Qaisra Shahraz facts for kids

Qaisra Shahraz MBE is a British-Pakistani writer and scriptwriter. She writes novels and short stories.

Qaisra Shahraz is a special member of the Royal Society of Arts. She used to be a director at Gatehouse Books, which published books by students learning life skills. She is also an important part of the Pakistani community in the UK. She has led many workshops and training sessions about "Quality in Education" in Pakistan and India through the British Council. Her work often explores how different people, cultures, and genders connect or sometimes clash. In 2016, she won the Lifetime Achiever Award at the National Diversity Awards in Liverpool.

Early Life and Education

Qaisra Shahraz was born in Pakistan in 1958. She grew up in England and has lived in Manchester since she was nine years old. She studied a lot and earned three degrees! She has a degree in English literature and classical civilization from The University of Manchester. She also has two master's degrees, one in European literature and another in scriptwriting from the University of Salford.

Besides being a writer, she has worked as an advisor for the University of Lancaster. She was also a college inspector and a journalist. She even studied Islamic studies to learn more about different cultures, religions, and history.

Her Career and Writing

Qaisra Shahraz has had a varied career. She has been a teacher, trained other teachers, given lectures, and worked as an inspector for adult learning.

Shahraz often writes about issues important to women. She gets ideas from everyday people but never uses them directly as characters in her books. She once said in an interview: "I never use real people in my books. I don't think it is fair to them to be fictional characters"

Experts have even written about her work in a book called The Holy and the Unholy: Critical Essays on Qaisra Shahraz’s Fiction (2011).

Qaisra Shahraz's stories have appeared in many magazines and newspapers, including The Times. She started by writing short stories, then moved on to longer novels. Her novel The Holy Woman was published in many countries and different languages. She also wrote a TV drama series called Dil he to hay for Pakistan Television (PTV). This show was nominated for five awards and won two!

One of her first stories, "A Pair of Jeans," was published in the UK in 1988. This story looks at how clothing, modesty, and different cultures can create interesting situations. In 1989, a German professor chose it to be studied in German schools for their final exams.

In 2020, Qaisra Shahraz was given a special honor. She was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her work promoting equality between genders and helping people learn about different cultures.

Her Published Works

"A Pair of Jeans" has been published twelve times, including eight times in Germany. It has been popular in many countries.

Novels

• The Holy Woman (2002)
• Typhoon (2007)
• Revolt (2013)

Short Stories

Here are some of her short stories published in different places:

In the UK:

• "A Pair of Jeans"
• "Holding Out"
• "Black And Priceless"
• "What Big Eyes You Have Got"
• "Acclaim Magazine"
• "No Limits"
• "Rabbits English"
• "Dragon Fly In The Sun"
• "Pakistani Writing in English"
• "The Elopement"

In Germany:

• "A Pair of Jeans"
• "Raabits English" (1994)
• "One Language Many Voices" (2005–2006)
• "Invitations To Literature" (1990)
• "Writing Women" – Twentieth Century Short Stories (1991)
• "Emerging India" (co-authored textbook, 2008)

In Holland:

• "Tyfoon" (2003)

In India:

• "The Holy Woman" (2008)
• "Typhoon" (2008)
• "And the World Changed" – Writing by Pakistani women Writers (2005)
• "Neither Night nor Day" – 13 Stories by Women Writers from Pakistan (2007)
• "Typhoon" – Malayalam edition (2011)
• "Jeans" – Malayalam version of "A Pair of Jeans" (2010)

In Indonesia:

• "Perempuan Suci" (2006)
• "Perempuan Terluka" (2007)

In Pakistan:

• "Dragonfly in the Sun" (1997)
• "The Holy Woman" (2002)
• "And the World Changed" – Writing by Pakistani Women Writers (2007)
• "Pakistani literature & Women Writers of Pakistan" (2007)
• "Pakistani Literature in English" (2007)
• "Typhoon" (2003)
• "Zarri Bano" (Urdu Version of The Holy Woman, 2013)

In Turkey:

• "Kutsal Kadin" (2005)
• "Tayfun" (2005)

Awards and Recognition

Qaisra Shahraz has received many awards and honors for her work:

• 1988: Commonword Prize
• 1994: Ian St James Award
• 2001: The Holy Woman was named Best Book of the Month by Bradford Waterstone's.
• 2002: Shortlisted for Asian Women of Achievement Awards (Arts category).
• 2003: Jubilee Award for The Holy Woman.
• 2003: Shortlisted for Muslim News Awards for Excellence (Arts category).
• 2004: Pakistan Television Awards for her drama Dil Hee to Hai.
• 2011: The Holy Woman screenplay was shortlisted for the Muslim Writers Award.
• 2012: Recognized as one of the 100 most influential Pakistani women in the Pakistan Power 100 List.
• 2016: Won the National Diversity Awards: Lifetime Achiever Award.

See also

• List of British Pakistanis