Nasreen Jahan

Nasreen Jahan (born 1966) is a Bangladeshi writer and literary editor. She came to notice with the publication of her novel The Woman Who Flew: Urukku in 1993. Jahan was born and brought up in Mymensingh. She joined the Chander Hat, a national children's and juvenile organization in 1974 and started to write rhymes and short stories in the children's page of daily newspaper Doinik Bangla. She was profusely encouraged by Literary Editor Late Ahsan Habib who was also a top-brass poet of Bangladesh. Later she concentrated on short stories and published in all leading literary papers and magazines of the country including the Kishore Bangla. She is married to poet Ashraf Ahmed and has the only daughter Orchi Otondrila. Her novel Urukku, published in 1993, became a hit after it was awarded the Philips Literary Award in 1994. For a brief period in 1993–94, she worked for the Banglabazaar Patrika published for its weekly literary supplement. Since late 1990s, she has been working as the editor of the literature section of weekly Anyadin. She a feminist, who believes in women's freedom without disrespect for tradition and social norms. Jahan has distinguished herself with her poetic prose and psychological approach to human behaviour. She is capable of handling intricate human mind with dexterity. She is prone to focus on man-woman relationship in the backdrop of social fabric and examine its intricacies. Jahan has candidly treated sex as a theme and went ahead of time by reflecting on homosexuality her short stories and novels. Her writing separately exhibits realism, surrealism, also magic realism. Her works are never erotic in nature.