Written piece
Teesri Dunya Ki Aurat/Third World Woman
Raza Naeem
Pakistan
About this piece
The submission is my original, unpublished English translation of an Urdu poem by Ishrat Afreen (b. 1956), one of the most distinguished Urdu poets of her generation. It deftly imagines and reimagines the history of women's liberation in Urdu literature over the last century.
Third World Woman
by Ishrat Afreen
Translated from the Urdu by Raza Naeem
'This is somewhat the story of a century
There was a poet with sagacity
He who raised a debate
“Is women’s liberation better
Or an emerald collar, say!
Which is greater in value”
Then I chose liberation
I gained a name, gained recognition
I did exist before this but
I did so in sighs or complaints
In the “lyrical words” of Azmat and
“Patience’s Reward” of Hali
I was the Salma and Rehana
Of Shirani’s dreams
When was I ever a living woman
I was just a beautiful fiction
Then the spark of my pen
Changed into “Embers”
A wish to attain myself
That wish was fulfilled
Thus I departed on my own in search of myself
By becoming Ismat and Ada
The poet said “Lips are free”
I became the justification of that lip
Razia Safia Pritam Annie
(I) became the preamble of liberation
(I) turned out to be Fahmida and Parveen
I became Zehra and Naheed
Then for a new world
I became a new hope
The companion said “Rise my darling
Now you have to walk with me”
“How pleasant it would be if you
Make a flag out of the hem of this veil adorning the forehead”
Then I loved myself
And accepted life
Went holding my hand in his
Crossed a “river of fire”
Great is my pride, as well as my honour
The moons and roses in my lap are new
There is a star in every courtyard of mine
New dreams in every eye of mine
I am Sidhwa and Malala
I am today and the future
I a third world woman
Am alive and luminous.'