We are living in times when “Dadis (grandmas) of Shaheen Bagh” daily shatter all manner of glass ceilings and barriers, yet some stereotypes refuse to go away. Take the case of women poets in Urdu. While Urdu poetry itself attracts enthusiastic mixed audiences across the Hindustani speaking regions, a curious gender divide trips up women poets. Stages of bias in Urdu poetry rendered in India and Pakistan Delhi-based poet Ameeta Parsuram ‘Meeta’ is known for her ghazal writing and her annual event “Bazm” in the Capital, an evening she describes as aimed at preserving the traditional form of ghazal gayaki. Pointing out “subtle discrimination”, she says that for every 10 male poets at a given mushaira (festival of Urdu poetry), there would be on average “two or three or fewer” women. “And it’s not as if there are not enough women poets!” Harder time Gauhar Raza, another successful Delhi-based poet, agrees that women have a harder time than their male counterparts in getting recogni...
