Fehmida Riaz was born on July 28, 1946 in a literary family of Meerut, UP, India. Her father, Riaz-ud-Din Ahmed, was an educationist, who had a great influence in mapping and establishing modern education system for Sindh. Her family settled in Hyderabad following her father's transfer to Sindh. Fahmida learnt Sindhi language and literature in childhood and later Persian.
Fahmida Riaz is a well known Urdu writer, poet, and feminist of Pakistan. She is author of Godaavari, Khatt-e Marmuz' and 'Khana e Aab O Gil - the first translation of the Masnavi of Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi into Urdu.

Fehmida remained part of social and political activities since her academic life. She got involved in students politics when she was student of M.A. in Sindh University. She spoke and wrote against the University Ordinance and the ban on the students' union during the Ayub Khan regime. After marriage in 1967, she had to leave for England with her husband. She worked for the BBC Radio Urdu service while in England. She spent many years in India also in the 1980s, living in Delhi and working at Jamia Millia Islamia. She enjoyed the patronage of Indian Government. Her husband, an activist of Sindhi nationalism had also accompanied her to India. They returned to Pakistan though, quite disillusioned.
Fahmida first saw the daylight of in a literary family. Her first poem was published in Funoon of Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi, when she was merely 15. Her first collection of poetry appeared just after two months of marriage at the age of 22. Late she could not carry literary work due to his social and political involvement.

  • Pathar ki Zaban
  • Khatt-e Marmuz
  • Khana e Aab O Gil first translation of the Masnavi e Manvi into Urdu