WINNER
THE TALLEST WOMAN
by
Maham Javaid
The Zeenat Haroon Rashid Writing Prize for Women is pleased and proud to announce that the Award for 2019 goes to Maham Javaid for her short story THE TALLEST WOMAN. Maham will receive a cash award of Rs 100,000 for her intriguing story about a girl who just can’t stop growing.
Maham Javaid’s story was chosen from nearly 500 entries received by the Competition in its inaugural year. The judges agreed that this winning story, with its perhaps unexpected tinge of the surreal, has real verve and wit. It highlights the absurdity of a woman simultaneously very powerful and very powerless. The author finds a way of writing about inequality and injustice that is rare in its hilarity.
SPECIAL CITATION
FEAR AND THE CITY
by
Sadia Khatri
Sadia Khatri’s memoir, FEAR AND THE CITY 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.
HOW (NOT) TO LEAVE
by Aisha Hamid
I ADMIT IT IMRAN KHAN, I'M JEALOUS
by Yusra Amjad
ORDINARY
by Dur e Aziz Amna
PIOUS WOMAN'S REWARD
by Samia Altaf
HIGHLY COMMENDED
LONGLISTED AUTHORS
-
A History of Heartstrings ASMA MANI
-
An Ode to Impurity SABA KARIM KHAN
-
Avatar SADIA MUBARAK
-
Bahr Mein Jayein Loug (People Can Go to Hell) ZOHA B. KHAN
-
Best Intentions ALIZAH PERVAIZ HASHMI
-
Growing as a Pakistani Woman: A Journey of Emotions NABEEHA CHAUDHARY
-
Is this Pakistan? or, Womanhood in Images SAULEHA KAMAL
-
Jalebi MANAHIL NAIK
-
Kalkoti TAMREEZ INAM
-
Letting My Hair Down MUSFIRA SHAFFI
-
Of Places and People ALIYA FARRUKH SHAIKH
-
Paratha, and a Cup of Tea Afterwards NOOR US SABAH TAUQEER
-
Spit Can ASNA NUSRAT
-
Stitched and Unstitched ILSA RAZZAK
-
The Freedom of Space IMAN KHAN
-
The Heat AISHA KHAN
-
What's in a Name? MEHROO WAQAS
-
​
WHAT THE JUDGES SAID ABOUT THE LONGLIST
​
Thank you for choosing me as a judge in your inaugural year. I have greatly enjoyed reading the stellar longlisted submissions. Though the subject matter has been depressingly similar, the writers' rage has been magnificent and their defiance inspiring. I hope their courage will never fail and their voices remain as fresh, as vibrant and as relevant as they are today.
MONI MOHSIN
​
This was a hard decision...I have read on a number of writing juries and the overall quality of these submissions is so strong. I was struck by the strength and vitality of each individual voice and the ways in which each one investigates and questions prescribed roles for women in Pakistan. These writers demonstrate a very exciting future for writing from Pakistan. I am convinced we will be reading these writers for years to come.
SADIA QURAESHI SHEPARD
​
I was bowled over by the talent and the writing skills on display in the long list. Thank you for inviting me to your panel as otherwise I would have had no idea about the extraordinary submissions to your competition. It has been hard ranking the material.
IRFAN HUSAIN
​
The overall standard was very good and in cutting my list down I had to do much pondering and rethinking! Generally speaking, it was good to see how well written most of the stories were: and all of them threw vivid insights into women's lives. Many of them were very original too and I was also struck by the honesty and courage with which several of the entries were written - particularly memoirs, since in our society we tend to shy away from writing anything intensely personal.
MUNEEZA SHAMSIE
​
Here at the ZHR Writing Prize we have been overwhelmed and touched by the response we have had to our invitation to share writing about Women and Pakistan. We have received almost 500 entries; but what has astounded us is that we have reached writers from so many different areas in Pakistan and around the world. In addition to international entries (from the USA, UK, UAE, Germany and Saudi Arabia), the outreach in Pakistan has been phenomenal.
​
​Thank you so much to all those who took the trouble to share their stories and ideas with us.
Almost 500 Entries Received!
We have received entries from:
Abbottabad, Attock, Baltistan, Chakwal,
Chitral, D.I.Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan,
Faisalabad, Gakhar, Gilgit, Gojra,
Gujranwala, Gujrat, Hunza, Hyderabad,
Islamabad, Jamshoro, Jauharabad, Jhelum, Karachi, Kasur, Khairpur, Kotli (AJK), Lahore,Lasbela, Mandi Bahauddin, Mianwali,
Multan, Muzzaffarabad, Narowal,
Naushero Feroz, Peshawar, Quetta, Rabwa, Rahimyar Khan, Rawalkot, Rawalpindi,
Rohri, Sanghar, Sargodha, Sheikhupura,
Shikarpur, Sialkot, Sibi, Sukkur, Swat,
Tando Allahyar, Turbat and Wah.
Many entries are from villages surrounding these towns or in these districts.
​