(1930–2018)
Abbasi Abidi was the first woman Principal of the National College of Arts, Lahore. She was educated as a designer and she became the Professor of Design at the National College of Arts, a position she held while she headed the college from 1984 till 1990. Since the National College of Arts was the only institution of Arts, Design and Architecture in the country, she played a very significant role in mentoring the future designers, artists and architects of the country. Ms. Abidi faced difficult times during the Zia regime but she protected the academic freedom of the NCA and also protected the campus from violent politics. She played a pivotal role in establishing the Pakistan Institute of Fashion Design later. Besides being a refined educationist, Ms Abidi was also a philanthropist.