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Maham Javaid is a writer and journalist from Karachi. Her work has appeared in The News on Sunday, Herald and Al Jazeera English. She is currently the
2019-2020 Finberg Fellow at Human Rights Watch in New York City.
THE TALLEST WOMAN
A short story by
Maham Javaid
WINNER
Maham Javaid’s intriguing story about a girl who just keeps growing taller and taller, was chosen from nearly 500 entries received by the Competition in its inaugural year. The judges agreed that this winning story, with its unexpected tinge of the surreal has real verve and wit. It is a way of pointing up a victim-blaming culture without having a 'poor me' victim; the absurdity of a woman simultaneously so powerful and powerless. And amidst the surreal and imaginative detail, there is some real authenticity around the main character's shifting relationship with her mother. This is a powerful new voice, and a way of writing about inequality and injustice that is rare in its hilarity.
Sadia Khatri is a writer and journalist based in Karachi. Her writing has appeared in Dawn, The Kathmandu Post, and Papercuts Magazine. She is currently working on her first book on the life and work of the poet Agha Shahid Ali. She is also one of the founders of the feminist collective Girls at Dhabas
FEAR AND THE CITY
A memoir by
Sadia Khatri
SPECIAL CITATION
Sadia Khatri’s memoir received a Special Citation from our Panel of Judges for its compelling honesty. Locating personal experience within the larger objective of interrogating the role of women in public spaces in Pakistan, Fear and the City asks us to consider how our relationships with cities can change over time and how our individual actions and daily habits can act as moments of quiet revolution. A 21st century flaneuse, Sadia Khatri bravely navigates and documents her evolving relationship with Karachi and shows us firsthand how women can renegotiate paths that are too often prescribed.
Aisha Hamid is a feminist writer, poet and activist from Lahore. She recently completed a Masters degree at the University of Warwick on a Commonwealth scholarship. She is as yet unpublished.
HOW (NOT) TO LEAVE
A short story by
AISHA HAMID
HIGHLY COMMENDED
A poignant story about the devastating effects on a family of a failing, abusive and dysfunctional marriage
Yusra Amjad is a writer, poet, and comedienne from Lahore. She is also the founder of the Lahore chapter of the Auratnaak standup comedy troupe. She has been published by Mongrel Books, The Missing Slate and L'ephemere Review among others.
I ADMIT IT IMRAN KHAN, I'M JUST JEALOUS
A memoir by
Yusra Amjad
HIGHLY COMMENDED
A heartfelt memoir of a woman’s final conversation with her father about deeply contentious political and moral issues, at once cynical and tender.
Dur e Aziz Amna is a writer based between Rawalpindi and Michigan, USA. Her writing has won an award from the Financial Times and has appeared in Dawn, The News, Longreads, and Roads & Kingdoms, among others. She is currently working on her first novel.
ORDINARY
A short story by
Dur e Aziz Amna
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Ordinary subverts gender roles while drawing a richly detailed portrait of the everyday lives of women ... and men.
Samia Altaf is a public health physician from Lahore and the author of So Much Aid So Little Development: Stories from Pakistan published by the Johns Hopkins University Press in 2011.
PIOUS WOMAN'S REWARD
A short story by
Samia Altaf
HIGHLY COMMENDED
Featuring a closely observed description of a funeral, the writing deftly walks the tightrope between tragedy and comedy, somersaulting into hilarity when the unexpected happens.
The Heat
Aisha Khan
Is it the unbearable weather or the weight of expectations that is making Rukhsana act crazy? And what is the difference between madness and defiance anyway?
Letting My Hair Down
Musfira Shaffi
The perennial problem for the Pakistani woman is in her genes. And blessings in one department can be a curse in another.
A History of Heartstrings
Asma Mani
Two lives intersect and move apart through the years. A story of loss and yearning for a simpler time.
Bhar Mein Jayein Loug
(People Can Just Go to Hell)
Zoha B. Khan
“My life is not mine because everything I do is relational, defining everyone else around me.” A powerful memoir describing the absence of free agency in a woman’s life.
Kalkoti
Tamreez Inam
The wanton cruelty of children towards servants has consequences that haunt their adult selves. A story about dark secrets, casual bullying and flashing green eyes.
Of Places and People
Aliya Farrukh
A poignant memoir of one woman's childhood attachments, captured in the places and people she loved best.
What's in a Name?
Mehroo Waqas
A fragment of a nameless woman's life is portrayed in this uncompromising stream-of-consciousness narrative
Growing as a Pakistani Woman:
A Journey of Emotions
Nabeeha Chaudhary
Anger and guilt are what girls feel at the start of their journey through life. But is there room for hope as the journey goes on?
Jalebi
Manahil Naik
Who is 'Aman', the mystery writer of Shahpur? And why does he live in a village where nobody reads?
The Freedom of Space
Iman Khan
An edict by the newly elected Mayor of Lahore cancels the end of year school gala. But that is only the start of a dystopian future of access to public spaces being curtailed by “The Guardians” of the New Lahore.
Is this Pakistan? Or Womanhood in Images
Sauleha Kamal
Will hope ultimately trump despair for women in this examination of the promise of Pakistan? What it is, and what it could be?
Spit Can
Asna Nusrat
A daughter's loving care for an infirm father is tested to the limits, especially when sons are more highly valued.
Avatar
Sadia Mubarak
Why must it be men who design a woman’s characteristics in an image, an avatar, that suits them? A call to arms for women to take control of their own narratives
Paratha, and a Cup of Tea Afterwards
Noor Us Sabah Tauqeer
A mystery woman stops at a dhaba for breakfast one early morning. But why is she travelling alone? And where is she going?