Alys Faiz

Alys Faiz (Urdu: ایلس فیض) (September 2, 1915 – March 12, 2003 ) was a Pakistani poet, writer, journalist, human rights activist, social worker and a teacher. Alys was born in London, but she later became a naturalized citizen of Pakistan. She was the wife of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and the mother of Salima Hashmi and Muneeza Hashmi.

Alys George was the daughter of a London bookseller, and she joined the Communist Party as a teenager. She and her sister, Christobel, were active in leftist circles in the 1930s and were close to Indian intellectuals based in London. Alys served as an unofficial secretary to Krishna Menon, the secretary of the Free Indian League. Christobel married Dr. M.D. Taseer and joined him in India where he was the principal of a college. Alys traveled to India in 1938 to visit her sister, and, when World War II broke out, she decided to make the subcontinent her home.

The nikahnama (marriage deed) between Alys George and Faiz was solemnized by Sheikh Abdullah in Srinagar in 1941 at Pari Mahal, the summer palace of Maharaja Hari Singh and where M D Taseer, then the principal of S.P. College was living. Alys Faiz joined Pakistan Times newspaper's editorial staff in 1950 where Faiz Ahmad Faiz was already serving as the newspaper editor. She looked after the women's and children's section of the newspaper.

She was the aunt of Salmaan Taseer, the son of her sister Christobel.

Alys had two daughters with Faiz: Salima Hashmi and Muneeza Hashmi. The artist Adeel Hashmi is her grandson.

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