Rashid Jahan

Rashid Jahan
Born	August 25, 1905 Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Died	1952 Moscow, Russia
Resting place	Moscow, Russia
Occupation	Writer
Language	Urdu
Nationality	Indian
Alma mater	Aligarh Muslim University, Isabella Thoburn College, Lady Hardinge Medical College
Genre	Short stories
Literary movement	Progressive Writers Movement
Notable works	Angaaray (1931)
Spouse	Mahmuduz Zafar

Rashid Jahan (1905–1952) was an Indian writer who inaugurated a new era of Urdu literature written by women. She wrote short-stories and plays and is perhaps best remembered for her involvement with the explosive Angaaray (1931), a collection of groundbreaking and unconventional short stories written by young writers in Urdu like Sajjad Zaheer and Ahmed Ali.

She was born on August 25, 1905 in Aligarh. She was the eldest of five children born to Sheikh Abdullah and his wife Begum Wahid Jahan. Her father, Sheikh Abdullah (not to be confused with the 'Sher-e-Kashmir'), was a leading pioneer of women's education in India and established the Women's College at the Aligarh Muslim University, where she had her early education. She left Aligarh to join the Isabella Thoburn College in Lucknow in 1921.

Three years later she moved to Lady Hardinge Medical College in Delhi where she trained as a gynecologist. From Delhi, she joined the Provincial Medical Services, and was posted to small towns across north India, from Bahraich to Bulandshahar and Meerut.

She was an active member of the Communist Party of India and a leading voice in the Progressive Writers' Association. She married fellow revolutionary Mahmuduz Zafar in 1934.

In the winter of 1931 Rashid Jahan published Angaaray , a collection of groundbreaking and unconventional short stories written with in Urdu with Sajjad Zaheer, Sahibzada Mahmuduzaffar and Ahmed Ali. The book railed against social inequity, hypocritical maulvis and the exploitation of women in a deeply patriarchal society.

...
Wikipedia