Pashto literature: The will to change

Pashto literature: The will to change
ZAITOON Bano, a household name in Pashto literary circles, paved the way for many Pakhtoon female writers to express themselves freely and give adequate space to women´s issues in their writings. Hailing from a Bukhari Sadaat family, Bano was born on June 18, 1938 in a village called Sufiad Dheri (Speenah Warrai) in Peshawar. She attended school at a time when it was difficult even for boys to receive education and for this she gives full credit to her enlightened father Pir Syed Sultan Mahmood Shah who was a writer himself. Her grandfather Pir Syed Abdul Qadus Tundar was also a reputed revolutionary poet and journalist. She once remarked that ´I have spent most of my childhood in village alleys and fields among towering trees and bushy twigs where I would search for birds and eggs fallen from their nests because of wind and hailstorm. The sight made me weep secretly for the damage to the birds and their sanctuaries. With this level of sensitivity, I grew up as a person who had a strong surge of feelings and emotions.´ And it is these very emotions that she expresses through the written word. Bano, who has a Master´s degree in Pashto and Urdu literature, served as a senior producer at the Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation and has taught at various educational institutions. When she was in grade 10 in 1958 her maiden short story collection Hindarah (Mirror) was published and it achieved widespread acclaim and appreciation in literary circles. The following year another short story collection Maat Bungree (Broken bangles) established her not only as a writer but also as the first Pakhtoon literati to highlight the problems of Pakhtoon women in literature. Commenting on honour killing, Bano is of the opinion that it is a ´lame excuse, slitting the throat of an innocent woman just to hide one´s own sins and crimes. It is not a genuine Pakhtoon tradition. It must be rooted out from our society if we want to enlist ourselves among civilized societies.´ ´Women are being exploited and it is not just restricted to Pakhtoon society. It is practiced in all ignorant and tyrannical communities. I strongly believe that education is the only panacea for all our social ills including the exploitation of women.´ Although in her stories she focuses more on the plot, her characters unfold in such a manner that the reader is unconsciously led to believe that it is not the characters speaking but his or her own inner voice. ´My characters are original, drawn from my own surroundings; in some cases I have not even changed their names. They are very much alive.´ Zaitoon Bano considers Riffat Parveen to be ‘the best fiction writer in Pashto’ yet her short stories were banned right after she married a highly qualified man. ‘Look at the irony, the same man had first been attracted to the lady because of her skill for writing short stories.’ Talking about her own late husband Taj Saeed, who was a well-known Urdu and Hindko writer she says: ´I have lost not only a sincere life partner but also a great literary friend. We used to share ideas and give suggestions to each other but our ways of expression were poles apart. He always encouraged me in my literary activities. He was a gem among men.´ Bano has also written poetry and novels but short story writing is her forte. Though she admits to having many plots in her mind, the will to write has left her after the death of her husband. ´I am living a retired life with my children and grandchildren in a dingy rented house and the apathy of the government and the so-called literati towards my late husband grieved me so much that I gave up writing in protest. Some people gathered in Peshawar to hold a literary event in his honour but that was two years after his death.´ Recipient of many literary awards, Zaitoon Bano has authored eight books in Pashto and five in Urdu. Some of her stories have been televised and also presented on radio. She is credited for having donated 3,500 rare books to the Pashto Academy.
- Sher Alam Shinwari -