Kishwar Naheed (b. 18 June 1940) is a pioneering feminist poet, writer, and activist in Urdu literature, celebrated for her fearless exploration of gender, patriarchy, and social justice. Born in Bulandshahr, India, she migrated with her family to Pakistan in 1949 after the Partition. Raised in a conservative household where girls were discouraged from education, she defied social norms by completing her studies through correspondence, eventually earning a Master’s degree in Economics from Punjab University, Lahore, in 1961.
Kishwar began her literary journey in the 1960s, rising to prominence with her first poetry collection, Lab-e-Goya (1968), which won the prestigious Adamjee Prize for Literature. Her poetry, marked by a blend of lyrical beauty and radical content, often challenged societal taboos around women’s autonomy and desire. One of her most iconic poems, “Hum Gunahgaar Auratein” (“We Sinful Women”), became emblematic of feminist resistance in South Asia and lent its title to a landmark anthology of contemporary Urdu women’s poetry translated into English in 1991.
Naheed’s literary repertoire spans more than a dozen volumes of poetry, essays, children’s stories, newspaper columns, and translations. She also edited the literary magazine Mahe Naw and translated seminal feminist texts, such as Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, into Urdu. Her autobiography Buri Aurat Ki Katha (“The Story of a Bad Woman”) offered a candid account of her personal and professional struggles as a woman in Pakistan’s male-dominated society.
In parallel with her literary pursuits, Naheed served in several key cultural institutions. She was the Director General of the Pakistan National Council of the Arts (PNCA) and served on the film censor board, where she frequently pushed back against authoritarian restrictions on cultural expression. Committed to women’s empowerment beyond the literary sphere, she founded Hawwa, a non-governmental organisation aimed at supporting economically disadvantaged women through skills training and employment.
Naheed’s contributions have been recognised both nationally and internationally. She has received numerous awards, including the UNESCO Prize for Excellence in Children’s Literature, the Mandela Prize (1997), and a Best Translation Award from Columbia University. Pakistan’s government has honoured her with two of its highest civilian awards: the Sitara-i-Imtiaz (2000) and the Hilal-i-Imtiaz (2022), for her exceptional services to literature and culture.
Kishwar Naheed’s work has been translated into multiple languages, including English, French, Spanish, and Italian. Through her writing and activism, she has remained an uncompromising voice for justice, equality, and creative freedom. Her legacy continues to inspire generations of poets, feminists, and intellectuals across South Asia and beyond.