Date Thesis Awarded
5-2018
Access Type
Honors Thesis -- Access Restricted On-Campus Only
Degree Name
Bachelors of Arts (BA)
Department
History
Advisor
Dr. Chitralekha Zutshi
Committee Members
Dr. R. Benedito Ferrão
Dr. Jerry Watkins
Abstract
The Progressive Writers' Movement emerged as a literary collective at the center of the leftist intellectual and literary culture in colonial South Asia. Its members produced literary works that dealt with issues of anti-imperialism, economic exploitation, misogyny, and a variety of other social ills. And while the male writers of the PWA are most remembered and celebrated for their contributions to the Urdu literary canon, it was the female writers that truly embodied the values and ideals of the PWA. This thesis analyses the works of writers Rashid Jahan and Qurratulain Hyder and aims to highlight the contributions that women made to the PWA in colonial and post-colonial South Asia. In particular, this thesis explored how these women embodied not only the success of the PWA, but also its decline in the post-colonial era.
Recommended Citation
Ali, Mehr, "The Women of the PWA: The Politics and Writings of Rashid Jahan and Qurratulain Hyder" (2018). Undergraduate Honors Theses. William & Mary. Paper 1234.
https://scholarworks.wm.edu/honorstheses/1234
