Mirror (Pakistani magazine)

The Mirror of the Month, better known as the Mirror, was a popular Pakistani social magazine which ran from 1951 to 1972. Its editor, founder and publisher was Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah (or, as she was known then, Zeb-un-Nissa Hamidullah). As editor of the Mirror, Begum Hamidullah became the first woman editor in Pakistan. The Mirror was published monthly.

Zeb-un-Nissa Hamidullah founded the Mirror in October, 1951; after she left Dawn. Her mission statement was to "foster feelings of unity and amity throughout the country". Most of her initial capital came from her husband and her family, and they soon rented two rooms at the Hotel Metropole in Karachi. The magazine was originally published at Din Muhammadi Press, as Hamidullah did not get her own press until the 1960s.

It was Pakistan's first social pictorial, and soon achieved popularity in both wings of the state. It had pictures and articles about society in Pakistan, and advice columns. However, it soon grew to be more than just a social glossy. Begum Hamidullah began writing serious editorials, which contained her by-line on the current economic and political problems in the country. The editor held several jobs in the magazine, doing everything from proof-reading to picture editing, as she revealed in her interview with Asif Noorani in 1997.

In November 1957, Begum Zeb-un-Nissa Hamidullah, the Mirror's editor, wrote a blistering and opinionated editorial in defence of Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, whose ministry in East Pakistan had been abruptly forced to resign due to threats from Iskander Mirza. In retaliation, the central government imposed a six-month ban on the magazine and privately threatened its editor. Begum Hamidullah responded by taking the government to the Supreme Court and, with the help of eminent lawyer A.K Brohi, managed to win. The Mirror was awarded the costs of the petition, and the incident made journalistic history in Pakistan, as it was the first case of a woman journalist appearing successfully before the highest court in the land.

In April 1961, Begum Hamidullah began her own publishing house to publish the Mirror. Named Mirror Press, it published the magazine from 1961 till its closure 10 years later, and also published a few other books as Mirror Publications. When Begum Hamidullah closed the Mirror and left for Ireland in 1971, Mirror Press was sold to an outside party. Though still alive, the company is no longer functional.

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