Amina Begam (1914 – February 2, 1996; ), better known by her pen name Amina Nazli, was an Urdu-language writer, editor, and

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

activist in Pakistan. She was daughter-in-law of Allama Rashid ul Khairi, and the mother of prominent jurist Haziqul Khairi.

Biography

Amina Nazli was the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of Amina Begam, who was born in 1914 in Uttar Pradesh. She passed the Adib-i-Fazil examinations, an equivalent to a bachelor's degree, at the University of the Punjab. In 1929, she married Raziq-ul-Khairi, son of the prominent writer and women's rights activist

Rashid ul Khairi Allama Rashid-ul-Khairi, born as Mohammad Abdur Rashid and largely known as Musavire Gham (مصوّرِ غم), was a social reformer from British India. He is also one of the most celebrated literary names of Urdu literature. Khairi blended ref ...

. Nazli began writing in earnest in the 1940s, part of a new generation of fiction writers in the region. She was known for writing Urdu-language short stories, and she was also one of Pakistan's few women playwrights at the time. Her writing at times dealt with the trauma of displacement, drawing on her own experiences, and sometimes veered into the satirical. She published several books of short stories and plays over the course of her career. In addition, she produced several books on women's handicrafts and cooking, including the popular cookbook ''Ismati Dastarkhwan'', which compiled recipes from the women of Awadh. She was also an editor, helming the women's social and literary magazine ''Ismat'' from 1979 until her death, having previously contributed to the journal under her father-in-law's editorship. Under her leadership, the publication increasingly incorporated political news updates both from Pakistan and from around the world. From 1977 to 1982, she also edited the monthly publication ''Johar-e-niswan''. Nazli was a feminist who advocated for women's rights among

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

communities in the Indian subcontinent. She eventually settled in Karachi, where she was credited with helping to foster a liberal environment.{{Cite news , date=2014-11-25 , title=The city's unsung women are its real heroes, say rights activists , work=South Asian Media Net She died there in 1996. After her death, her son Haziqul Khairi published ''Amina Nazli ke Muntakhib Afsane Aur Drame'', a selection of her short stories and plays.

References

1914 births 1996 deaths Pakistani women writers Pakistani editors Pakistani women's rights activists Pakistani feminists People from Uttar Pradesh Urdu-language women writers