Rashid Jahan
Encyclopedia
Rashid Jahan was an India
n writer who inaugurated a new era of Urdu
literature written by women. She wrote short-stories and plays and is perhaps best remembered for her involvement with the explosive Angarey (1931), a collection of groundbreaking and unconventional short stories written by young writers in Urdu
like Sajjad Zaheer
and Ahmed Ali
.
She was born in Aligarh. Her father, Sheikh Abdullah (not to be confused with the 'Sher-e-Kashmir'), was a leading pioneer of women's education in India and established the Women's College at the Aligarh Muslim University
.
Rashid Jahan trained as a gynaecologist at the Lady Hardinge Medical College
in Delhi
.
She was an active member of the Communist Party of India
and a leading voice in the Progressive Writers' Association. She married fellow revolutionary Mahmuduz Zafar.
Rashid Jahan died in Moscow where she had gone for treatment for uterine cancer
. She is buried in a cemetery there.
Her famous short-story Dilli ki Sair is a little narrative about a burqa-clad women watching life on a railway platform waiting for her husband to turn up and take her home. The story is a brief but penetrating meditation on life behind the 'veil' and the blindness of male privilege
towards the experience of women behind the purdah.
Some of her writings have appeared in collections like Aurat aur Dusre Afsane wa Drame (1937) and Woh aur Dusre Afsane wa Drame (Maktaba Jamia, 1977).
Her sister Khurshid Mirza's memoirs recently published in English includes a chapter on Rashid Jahan (Pp. 86-104, A Woman of Substance: The Memoirs of Begum Khurshid Mirza, New Delhi: Zubaan, 2005).
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n writer who inaugurated a new era of Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
literature written by women. She wrote short-stories and plays and is perhaps best remembered for her involvement with the explosive Angarey (1931), a collection of groundbreaking and unconventional short stories written by young writers in Urdu
Urdu
Urdu is a register of the Hindustani language that is identified with Muslims in South Asia. It belongs to the Indo-European family. Urdu is the national language and lingua franca of Pakistan. It is also widely spoken in some regions of India, where it is one of the 22 scheduled languages and an...
like Sajjad Zaheer
Sajjad Zaheer
Syed Sajjad Zaheer was a renowned Urdu writer, Marxist thinker and revolutionary.- Life :...
and Ahmed Ali
Ahmed Ali
Ahmed Ali was an Indian novelist, poet, critic, translator, diplomat and scholar, who was responsible for writing Twilight in Delhi. Born in Delhi, India, he was involved in progressive literary movements as a young man...
.
She was born in Aligarh. Her father, Sheikh Abdullah (not to be confused with the 'Sher-e-Kashmir'), was a leading pioneer of women's education in India and established the Women's College at the Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University
Aligarh Muslim University ,is a residential academic university, established in 1875 by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan as Mohammedan Angelo-Oriental College and later granted the status of Central University by an Act of the Indian Parliament in 1920...
.
Rashid Jahan trained as a gynaecologist at the Lady Hardinge Medical College
Lady Hardinge Medical College
Lady Hardinge Medical College is a Medical College for women located near Connaught Plane in New Delhi, India. Established in 1916, it became part of the Delhi University, Faculty of Medical Sciences in 1950. For the teaching and training of medical students, it has two hospitals, Smt...
in Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
.
She was an active member of the Communist Party of India
Communist Party of India
The Communist Party of India is a national political party in India. In the Indian communist movement, there are different views on exactly when the Indian communist party was founded. The date maintained as the foundation day by CPI is 26 December 1925...
and a leading voice in the Progressive Writers' Association. She married fellow revolutionary Mahmuduz Zafar.
Rashid Jahan died in Moscow where she had gone for treatment for uterine cancer
Uterine cancer
The term uterine cancer may refer to any of several different types of cancer which occur in the uterus, namely:*Uterine sarcomas: sarcomas of the myometrium, or muscular layer of the uterus, are most commonly leiomyosarcomas.*Endometrial cancer:...
. She is buried in a cemetery there.
Her famous short-story Dilli ki Sair is a little narrative about a burqa-clad women watching life on a railway platform waiting for her husband to turn up and take her home. The story is a brief but penetrating meditation on life behind the 'veil' and the blindness of male privilege
Male privilege
Male privilege is a sociological term that refers quite generally to the special rights or status granted to men in a society, on the basis of their sex or gender, but usually denied to women and/or transsexuals....
towards the experience of women behind the purdah.
Some of her writings have appeared in collections like Aurat aur Dusre Afsane wa Drame (1937) and Woh aur Dusre Afsane wa Drame (Maktaba Jamia, 1977).
Her sister Khurshid Mirza's memoirs recently published in English includes a chapter on Rashid Jahan (Pp. 86-104, A Woman of Substance: The Memoirs of Begum Khurshid Mirza, New Delhi: Zubaan, 2005).