabad.


Alys Faiz passed away in Lahore on 12 March 2003 and was laid to rest next to Faiz Ahmed Faiz in Model Town, Lahore.