Annie Ali Khan

Quratulain “Annie” Ali Khan was a Pakistani model, freelance journalist, and author. She focused her writing on gender inequality and social issues within Pakistan and the United States.

Early life and education

Ali Khan was born in 1980. Her father, Masood, worked as an airplane pilot and was a Muhajir who fled to Pakistan after Partition. Her maternal grandfather, Sheikh Abbas, served as a Sindhi civil engineer. While she lived in Karachi, she moved to Islamabad for 1 year when she was nine years old.

She attended Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology for her undergraduate studies. Later, she moved to New York to pursue further education. She earned a master's degree in Journalism from the Columbia School of Journalism in 2011 while studying under Dale Maharidge.

Career

The modeling career of Ali Khan began after she submitted her portfolio to photographer Tapu Javeri. She secured her first major break through a commercial for Lipton Tea. As a fashion model, she worked with several top designers and brands. She also appeared on the television network MTV, where she starred in the popular video Saali Tu Maani Nahin alongside singer Shehzad Roy.

During her time in New York, she transitioned into journalism. In 2012, she published a breakthrough article titled “Fair and Lovely” in Marie Claire. This piece detailed her experiences as a model for a skin lightener and addressed colorism in India and Pakistan. She also collaborated with her husband on video projects like the series New York Loves Annie for Play TV.

Ali Khan returned to Pakistan in 2016 after living in the United States for 7 years. She contributed to various publications including Dawn, Herald, and The Express Tribune. Her writing appeared in The Asia Society, The Caravan, Tanqeed, Roads & Kingdoms, and the blog “Chapati Mystery.” In 2017, Herald magazine published her article “The Missing Daughters of Pakistan,” which examined the murder of young women in Pakistani towns.

Her research for a 2016 piece in Roads & Kingdoms titled “A Hindu Pilgrimage in Pakistan” led to a larger project. She spent 3 years studying women in Balochistan, Lyari in Karachi, and Thatta in Sindh. These studies formed the foundation of her book, Sita under the Crescent Moon. Simon and Schuster published this work in 2019.

Personal life and death

Ali Khan met film director Sufyan Khan during a video shoot in New York. The couple married and lived in New York for 7 years. Her aunts had also worked as models before she entered the industry.

She died on 21 July 2018 in Karachi. She was found dead in her apartment after suffocating from smoke inhalation caused by a fire.