Ismat Chughtai, Women and Partition: Challenging Fanaticism
Huma Yaqub
DOI https://zenodo.org/doi/10.5281/zenodo.13292466
Abstract: Women have been worst sufferers in the violence that erupted in the wake of Partition but ironically not much has been written from female perspective in the literature of the time. Ismat Chughtai with her sharp wit, deep insight and great sensitivity has woven several engaging stories which narrate the trauma of Partition and its devastating effects on the female psyche. Besides dealing with two short stories of Ismat Chughtai i.e. “Roots” and “Fragile Threads,” this article will also focus on her play “Green Bangles” and her prose piece “Communal Violence and Literature” which not only reflect the carnage that was unleashed during the time of Partition but also offer a ray of hope through such exemplary women characters which become symbol of unity and brotherhood. The essay will examine how through these works Ismat Chughtai voices her concerns as a female writer and challenges intolerance while negotiating the concepts of home and nation.
Keywords: Partition, progressive writers, communal violence, intolerance, women, trauma
Works Cited
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Huma Yaqub, M.A., Ph.D. (A.M.U. Aligarh). Presently working as Associate Professor, Department of English, Maulana Azad National Urdu University, Lucknow Campus. She has 20 years of teaching and research experience. She has deep interest in literature with environmental concerns and was awarded Visiting Research Fellowship in the area of ecocriticism by Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) in 2022 at the Department of English, University of Bern, Switzerland. Her other research interests include Urdu Literature in Translation, Orientalism, Postcolonial Literature and Indian Literature in English etc. Her published works include more than 20 research papers in various reputed national and international journals and edited books. She has presented research papers in various National and International seminars and conferences and has given invited talks on Ecocriticism and Environmental ethics.
Ismat Chughtai, Women and Partition: Challenging Fanaticism by Huma Yaqub is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 
