Her bold, uncompromising vision mesmerized her readers. In her writing Ismal Chughtai’s courageous voice spoke up for the exploited and forgotten in society – the women and the poor. A true individualist, Chughtai’s life was a perfect mirror of her beliefs, and this book brings this out admirably. At a time when women in orthodox Muslim society stayed silently behind the veil, she stepped out to narrate the story of their lives – including writing on subjects considered taboo by other writers and facing a trial for obscenity for her short story ‘Lihaaf’. Independent, controversial, outspoken, witty and humane, Chughtai refused to be cowed down by society’s disapproval. And her mercurial life and writing has inspired women to question dogma and demand their rights.
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