Fawzia Afzal-Khan

Fawzia Afzal-Khan (Urdu: فوزیہ افضل خان; born 1958 in Lahore, Pakistan) is a professor of English and director of the Women and Gender Studies Program[1] at Montclair State University. Afzal-Khan received her BA from Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore, Pakistan, and her MA and PhD in English Literature from Tufts University.[2] A University Distinguished Professor,[3] Afzal-Khan was awarded The "Excellence in Public Life Award" by the American Muslim Alliance in 2008.[4] Afzal-Khan also serves on the editorial board of Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies.[5]

Fawzia Afzal-Khan
Born1958
Lahore, Pakistan
EducationDoctor of Philosophy
Alma materTufts University
OccupationProfessor
EmployerMontclair State University
Known forLahore with Love (memoir)
Websitefawziaafzalkhan.webs.com

Scholarly work

Author of three monographs[6] and two edited volumes,[7] Afzal-Khan has published extensively in academic journals as well as in newspapers[8] and on public blogs[9] on issues related to postcolonial studies, feminism, and political Islam.[10]

Memoir: Lahore with Love

Afzal-Khan's memoir, Lahore with Love: Growing up with Girlfriends Pakistani Style, was published in 2010 by Syracuse University Press. The memoir was immediately received as a fine contribution to the women's rights issues in Pakistan.[11] The first edition contained commending blurbs from prominent authors and scholars: Nawal El Saadawi called it a "beautiful memoir which challenges stereotypes, universal fanatic fundamentalism and religious, political, and sexual taboos" and Henry Louis Gates Jr. found it to be a memoir that "weaves together memory and desire to create a tale that is marvelously compelling and endlessly entertaining, at once poignantly personal and richly political."[12]

However, despite its positive reception, the book was soon dropped by Syracuse University Press due to the fear of a lawsuit from a prominent Pakistani woman who claimed that a character depicted in the book was based on her.[13] The cancellation of the book by an academic press for fear of a lawsuit became an important issue in academic circles. Since the cancellation of the book, various academics, writers, and editors have supported Afzal-Khan in her right to free speech.[14] In an editorial, Richard Schechner and Katherine Lieder of The Drama Review castigated the Syracuse University Press for not standing up for the rights of free speech of one of their own authors.[15]

Afzal-Khan has now published the memoir independently through the Amazon publishing platform.[16] In 2011, Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies published a special cluster of articles about the book,[17] along with an interview with Afzal-Khan about the controversy.[18] Pakistaniaat had previously published an interview with Fawzia in 2009, which was conducted by Nilanshu Kumar Agarwal.[19]

Bibliography
  • Cultural Imperialism and the Indo-English Novel Genre and Ideology in R. K. Narayan, Anita Desai, Kamala Markandaya, and Salman Rushdie. University Park, Pennsylvania: Penn State University Press. 1993. ISBN 9780271009124.
  • Afzal-Khan, Fawzia; Seshadri-Crooks, Kalpana (2000). The Pre-occupation of Postcolonial Studies. London, Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 0822324865.
  • Shattering the stereotypes : Muslim women speak out. Northampton, Massachusetts: Olive Branch Press. 2005. ISBN 1566565693.
  • A critical stage: the role of secular alternative theatre in Pakistan. Calcutta: Seagull Books. 2005. ISBN 8170462754.
  • Lahore with love: growing up with girlfriends, Pakistani-style. La Vergne, Tennessee: Insanity Ink Publications. 2010. ISBN 9781456462192.
  • Pakistani creative writing in English. Johnstown, Pennsylvania: South Asian Literary Association. 2011.
  • Siren Song: Understanding pakistan through its women singers. Pakistan: Oxford University Press. 2020. ISBN 978-0190700546.

References
  1. "Montclair State, Women and Gender Studies". Archived from the original on 3 August 2011. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  2. "WISE Muslim Women". Retrieved 1 August 2011.
  3. "Montclair State University - Fawzia Afzal-Khan". www.montclair.edu. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012.
  4. "Excellence in Public Service Award". American Muslim Alliance. 12 October 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  5. "People". Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  6. Afzal-Khan, Fawzia (1993). Cultural Imperialism and the Indo-English Novel: Genre and Ideology in R. K. Narayan, Anita Desai, Kamala Markandaya, and Salman Rushdie. Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press. p. 208. ISBN 978-0-271-03295-5.
  7. Afzal-Khan, Fawzia (2004). Shattering the Stereotypes: Muslim Women Speak Out. New York: Olive Branch Press. pp. 338. ISBN 978-1-56656-569-1.
  8. Afzal-Khan, Fawzia (5 July 2010). "Mullahs and music in Morocco". Express Tribune. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  9. Afzal-Khan, Fawzia. "Author Page". The Pakistan Forum. Pakistaniaat. Archived from the original on 9 September 2012. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  10. "Curriculum Vitae". Archived from the original on 31 August 2011. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  11. "Lahore With Love An affair to remember". Daily Times. 30 March 2010. Archived from the original on 27 January 2010. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  12. Afzal-Khan, Fawzia (2010). Lahore with Love: Growing up with Girlfriends, Pakistani-style. ISBN 978-0815609247.
  13. "'Lahore With Love' -- Without a Publisher". www.insidehighered.com. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  14. Raja, Masood. "Statements in Support of Fawzia Afzal-Khan's Lahore with Love". Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies. 2 (3): 122–136. Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  15. Schechner, Richard; Katherine Lieder (2011). "Shame on Syracuse University Press". The Drama Review. 55 (1): 7–12. doi:10.1162/dram_e_00044. S2CID 57568709.
  16. Afzal-Khan, Fawzia (2010). Lahore With Love: Growing Up With Girlfriends Pakistani-Style. CreateSpace. ISBN 978-1456462192.
  17. "Pakistaniaat: Vol. 3, No. 2 (2011)". Archived from the original on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  18. Stringer, Hillary (2011). "Lahore with Love Today: An Interview with Fawzia Afzal-Khan". Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies. 3 (2). Archived from the original on 27 March 2012. Retrieved 3 August 2011.
  19. "Shattering the Stereotypes: An Interview with Fawzia Afzal-Khan". Archived from the original on 27 May 2009. Retrieved 26 January 2013.
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