{"id":213453,"date":"2018-11-22T07:05:22","date_gmt":"2018-11-22T07:05:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/\/?p=213453"},"modified":"2018-11-22T07:08:31","modified_gmt":"2018-11-22T07:08:31","slug":"noted-urdu-poet-and-activist-fahmida-riaz-passes-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/noted-urdu-poet-and-activist-fahmida-riaz-passes-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Noted Urdu Poet and Activist Fahmida Riaz Passes Away"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Famed writer and social activist Fahmida Riaz passed away yesterday, leaving Pakistani intelligentsia all the more poor. She was a titan of literature and a regular fixture at cultural events, with fans from all around the subcontinent coming to see her recite her immortal lines.<\/p>\n<p>The Urdu poet changed the idea of female heroines as depicted in Latif&#8217;s tales of the <em>Sath Surmiyoon<\/em> to one where a heroine can be her own warrior and savior, much like herself as a heroine of the Indus valley.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">No one truly dies. A part of them instills in our souls and keeps on going. We are the keepers of thoughts and actions of a million souls we meet in our life time. They\u2019re evolving us as they meant to do. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/fahmidariaz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#fahmidariaz<\/a> now has a million voices. Use it well for she chose you.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Wordcraft\ud83d\udde3 (@tfarcdrow) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/tfarcdrow\/status\/1065347701942960128?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>While most know the literary veteran for her feminist literature, Fahmida Riaz also contributed to translations and educational content.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FahmidaRiaz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FahmidaRiaz<\/a> was a Progressive Urdu writer, poet, human rights activist and feminist of Pakistan. She is author of Godaavari, Khatt-e Marmuz, and Khana e Aab O Gil, the first translation of the Masnavi of Jalaluddin Rumi from Persian into Urdu.<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Rip?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Rip<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/qHw2KcbyQa\">pic.twitter.com\/qHw2KcbyQa<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Fahad Saleem (@R4jpoot) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/R4jpoot\/status\/1065344645260029953?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h4>A Legend in Her Time<\/h4>\n<p>In this day and age, it is far more easier to be progressive, a feminist, a leftist and be accepted but it wasn&#8217;t always so. When Fahmida Riaz took this path, it was a hard one. Despite the obstruction of free speech, this brave woman let her pen do all the talking.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FahmidaRiaz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FahmidaRiaz<\/a> passed away. The region lost another voice of sanity. What a source of inspiration &amp; courage she was, who stood bravely against General Zia\u2019s dictatorship and tranformed hearts and minds of millions. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RIPFahmidaRiaz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#RIPFahmidaRiaz<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/8y9pnxovnl\">pic.twitter.com\/8y9pnxovnl<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Abid Qaiyum Suleri (@Abidsuleri) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Abidsuleri\/status\/1065452940138373120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 22, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>https:\/\/twitter.com\/kamilashamsie\/status\/1065309533910822915<\/p>\n<h4>A Great Loss<\/h4>\n<p>Some of her famous books will forever be a valuable addition to feminist and progressive literature. What the world lacks is feminist literature that is more inclusive, especially by someone who is more in tune with our cultural ethos and environment.<\/p>\n<p>For that reason, we needed and still need women that understand the socio-cultural dynamics of the East and look at these problems accordingly and Fahmida Riaz did just that.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FehmidaRiaz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FehmidaRiaz<\/a>&#8230; She spoke of us..for us .to us! Rest in peace<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; afia salam (@afiasalam) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/afiasalam\/status\/1065450033909297152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 22, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">We are slowly losing the generation of poets, writers, artists, dancers, singers and creative people who took it upon themselves to speak truth to the powerful political and religious forces in Pakistan, often at great personal cost. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FehmidaRiaz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FehmidaRiaz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Maha Jamil (@Mahajamils) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Mahajamils\/status\/1065378072306900992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Particularly because this woman tried to bridge that gap she left a massive void in our literary dimension with her passing. Despite the current fem wave in the world of literature and art from works like Kamila Shamsie&#8217;s <em>Home Fire<\/em> and Fouzia Saeed&#8217;s <em>The AASHA Experience<\/em> to Saba Imtiaz&#8217;s <em>Karachi, You&#8217;re Killing Me!,<\/em> the voice of Fahmida Riaz remains distinct amongst all. Her light way of presenting longstanding myths and taboo as art in <em>Pattar Ki Zuban <\/em>was incomparable.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">With her startling narrative style and themes spanning from female desire to political consciousness, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FahmidaRiaz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FahmidaRiaz<\/a>&#39;s Urdu poetry is among the best in the modern era. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Dd1zpwOWhl\">https:\/\/t.co\/Dd1zpwOWhl<\/a> <\/p>\n<p>[From <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thewire_in?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@thewire_in<\/a> archives]<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Siddharth (@svaradarajan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/svaradarajan\/status\/1065316733185970176?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">You are here there and every where in your truth against tyranny. In your truth for downtrodden people.  In your truth for Feminism. In your truth for calling yourself a daughter of Sindh and SIndhi. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RIP?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#RIP<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FahmidaRiaz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FahmidaRiaz<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; javed ahmed qazi (@jvqazi) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jvqazi\/status\/1065451960453734400?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 22, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Riaz was also vocal on the nationalist radicalism taking root in India. During her exile from Pakistan for a period spanning six years, she witnessed how things went bad to worse there, which lead her to pen her famous poem that drew parallels between the two subcontinental rivals:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201c<em>Tum bilkul hum jaise nikle<\/em>\u201d (You turned out to be just like us).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Renowned Pakistani Poet Fahmida Riaz passes away in Lahore. She had fled General Zia-ul Haq&#39;s tyranny, sought refuge &amp; spent 7 years in exile in India. Her warning to Indians on religious fundamentalists remains and will keep ringing forever.<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6Qd09X7OG2\">https:\/\/t.co\/6Qd09X7OG2<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/4ZOmT513s3\">pic.twitter.com\/4ZOmT513s3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Vijoo Krishnan (@VijooKrishnan) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/VijooKrishnan\/status\/1065315204181954561?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I woke up to a world which didn\u2019t have <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FahmidaRiaz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FahmidaRiaz<\/a> &amp; <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/MeenaAlexander?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#MeenaAlexander<\/a> \ud83d\udc94\ud83c\udf39<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Danish Husain \u0964 \u062f\u0627\u0646\u0634 \u062d\u064f\u0633\u06cc\u0646 \u0964 \u0926\u093e\u0928\u093f\u0936 \u0939\u0941\u0938\u0948\u0928 (@DanHusain) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DanHusain\/status\/1065407800849965056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 22, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/FahmidaRiaz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#FahmidaRiaz<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/RIPFehmidaRiaz?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#RIPFehmidaRiaz<\/a> Rest in peace Fahmida Riaz. The subcontinent stands poorer with the loss ot a sane voice.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Sudesh (@sudeshsri) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/sudeshsri\/status\/1065331149524865024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">November 21, 2018<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>No doubt then, that Fahmida Riaz&#8217;s loss will be felt for years to come. But for generations of women in the subcontinent, her works serve as a template for the way forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Famed writer and social activist Fahmida Riaz passed away yesterday, leaving Pakistani intelligentsia all the more poor. She was a titan of literature and a regular fixture at cultural events, with fans from all around the subcontinent coming to see her recite her immortal lines. The Urdu poet changed the idea of female heroines as depicted in Latif&#8217;s tales of [&hellip;] <a class=\"g1-link g1-link-more\" href=\"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/noted-urdu-poet-and-activist-fahmida-riaz-passes-away\/\">More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":213454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1296,1298],"tags":[1411,1413,1414,1412],"adace-sponsor":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-213453","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-books","8":"category-culture","9":"tag-fahmida-riaz","10":"tag-pakistani-feminist-literature","11":"tag-pakistani-feminist-writer","12":"tag-pakistani-poet-writer"},"wps_subtitle":"The heroine of the Indus Valley changed how we view women in literature.","img_urls":{"thumbnail":["https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Webp.net-resizeimage-10-364x205.jpg",364,205,true],"medium":["https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Webp.net-resizeimage-10-758x424.jpg",758,424,true],"full":["https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Webp.net-resizeimage-10.jpg",1000,560,false]},"author_name":"Ummara Sheraz","categories_name":["Books","Culture"],"title_text":"Noted Urdu Poet and Activist Fahmida Riaz Passes Away","related_stories":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts?filter&per_page=4&categories=1296,1298&exclude=213453","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/53"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213453"},{"taxonomy":"adace-sponsor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/propakistani.pk\/lens\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/adace-sponsor?post=213453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}