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Moni Mohsin

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Moni Mohsin
Personal details
Born
Syeda Matanat Ghaffar

September 1963
OccupationWriter,[1][2] freelancer journalist
Known forNewspaper columnist for The Friday Times,[3] The Guardian

Syeda Matanat Ghaffar (born September 1963), commonly known as Moni Mohsin, is a British-Pakistani writer based in London, United Kingdom.[4][5][6] She wrote a long running satirical column "The Diary of a Social Butterfly" for The Friday Times and a book with the same name.[7][8]

Early life and career

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Mohsin grew up in Lahore, Pakistan and describes herself as being from a family of "educated, westernised people".[citation needed] When General Zia ul-Haq came to power in a coup in 1977, her family began to feel less comfortable in the new, religious Pakistan, where political repression against nonconformists became routine, but she chose to remain in Lahore. Mohsin left Pakistan at age 16 to study at a boarding school in England, and later attended Cambridge University, where she studied anthropology and archaeology. After General Zia's death in 1988, she moved more decisively into the public sphere, working for the country's first independent magazine Friday Times, where she rose to the ranks of features editor.[9] Her sister, Jugnu Mohsin, is the publisher of The Friday Times, an independent Pakistani newsweekly.[10] She is aunt of Ali Sethi[11][12] and Mira Sethi.[13]

Mohsin is often invited in the panel of literary festivals.[14][15][16] She was also included among the panel of judges for The Zeenat Haroon Rashid Writing Prize for Women.[17][18][19]

Publications

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Mohsin is author[20] of two novels: The End of Innocence (2006)[21][22][23] and Tender Hooks[24][25] aka Duty Free (2011), and two books of collected columns: The Diary of a Social Butterfly (2008)[26][27][28] and The Return of the Butterfly (2014).[29] Her writings have also appeared in The Times of India,[30] The Guardian,[31] Prospect,[32] The Nation,[33] 1843 (The Economist),[34] Boston Review,[35] NPR,[36] Herald[37] and other publications.

Mohsin is working as a freelancer and writes about class, politics, culture, society and lifestyle.[5][38][39]

References

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  1. ^ "Life of Ahmed". The Friday Times. 19 July 2019.
  2. ^ "A galaxy of literary stars". Dawn. 23 February 2013.
  3. ^ Mohsin, Moni. "Partition Stories". The Friday Times.
  4. ^ "Syeda Matanat Ghaffar".
  5. ^ a b Zahrah Mazhar (7 February 2014). "No fluttering about: Moni Mohsin may be a social butterfly but she stings like a bee". The Express Tribune (newspaper). Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  6. ^ Aroosa Shaukat (24 February 2013). "Lahore Literary Festival (LLF) 2013: 'The key is to write about what you know'". The Express Tribune (newspaper). Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  7. ^ "Yale Club of London - Mixing It Up: Marvin Rees and Moni Mohsin, In Conversation". www.yale.org.uk.
  8. ^ "Moni Mohsin | Emirates Airline Festival of Literature".
  9. ^ Jalil, Rakhshanda (5 February 2011). "Stinging butterfly". The Hindu.
  10. ^ Wax, Emily (28 November 2007). "How Pakistan's Satirists Poke Fun, Politically".
  11. ^ Naqvi, Maniza (5 March 2018). "Pakistani English fiction's search for approval and recognition". Herald Magazine.
  12. ^ "Ali Sethi - His Biography, Life, Education, Career, Music and Writings". Parhlo.
  13. ^ "Mira Sethi's book will hit shelves in April 2021". Images. 12 June 2020.
  14. ^ "Former hostage to address Sharjah book fair". Gulf News.
  15. ^ "LAHORE LITERARY FESTIVAL: Writing from the edge". Dawn. 3 March 2013.
  16. ^ "Writing to build a better world". gulfnews.com.
  17. ^ "The Writing Prize In Honour Of The Woman Who Set Up Pakistan's National Women's Guard". Mashion. 15 December 2019.
  18. ^ "'Zeenat Haroon Rashid Writing Prize For Women' announced". The News Tribe. 11 March 2019.
  19. ^ "This new competition is celebrating writing by Pakistani women". Images. 12 March 2019.
  20. ^ "English writing by Pakistani women". The Daily Star. 23 August 2008.
  21. ^ "Writing prize for women to honour Women's National Guard stalwart Zeenat Haroon Rashid". Daily Times. 12 March 2019.
  22. ^ "COVER STORY: 'Every story dictates its own style — Moni Mohsin'". Dawn. 13 March 2011.
  23. ^ "The End of Innocence, by Moni Mohsin". The Independent. 22 June 2006.
  24. ^ "Gossip girl". Daily Times. 3 February 2011.
  25. ^ Husain, Irfan (25 July 2011). "Miro, Moni Mohsin and Sondheim". Dawn.
  26. ^ "'The Diary of a Social Butterfly' — social commentary wrapped in humour". Daily Times. 24 November 2018.
  27. ^ "Five books to read as we struggle to survive the lockdown". Daily Times. 8 May 2020.
  28. ^ Kamal, Sauleha (3 April 2018). "Pakistani English novel's ceaseless quest for identity". Herald.
  29. ^ Adil, Mamun M. (21 September 2014). "REVIEW: The Return of the Butterfly by Moni Mohsin". Dawn.
  30. ^ "Moni Mohsin Blog". Times of India Blog.
  31. ^ "Moni Mohsin". The Guardian.
  32. ^ "Moni Mohsin". Prospect.
  33. ^ "Moni Mohsin". The Nation.
  34. ^ "Moni Mohsin". 1843.
  35. ^ "Boston Review — Moni Mohsin: State of Emergency". Boston Review.
  36. ^ "A Life-Changing Book With A Fierce, Feisty Heroine". NPR.
  37. ^ Mohsin, Moni (3 February 2017). "Je suis Chauburji: Development matters but not more than heritage". Herald.
  38. ^ "Lahore Literature Festival: Organisers hope festival triggers revival of culture". The Express Tribune (newspaper). 17 February 2013. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  39. ^ "Let's not forget our roots". Daily Times. 18 November 2018.
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