First Female Urdu Novelist: An Analysis

Abstract

The history of Urdu novel writing bears witness to the fact that from the very beginning, a lot has been written on the issues and themes of women. It begins with Maulvi Nazir Ahmad's "Merat-ul-Aroos" published in 1869, the next installment of which  came to light in the form of "Banat-ul-Naash”                                                                                   

This novel greatly influenced Rashidat-un-Nisa, because it shed light on the issues[1] of women, education and their social status                                                                          

It should be noted that her brother Imdad Imam asar was one of the prominent literary figures of Urdu literature. Rashidat-un-Nisa was also the aunt of Ali Imam and Hassan Imam. She was married to Maulvi Muhammad Yahya, who was a well-known literary name. After reading this novel, Rashidat-un-Nisa felt that being a woman, she could neither access fine literature nor pursue higher education.                                  It was the glory of “Merat Al-Arous” that compelled Rashidat-un-Nisa to write a novel. She started writing this novel in 1880 and completed it within six months, i.e. in 1881, but she could not get it published until 1894. When her son graduated from law school, she published this book under the title "Islah-un-Nisa". Thus, she became the first female novelist of the urdu literature. This article is written about her as well.