Attiya Dawood

She has been writing poetry since 1980.

• Name — Attiya Dawood • Native Name — عطیہ داؤد • Birth Name — Attiya Dawood Larik • Born — 1 April 1958 • Birthplace — Moledino Larik, Naushahro Feroze, Sindh, Pakistan • Children — 2, including Suhaee Abro • Occupation — Poet, writer, feminist, activist • Years Active — 1980–present • Subject — Women's rights

Attiya Dawood Larik was born in Moledino Larik, a small village in Naushero Feroze District, Sindh. Her mother, Arbab Khatoon, was the third wife of her father, Muhammad Dawood Larik. Muhammad was a Hafiz and a poet who ran away from home to become a schoolteacher. He died in 1964, when Attiya was 6 years old. In 1975, Attiya's family moved to Karachi, where she took admission in a college. During this time, she struggled both socially and financially, and worked in a towel factory to bear her school expenses. She started writing poetry when she was introduced to Ahmed Saleem by her friend Rupa. From there, she became a member of Sindhi Adabi Sangat. She has written poetry regularly since the 1980s. Attiya published her first poem in a Sindhi-language newspaper when she was in 8th grade, under the name Attiya Larik. Her brothers became angry with her for the publication, and in response she decided to only use her father's name, Dawood, for future publications.

Attiya holds an M.A in Sindhi Literature.

Attiya Dawood is married to Khuda Baksh Abro, a well known artist and designer who graduated from National College of Arts, Lahore. She has two daughters with him.

Attiya began her career as a writer and poet in the 1980s. She has been a regular contributor to Hilal e Pakistan and its women pages Sartiyun. She has also contributed to workshops and seminars by writing papers on subjects such as folk artists and men of letters in Sindhi language. She has published six books, and her articles on women's rights, peace, justice, and gender issues have appeared in major national dailies and literary journals. She has also been comparing in radio programs on women and their problems.

Attiya's poetry career began in the 1980s, when she started contributing to a local magazine. In 1995, Attiya published her first collection of poetry, Raging to be free, which contained English translations of her works in Sindhi. She draws inspiration from her traumatic girlhood experiences in rural Sindh. Both her 1995 poetry collection Raging to be free and her 2002 book Sindh ki Aurat discuss the struggles of women through the lens of Attiya's experiences. In 2000, Attiya wrote an autobiography during a three-month residency at the Sanskriti Kendra in New Delhi. It was published in Urdu in 2009 as Ainay Kay Saamnay (Before the Looking Glass). It was earlier published in Hindi in India by the same title by Rajkamal Prakashan. In Ainay kay Saamnay, Attiya narrates her early life in the rural Sindh, her frustrations over the patriarchal society and culture as a young girl. In 2012, Oxford University Press published an English translation by Amina Azfar under the title Images in My Mirror. Her 2019 book, Sindhi Adab, is a book about the history of Sindhi literature. It covers the Soomra period literature and its poets such as Jam Lakho and Mehar Rai. Attiya's poetry is noted for its sincerity, zeal and the feminism touch it contains. Through her poetry and writings, she speaks about Women's rights.

Attiya Dawood is known as a feminist writer and poet. Her poetry and writings challenge the society and contains verses that support her opinions on women and their rights. In a literary sitting in Larkana, Attiya said: “I am proud to be a feminist poet but I am afraid male-dominated society interprets it wrongly.” She mentioned that male critics often found negativity in her work but the criticism will not stop her from her objectives. Attiya participated in the NGO segment of a Conference in Beijing, as one of the representatives of ASR Resource Centre, a Lahore-based NGO. The NGOs consisted of 130 workshops, each one on a separate topic.

Attiya Dawood has published regularly since the 1990s. She writes mostly in Sindhi. Her poems have been translated into German by Annemarrie Schimmel who is known for her works in Sufism and Islam. Her works have also been translated in English and Urdu. Two of her poems have appeared in Jane Goodwin's "The Price of Honor". Works • Year — Title — Publisher — ISBN — Notes • 1995 — Raging to be Free — Maktab-e-Danyal, Karachi — English translation by Asif Farrukhi • 1997 — Sharafat Jee Pulsarat — Suhaee Books — Sharafat Ka Pul-e-Sarat - Urdu translation by Fahmida Riaz • Aap ka jism aur sehat — Wada Kitab Ghar • 2001 — Sindhi aurat kee kahani — Seen Publishers • 2002 — Sindh ki aurat: sapney sai such tak — Shehrazad — Sindhi Woman: From Dream to Truth • 2002 — Un poori chadar — Koonj Publications • 2009 — Ainay kay Saamnay — Oxford University Press — 978-0-19-547571-5 — Autobiography • 2019 — Sindhi Adab: aik mukhtasar tareekh — Oxford University — History Poetry (selected works) • Title — Urdu — German — English • Sharafat Jee Pulsarat — Sharafat Ka Pul-e-Sarat — Der schmale Steg der Ehre • Amar Geet — Amar Geet — A Song Everlasting • Safar — Die Reise • Be-rang Tasveer — Farbloses Bild • Preet Ji Reet — Geschichte der Liebe