Ismat Chughtai: The inner worlds of educated women novel, Terhi Lakeer, her heroine Shama,

In the first few pages of Ismat Chughtai’s novel, Terhi Lakeer, her heroine Shama, headstrong and rebellious, is introduced for the very first time to reading. It is not a happy meeting; the book, whose pages have been sewn together by her older sister, appears to Shama a useless object whose meaningless hieroglyphs for “alif” and “jeem” arouse a frustrated anger. When her sister leaves the room, the angered little Shama examines the book; in the English translation of the novel, the

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