Sociologist
Focusing on the Family
Professor Parvez Wakil,
who came to the University of Saskatchewan, Sociology Department, 1964,
planned to return to Pakistan with his wife, Farkhanda, after a year, but
his research kept him there for three years and they decided "the city
and country seemed the best place in the world to live in and raise our
family.” Born in Gujart, Punjab, 1935, Professor Wakil attended Government
College and University of Punjab, Lahore, before attending Washington State
University, 1959-63, under the Inter-University Teachers Exchange Program.
Named Most Outstanding Pakistani Student in the United States by the American
Friends of the Middle East, 1962, he returned to Pakistan as Senior Lecturer,
Sociology, 1963-64, before arriving in Saskatoon. Since then, he has taught
and been involved in research in Canada, the United States, and elsewhere.
His particular interest has resulted in such books as Marriage, Family
and Society: Canadian Perspectives, 1975; Marriage and Family in Canada,
1976, and numerous articles on the family in a number of professional journals.
He has also edited and/or authored four books on the society and culture
of South East Asia. An advisor to the Canadian government, 1966-67, he
also wrote a Report for Health and Welfare Canada, 1992. Professor Wakil
was a founder and later President, Islamic Association of Saskatchewan
and the Pakistan Canada Cultural Association. Between 1983-86, he served
as a member, Canadian Commission for UNESCO. He is also a Member, Canadian
Bar Association, on the Board, Canadian Asian Studies Association, and
a member, Canadian Sociology and Anthropology Association, Vanier Institute
of the Family, and the National Council of Family Relations. His community
work has earned him a life membership in the National Council of Pakistani
Canadians and his participation and research in sociology in over 200 national
and international conferences has led to his induction as a Haultain Fellow.
He is also a Gilmore Fellow of Research. [Photo, courtesy Professor Parvez
Wakil]
