14 Facts About Hajra Masroor

Hajra Masroor was a Pakistani writer who established herself with her short fiction stories, known as afsana in Urdu literature.

Hajra Masroor's elder sister, Khadija Mastoor, was an accomplished short-story writer and novelist.

Hajra Masroor was born on 17 January 1930 in Lucknow, British India to Dr Tahawwar Ahmad Khan, who was a British Army medical doctor, and Anwar Jahan Begum, a published writer.

Hajra Masroor's father had suddenly died after a heart attack at a young age of 38.

Hajra Masroor had five sisters, including Khadija Mastoor, and a younger brother, Khalid Ahmad, who became a poet, playwright and newspaper columnist.

An Urdu writer in his book wrote that no one knew Hajra was engaged with famous Urdu poet Sahir Ludhianvi but once in a literary gathering Ludhianvi pronounced a word wrongly, Hajra criticised him, he got angry and engagement was broken.

Hajra Masroor began writing short stories from an early age.

Hajra Masroor edited literary magazine Naqoosh with Ahmad Nadeem Qasmi.

Hajra Masroor made her place in the history of Urdu literature and Urdu fiction with bold imagination and writing of short stories in a non-traditional way.

Hajra Masroor wrote simple yet effective prose, had a down-to-earth style of writing.

Hajra Masroor wrote the script of Suroor Barabankvi's film Aakhri Station.

Hajra Masroor wrote several books of short stories in which she raised the social, political, legal, and economic rights for women equal to those of men.

Hajra Masroor was one of the torchbearer of the Progressive Writers' Movement as well as one of the pioneers of feminism in the subcontinent.

Hajira Hajra Masroor died on 15 September 2012 in Karachi, Pakistan.