‘Many great female Urdu poets ignored’

Poet Zehra Nigah discusses gender and poetry.

LAHORE:

Nature does not compartmentalise creativity into gender categories, poet Zehra Nigah said on Sunday.

Speaking at the session Jadeed O Qadeem Khawateen (Ladies: Past and Modern) of the Lahore Literature Festival on the concluding day, Nigah said that many great female Urdu poets had not been acknowledged. “We hear many soft and mild things about feelings said by men. These expressions are so tender that I feel they must have been said by women, who spoke but did not write their poetry.

Then the men wrote down these words. Mir Taqi Mir’s daughter was also a poet but we don’t hear about her much. Despite being the daughter of one of the greatest Urdu poets she couldn’t be acknowledged”.

Nigah said there were many great women poets during British rule but most of them were from the Bazaar-e-Husn, “The word ‘courtesan’ was always included in their names. This word is attached like educational degrees to their poetic works. Malika Bai was one of the very first women in the sub-continent to have her own dewaan,” she said.

Nigah also spoke about how in 1950s she was one of two female poets to be recognized. “I used to wear a white uniform to all mushairas (poetry recital) that I attended. I would go to a mushaira, recite my poetry without establishing eye-contact with the audience and then return home.

Now, I feel happy when I see young female poets dressed up and reciting poetry along with male poets with full confidence. I feel that I paved the way for young female poets to stand alongside male poets,” she said.

The audience requested Nigah to recite some of her poetry after the session ended. She recited some poems and ghazals.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 24^th, 2014.