Hijab Imtiaz Ali

Hijab was passionate about flying. She trained at the Lahore Flying Club and also took part in many competitions organized by the club. Hijab obtained her pilot's license in 1936. in 1939, The International Women’s News reported in 1939 that Hijab had become the first Muslim woman in the British Empire to obtain an ‘A’ license as an air pilot.[9] Sarla Thakral, is often claimed as the first Indian pilot, however, both Sarla and Hijab obtained the license around the same time but Hijab was the first to do so.[10]

Hijab, whose writing career spans more than 60 years, is known for her romantic stories in Urdu literature. Her stories revolve around romance, women, nature and psychology. Her writing was often related to reality and contained a lot of imagery of life. Her repeated use of words and a unique construction of sentences, stands out in her writing. Hijab's stories used the same characters in different stories and scenarios. Some of the famous and memorable characters from her novels are Dr Gaar, Sir Harley, Dadi Zubeida, and Habshan Zonash.[11]

Hijab became an author at an early age. She published her first short story at the age of 9. Her story was published in 'Tehzeeb-e-Niswan' and was well received by the readers. Her stories were published by two popular magazines of the era, namely ‘Tehzeeb-e-Nizwaan’ and ‘Phool’. She also worked as an editor for both the magazines. At the age of 12, Hijab wrote her first novel "Meri Natamam Mohabbat" which is considered one of the best love stories written in the Urdu language. Some of her other famous works include Lail-o-Nihar, Sanober Kay Saey Mein and Tasveer-e-Butaa’n. She is considered the first woman in the Indian subcontinent to publish short stories that gained recognition.

She published a few short story collections and also translated Louisa May Alcott’s famous novel Little Women in Urdu.

Hijab was also a diarist. Her diaries were published in magazines and some of them were also published as books. One of her novels, Mombatti ke Samne (In front of the Candle) was based on her experiences in Lahore during the 1965 Indo-Pak war. The name came because Hijab used to write the diary in candlelight during the war blackouts. Her experience of the war also inspired her to write her award winning novel Pagal Khana (Madhouse), which was also her last novel.

Hijab studied Sigmund Freud's work in detail and was fascinated by his concept of the subconscious mind. Freud's work provided background material for another of her great novels Andhera Khwab (Dark Dream).[6]