KHYBER: Breaking the shackles of so-called tribal traditions and self-imposed taboos, 17-year-old Wareesha Ameen Afridi of Jamrud has become the first female writer in Khyber tribal district by penning down a novel.
A student of psychology at Government Degree College for Girls in Jamrud, she developed a liking for reading fiction and history during her school days which later ‘pushed her’ to pen down her first Urdu novel “Milan”.
“I always felt deeply depressed and saddened with differences within families and relatives over pity matters and it inspired me to write Milan, while highlighting the importance of family values and coherence between the family members”, she told Dawn at her house in Jamrud.
Clad in an Arabic style Abaya, Ms Afridi is closely attached to her grandmother, who instilled in her both Islamic and tribal values while persuading her to observe strict Purdah (veil).
Initially her grandmother was not in favour of her speaking to a ‘stranger’ but her father Sardar Ameen, a government schoolteacher, persuaded her that there was no harm in highlighting her achievements while observing Purdah.
“Milan is a fiction story which I conceived about family reunions and wrote it down without any proper planning while also not knowing exactly that it will be read and liked by so many people, though mostly non-Pakhtuns,” she stated.
She said that she also got inspiration from the writings of Mehrunnisa Shanmeer, a young female writer from Balochistan, who also belonged to a similar tribal background like that of her with strict restrictions on women to venture out on such ‘expeditions’.
Ms Afridi said that her novel, consisting of about 40,000 words, was in the process of proofreading and would soon be published. “I was hugely amazed and encouraged by the overwhelming response of readers in Punjab and Sindh with whom I shared the contents of Milan in PDF format online,” she added.
She said that all she had done so far was on her own and had not interacted with any writer, poet or any literary organisation. “I believe that there are other girls too in Khyber who are interested in writing novels and poetry and they are in dire need of assistance from local literary organisations,” she remarked.
Ms Afridi said that she was planning to write her second book in which she would focus on issues about share in inheritance of both men and women, which she believed was currently a major reason for family, clan and tribal disputes in most of the Pakhtun-inhabited areas.
She said that she would do most of her writings during night time as she would help her mother in handling daily chores after returning from college. “My father is of immense help and motivation for me as he always encourages me to read and write other than my college subjects,” she added.
Prof Aslam Taseer told Dawn that Milan, the first novel of its type in Khyber, was a good omen for local women as it was necessary that tribal women also shared their thoughts and feelings through their writings, which was very rare in Pakhtun society.
Published in Dawn, February 17th, 2025
