Khadija Mastoor ( ur, , translit=K͟hadījah Mastūr; 11 December 192725 July 1982) was a Pakistani short story writer and novelist who worked in

Urdu literature Urdu literature ( ur, , ) is literature in the Urdu language. While it tends to be dominated by poetry, especially the verse forms of the ''ghazal '' غزل and ''nazm '' نظم, it has expanded into other styles of writing, including that of t ...

. Her novel '' Aangan'' is widely considered a literary masterpiece in Urdu literature, which has also been made into a

television drama In film and television show, television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or docudrama, semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humour, humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms t ...

. Her younger sister

Hajra Masroor Hajra Masroor ( ur, ; born 17 January 1930, died 15 September 2012) was a Pakistani writer. Masroor established herself with her short fiction stories, known as afsana in Urdu literature. Her elder sister, Khadija Mastoor was also an acc ...

was also a short story writer while poet, playwright and newspaper columnist Khalid Ahmad was her younger brother.

Early life

Khadija Mastoor was born on 11 December 1927 in

Bareilly Bareilly () is a city in Bareilly district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is among the largest metropolises in Western Uttar Pradesh and is the centre of the Bareilly division as well as the historical region of Rohilkhand. The city ...

, India. She migrated to

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

with her family after the

independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement ( ur, , translit=Teḥrīk-e-Pākistān) was a political movement in the first half of the 20th century that aimed for the creation of Pakistan from the Muslim-majority areas of British India. It was connected to the per ...

in 1947 and settled there.

Literary career

Mastoor started writing short stories in 1942 and continued writing till her death. Five books of her short stories and two novels have been published. Her stories were based on social and moral values as well as political. Her writing was based on experience and observation.

Literary work

Novels

* ur, , translit='' Aangan'', label=none (1962)
Winner of the

Adamjee Literary Award Adamjee Literary Award, also known as Adamjee Prize, is a literary award bestowed by the government of Pakistan. It is presented by the president. The award seeks to recognize those people who have made "meritorious contribution" to the literature ...

. In 2010, on publishing Khadija Mastoor's novel ''Aangan'', Chairman of

Pakistan Academy of Letters The Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) ( ur, ) is a national academy with its main focus on Pakistani literature and related fields. It is the largest and the most prestigious learned society of its kind in Pakistan, with activities throughout th ...

, Fakhar Zaman said that the novel was one of her biggest literary achievements.Pakistan Academy of Letters (PAL) publishes two books
interface.edu.pk website. Retrieved 23 June 2019 * ur, , translit=''

Zameen Zameen may refer to: * Zameen.com, a Pakistani property website * ''Zameen'' (1943 film), a Bollywood film * ''Zameen'' (2003 film), an Indian action thriller film * ''Zameen'' (novel), an Urdu novel by Khadija Mastoor See also * Zameen ( ...

'', label=none (1983)

Short stories

* ''Bochaar''Khadija Mastoor books on goodreads.com website
Retrieved 23 June 2019 1946 بوچھاڑ * ''Khail'' 1944 کھیل * ''Chand Roz Oor'' 1951 چند روز اور

Other books

* ''Thakay Haray'' 1962 * ''Thanda Meetha Paani '' 1981 (winner of Hijra Award)

Personal life

She was married to journalist Malik Zaheer-ud-Deen Babar Awan and they had two children Kiran Fayyaz and Malik Pervez Alam Awan.

Death and legacy

Khadija Mastoor died on 25 July 1982 in London, England and was buried in

, Pakistan. In 2005, an event was arranged at the

Karachi Arts Council The Arts Council of Pakistan Karachi is a council for the promotion of arts and culture in Pakistan, and one of the busiest in terms of organizing events. It is the country's oldest NGO (non-government organization) for the promotion and devel ...

where the chief guest was her sister

, a noted writer herself. This event was presided over by another noted scholar

Sahar Ansari Sahar Ansari, TI (Urdu: سحر انصاری) (Born: 27 Dec 1939, Aurangabad, Maharashtra) is an Urdu poet and linguist from Karachi, Pakistan. He remained associated with the University of Karachi as Professor and Chairman of Urdu department. Sah ...

. Ansari said that both sisters as writers established their own styles and traditions. He also said that Khadija Mastoor simply looked around and wrote down her experiences.

References

External links

*
Herald exclusive: Lost in translation-II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mastoor, Khadija 1927 births 1982 deaths Muhajir people Pakistani feminist writers Pakistani women short story writers Writers from Lahore People from Bareilly Urdu-language novelists 20th-century novelists Pakistani women novelists Pakistani novelists 20th-century Pakistani women writers 20th-century Pakistani short story writers Recipients of the Adamjee Literary Award