Hayat Roghaani is an award-winning Urdu author with a devoted following in Pakistan. This English translation on a sensitive subject provides an opportunity to introduce his poignant, boundary-pushing work to a global audience.<\/p>\n
About the Translator<\/b><\/p>\n
Shama Askari has been associated with the performing arts for the last twenty years. She started her acting career in theatre in 1999 with Tehrik-e-Niswan, moving on to television, film and dramatized readings, performing all over Pakistan and India. In 2021, Shama was selected to participate in the \u2018Transforming Narratives\u2019 cultural leadership programme supported by the British Council. This programme provided a platform for collaboration between UK, Bangladesh and Pakistan creatives. Shama has worked as a project director with Adab Festival Pakistan. She completed \u2018Producers of the Future: From Keighley to Karachi,\u2019 a project led by the Bradford Literature Festival 2021.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Imagine a world where gender is not binary but fluid, where identity transcends societal norms and expectations, and where humanity confronts its deepest prejudices about what it means to be a man, a woman or someone in between. Queen Zarqa<\/i> by Hayat Roghaani, masterfully translated from Pashto to Urdu by Gohar Rehman Naveed and then from Urdu to English by Shama Askari, is a groundbreaking novel. It follows the journey of Zeerak Khan, a khawaja sara, as he transforms into Zarqa and finds acceptance among a community of transgender individuals in Karachi. With profound empathy, Roghaani explores themes of identity, belonging, and the universal human need for love and dignity. The story provides an intimate window into Pakistan\u2019s marginalised transgender community while touching on broader issues of religious fundamentalism, political corruption and societal hypocrisy.<\/p>\n
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