Aquila Berlas Kiani


Aquila Berlas Kiani, also known as Aquila Kiani was a Professor of Sociology and an educator in social work. Born in British India, she later worked in Pakistan, the UK and the US. She served as Chairman of the Department of Sociology at the University of Karachi.
Kiani published research papers, presided over several organizations and was awarded a fellowship by the London-based Institute for Cultural Research, founded by Idries Shah.

Family background

Aquila Kiani's father, Mirza Shakir Hussain Barlas, a barrister, was descended from Nawab Qasim Jan, a courtier in the royal courts of Mughal Delhi. Her mother, Bibi Mehmooda Begum was the daughter of Nawab Amjad Ali Shah, last Nawab of Sardhana.
Bibi Mehmooda Begum was also the sister of the Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah, an Indian-Afghan author and diplomat descended from the Afghan warlord and noble, Jan-Fishan Khan and the Sadaat of Paghman near Kabul, Afghanistan.
Kiani married and had three children. In later life, she went into retirement in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, where she subsequently died on 30 March 2012.

Education

Aquila Kiani received degrees in sociology and education in India, the UK, the United States and Canada:
In the 1960s and 1970s, Kiani worked in Pakistan. She became a specialist in Rural Sociology and Anthropology in Peshawar; was made Head of the Department of Social Work, and later served as Chairman of the Department of Sociology at the University of Karachi.
As well as carrying out and publishing academic research on a wide range of subjects, and public speaking, Kiani held several notable positions as President of the Pakistan Federation of University Women, President of the Pakistan Sociological Association, and founding President of the Soroptimist Club of Karachi. She was also made a Fellow of the London-based Institute for Cultural Research.
Kiani later worked in the USA and Canada. She was made Associate Professor of Sociology and Social Work at the University of Alaska, and worked for the Ontario Administration of Settlement & Integration Services.
In 1996, she was invited by the Women's Federation for World Peace in Seattle, Washington to make a guest speech at their conference.

Academic publications