Fawzia Afzal-Khan

Fawzia Afzal-Khan


Fawzia Afzal-Khan
Born1958
LahorePakistan
ResidenceNew Jersey, United States
EducationDoctor of Philosophy
Alma materTufts University
OccupationProfessor
EmployerMontclair State University
Known forLahore with Love (memoir)

Originally from PakistanFawzia Afzal-Khan (Urdu: فوزیہ افضل خان) is a professor of English and director of Women and Gender Studies Program[1] at Montclair State University. Afzal-Khan received her BA from Kinnaird College for Women, Lahore, Pakistan, and her MA and PhD. in English Literature from Tufts University.[2] A University Distinguished Professor,[3] Afzal-Khan was awarded The "Excellence in Public Life Award" by the American Muslim Alliance in 2008.[4] Afzal-Khan also serves on the editorial board ofPakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies.

Scholarly work[edit]

Author of three monographs[6] and two edited volumes,[7] Afzal-Khan has published extensively in academic journals as well as in newspapers[8] and on public blogs[9] on issues related to postcolonal studiesfeminism, and political Islam.[10]

Memoir: Lahore with Love[edit]

Afzal-Khan's memoir, Lahore with Love: Growing up with Girlfriends Pakistani Style, was published in 2010 by Syracuse University Press. The memoir was immediately received as a fine contribution to the women's rights issues in Pakistan.[11] The first edition contained commending blurbs from prominent authors and scholars: Nawal El Saadawi called it a "beautiful memoir which challenges stereotypes, universal fanatic fundamentalism and religious, political, and sexual taboos" and Henry Louis Gates, Jr. found it to be a memoir that "weaves together memory and desire to create a tale that is marvelously compelling and endlessly entertaining, at once poignantly personal and richly political."[12]
However, despite its positive reception, the book was soon dropped by Syracuse University Press due to fear of a lawsuit by a prominent Pakistani woman.[13]
The cancellation of the book by an academic press for fear of a lawsuit became an important issue in the academic circles.[14] Since the cancellation of the book, various academics, writers, and editors have supported Afzal-Khan in her right to free speech.[15] In an editorial, Richard Schechner and Katherine Lieder of The Drama Reviewcastigated the Syracuse University Press for not standing up for the rights of free speech of one of their own authors.[16]
Afzal-Khan has now published the memoir independently through the Amazon publishing platform.[17] Just recently, Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies has also published a special cluster of articles about the book[18] along with an interview[19] with Afzal-Khan about the controversy.Pakistaniaat had earlier to published an interview with Fawzia, which was conducted by Nilanshu Kumar Agarwal.

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