Hajra Masroor

Hajra Masroor was born on 17 January 1930 in Lucknow, British India to Dr. Tahawwar Ahmad Khan, who was a British Army medical doctor, and Anwar Jahan Begum, a published writer.{{Cite web |last=abul.hasanat |date=2012-09-15 |title=Hajira Masroor, mistress of crisp prose, passes away |url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/437430/hajira-masroor-mistress-of-crisp-prose-passes-away |access-date=2024-05-26 |website=The Express Tribune |language=en}} Her father had suddenly died after a heart attack at a young age of 38. She had five sisters, including Khadija Mastoor, and a younger brother, Khalid Ahmad, who also became a poet, playwright and newspaper columnist. Her family was mainly raised by her mother. She began writing from her early childhood.

After independence of Pakistan in 1947, she and her sisters migrated to Pakistan, and settled in Lahore.{{cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/749635 |author=Asif Noorani|title=Hajra Masroor – one of the last pre-independence writers of repute|date=15 September 2012|publisher=Dawn|location=Pakistan|access-date=24 June 2019}} An Urdu writer in his book wrote that no one knew Hajra was engaged with famous Urdu poet Sahir Ludhianvi but once in a literary gathering Ludhianvi pronounced a word wrongly, Hajra criticised him, he got angry and engagement was broken. Later, she married Ahmad Ali Khan, who was the editor of daily Dawn for 28 years. They were married for 57 years before he died in 2007. They have two daughters.

Hajra Masroor began writing short stories from an early age. Her short stories published in the literary magazines had received high appreciation from Urdu literary circles. She edited literary magazine Naqoosh with Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi. Qasmi was also a friend of hers and her sister.{{cite web|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/749706/writer-hajra-masroor-passes-away|title=Writer Hajira Masroor passes away|author=Peerzada Salman|date=16 September 2012|publisher=Dawn|location=Pakistan|access-date=24 June 2019}}{{cite web|url=http://pakistaniat.com/2006/08/16/a-tribute-ahmed-nadeem-qasmi-1916-2006/|title=A Tribute: Ahmed Nadeem Qasmi|publisher=Pakistaniat.com|date=16 August 2006|access-date=24 June 2019}} She made her place in the history of Urdu literature and Urdu fiction with bold imagination and writing of short stories in a non-traditional way. She wrote simple yet effective prose, had a down-to-earth style of writing. Her early collections of short stories included Chirkey (1944), Hai Allah, and Chori Chuppay. Her collected plays were published as Woh Log. She also wrote the script of Suroor Barabankvi’s film Aakhri Station.

She wrote several books of short stories in which she raised the social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men. Hajra Masroor was one of the torchbearer of the Progressive Writers' Movement as well as one of the pioneers of feminism in the subcontinent.

Hajira Masroor died on 15 September 2012 in Karachi, Pakistan.

Short stories

• Chand Ke Doosri Taraf چاند کی دوسری طرف
• Tisri Manzil تیسری منزل
• Andhere Ujale اند ھیرے اُجالے
• Choori Chupe چوری چُھپے
• Ha-ai Allah ہائے اللہ
• Charkhay چرکے
• Woe Log وہ لوگ
• Charagh Ki Lau Per چراغ کی لو پر
• Sargoshian سرگوشیان

• Pride of Performance Award in 1995 by the President of Pakistan[https://tribune.com.pk/story/487086/remembering-those-who-left-us-this-year/ Remembering those who left us this year] The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 31 December 2012, Accessed 15 November 2019[https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17310557.Hajra_Masroor Profile and books of Hajra Masroor on goodreads.com website]. Retrieved 24 June 2019
• Aalmi Frogh-e-Urdu Adab Award.{{cite news|url=http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=458934&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16|title=Urdu awards ceremony, Mushaira set for Oct. 6|newspaper= Gulf Times (newspaper)|date=11 September 2011|access-date=24 June 2019|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110919064950/http://gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=458934&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16|archive-date=19 September 2011}}

• List of Pakistani writers
• List of Urdu language writers
• List of people from Lahore

{{Reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100528104301/http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=364016&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16 Awards]
• [https://www.flickr.com/photos/41786707@N05/7990315922/in/photostream Monthly Shair, Mumbai-March 2012-Hajra Masroor]
• [https://www.flickr.com/photos/41786707@N05/8039082620/lightbox/ A Rare Picture-Naqoosh-1960]
• [https://www.flickr.com/photos/rashid_ashraf/6712052679/in/photostream/ A Rare Family Picture]
• [https://www.parabaas.com/article.php?id=7772 Bengali translation of Hajra Masroor’s (ہاجرہ مسرور) Urdu short story Bandar Ka Ghao (بندر کا گھاؤ)]:

{{Pride of Performance for Arts}}

{{Authority control}}

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Category:1930 births

Category:2012 deaths

Category:Muhajir people

Category:Nigar Award winners

Category:Pakistani feminist writers

Category:Pakistani magazine editors

Category:Pakistani women short story writers

Category:Pakistani short story writers

Category:Writers from Lahore

Category:Writers from Lucknow

Category:Recipients of the Pride of Performance

Category:20th-century Pakistani women writers

Category:20th-century Pakistani writers

Category:Women magazine editors