Zarina Baloch | |
---|---|
Born |
Allahabad Chand Village, Sindh |
December 29, 1934
Died | October 25, 2005 | (aged 70)
Nationality | Pakistani |
Occupation | Folk singer |
Spouse(s) | Rasul Bux Palejo |
Children |
Ayaz Latif Palijo (son) Akhter Baloch (daughter) (from her first husband) |
Relatives | Sassui Palijo (granddaughter) |
Zarina Baloch (Sindhi: زرينه بلوچ) (born on December 29, 1934 – died on October 25, 2005) was a Pakistani folk music singer, vocalist and composer. She was also an actress, Radio and TV artist, writer, teacher, political and social worker.
She was born in December 29, 1934 in Allahdad Chand Village, Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan her mother, Gulroz, died in 1940 when Zarina was six years old. She studied with Mohammad Juman, who was also a Sindhi singer. At early age 15 years, her family arranged her marriage with a remote relative. She had two children: Akhter Baloch also known as Zina (born in 1952), and Aslam Parvez (born in 1957). However, Baloch and her husband disagreed on the subject of her further education and the pair were separated 1958. Baloch joined Radio Hyderabad in 1960 and received her first Music Award in 1961. Then Zarina married Sindhi politician Rasool Bux Palijo, took place in Hyderabad on September 22, 1964 and they had a son, Ayaz Latif Palijo. In 1967, she became a teacher at the Model School Sindh University. She retired in 1997 and died in 2005 of Brain Cancer in Liaquat National Hospital.
In 1979, Zarina was arrested and imprisoned in Sukkur and Karachi jails for leading the protests against President General Zia ul Haq's Martial Law. The songs and anthems sung by Zarina Baloch "Maan Chuke Balochani", "Man Yagehaan" and "Jeaey Sindh" became the musical symbols of Baloch and Sindhi nationalism. Because of her struggle against the ruling classes and against gender discrimination, feudalism and martial laws, she earned the title of JeeJee (mother) of the Sindhi people. She was one of the leading founders of Sindhiani Tahreek, Women’s Action Forum, Sindhi Adabi Sangat and Sindhi Haree Committee. She was fluent in Sindhi, Urdu, Seraiki, Balochi, Persian, Arabic and Gujrati. [1].