- Himalayan Politics Journal, Vol # 2, Issue # 1
- Literary Resistance in the Progressive Tradition: The Fiction of Saeeda Gazdar
Literary Resistance in the Progressive Tradition: The Fiction of Saeeda Gazdar
- Adeeba Akram/
- Irfan Waheed Usmani/
- June 10, 2026
Keywords
Literature has long served as a tool of resistance, questioning dominant ideas and giving voice to suppressed experiences. Urdu literature of post-colonial Pakistan has been no exception. It has an established tradition of dissent and resistance to state repression; the Progressive Writers’ Movement, in particular, has been at the forefront. Women writers in Urdu literature contributed significantly to this radical domain of literary resistance by drawing attention to political repression, gender inequity, and the realities of disadvantaged people. Saeeda Gazdar’s fiction is a product of politically chaotic decades of post-Partition Pakistan, marked by authoritarian rule, censorship, and ideological control. This study employs an empirical approach that uses historical discourse analysis to analyze ‘Aag Gulistan Na Bani’ and ‘Adhi Gawahi’- two of Saeeda’s significant works of literary resistance. The article argues that by using fiction as a space to interrogate state control, the misapplication of religion, and moral hypocrisy, Saeeda Gazdar has shown resistance to martial law, surveillance, and the use of religion as a tool in the face of state repression and socio-political inequalities. It further argues that Saeeda Gazdar’s literary works effectively demonstrate the use of literature as a powerful tool of resistance against oppressive state structures and examines her fiction as a powerful voice among progressive writers.
How to cite
Akram, A., & Waheed Usmani, I. (2026). Literary Resistance in the Progressive Tradition: The Fiction of Saeeda Gazdar. Himalayan Politics Journal, 2(1). https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a7ca1a79169d/page
Retrieved from https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a7ca1a79169d/page
More citation formats
- ACM SIG Proceedings
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[1]Akram, A. and Waheed Usmani, I. 2026. Literary Resistance in the Progressive Tradition: The Fiction of Saeeda Gazdar. Himalayan Politics Journal. 2, 1 (Aug. 2026).
- ACS Nano
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(1)Akram, A.; Waheed Usmani, I. Literary Resistance in the Progressive Tradition: The Fiction of Saeeda Gazdar. Himalayan Politics Journal 2026, 2 (1).
- ABNT
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AKRAM, Adeeba; WAHEED USMANI, Irfan. Literary Resistance in the Progressive Tradition: The Fiction of Saeeda Gazdar. Himalayan Politics Journal, v. 2, n. 1, 12 Aug.2026.
- Chicago (author-date)
- Harvard (Cite Them Right)
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Akram, A. and Waheed Usmani, I. (2026) “Literary Resistance in the Progressive Tradition: The Fiction of Saeeda Gazdar”, Himalayan Politics Journal, 2(1). Available at: https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a7ca1a79169d/page (Accessed: 13 September 2026).
- IEEE
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[1]A. Akram and I. Waheed Usmani, “Literary Resistance in the Progressive Tradition: The Fiction of Saeeda Gazdar”, Himalayan Politics Journal, vol. 2, no. 1, Aug. 2026, Accessed: Sept. 13, 2026. [Online]. Available: https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a7ca1a79169d/page
- MLA
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Akram, Adeeba, and Irfan Waheed Usmani. “Literary Resistance in the Progressive Tradition: The Fiction of Saeeda Gazdar”. Himalayan Politics Journal, vols. 2, no. 1, Aug. 2026, https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a7ca1a79169d/page.
- Turabian (full note bibliography)
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Akram, Adeeba, and Irfan Waheed Usmani. “Literary Resistance in the Progressive Tradition: The Fiction of Saeeda Gazdar”. Himalayan Politics Journal 2, no. 1 (August 12, 2026). Accessed September 13, 2026. https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a7ca1a79169d/page.
- Vancouver
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1.Akram A, Waheed Usmani I. Literary Resistance in the Progressive Tradition: The Fiction of Saeeda Gazdar. Himalayan Politics Journal [Internet]. 2026 Aug. 12 [cited 2026 Sept. 13];2(1). Available from: https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a7ca1a79169d/page
- AMA
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1.Akram A, Waheed Usmani I. Literary Resistance in the Progressive Tradition: The Fiction of Saeeda Gazdar. Himalayan Politics Journal. 2026;2(1). Accessed September 13, 2026. https://politics.thrip.org/website/journal/article/6a7ca1a79169d/page
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Author(s):
Adeeba Akram
AuthorPhD Scholar, Institute of History, Government College University, New Campus at Kala Shah Kaku, Lahore, Pakistan Lecturer in History, Government Graduate College for Women, Baghbanpura, Lahore, Pakistan
Pakistan
Irfan Waheed Usmani
AuthorAssistant Professor, Institute of History, Government College University, New Campus at Kala Shah Kaku, Lahore, Pakistan
Pakistan
Details:
| Type: | Article |
| Volume: | 2 |
| Issue: | 1 |
| Language: | English |
| Id: | 6a7ca1a79169d |
| Published | June 10, 2026 |
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.