Fawzia Afzal-Khan (Urdu: فوزیہ افضل خان; born 1958 in Lahore, Pakistan) is a professor of English and director of the 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 of Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies.[5]
Fawzia Afzal-Khan | |
---|---|
Born | 1958 |
Education | Doctor of Philosophy |
Alma mater | Tufts University |
Occupation | Professor |
Employer | Montclair State University |
Known for | Lahore with Love (memoir) |
Website | fawziaafzalkhan |
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 postcolonial studies, feminism, and political Islam.[10]
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 the fear of a lawsuit from a prominent Pakistani woman who claimed that a character depicted in the book was based on her.[13] The cancellation of the book by an academic press for fear of a lawsuit became an important issue in academic circles. Since the cancellation of the book, various academics, writers, and editors have supported Afzal-Khan in her right to free speech.[14] In an editorial, Richard Schechner and Katherine Lieder of The Drama Review castigated the Syracuse University Press for not standing up for the rights of free speech of one of their own authors.[15]
Afzal-Khan has now published the memoir independently through the Amazon publishing platform.[16] In 2011, Pakistaniaat: A Journal of Pakistan Studies published a special cluster of articles about the book,[17] along with an interview with Afzal-Khan about the controversy.[18] Pakistaniaat had previously published an interview with Fawzia in 2009, which was conducted by Nilanshu Kumar Agarwal.[19]