Banu Mushtaq: International Booker Prize winner

BENGALURU: A trailblazing writer and activist from Hassan district in Karnataka, Banu Mushtaq is a multifaceted personality who has left her imprint across journalism, law, politics and women’s rights activism. But it is her powerful storytelling rooted in resistance, gender justice and social reform that has now earned global recognition.

Mushtaq is a prominent voice of the Bandaya Sahitya (rebel literature) movement, which challenged patriarchal and feudal structures through its sharp and socially conscious writing in the 1980s and 1990s. As the state convener of the Bandaya Sahitya Sanghatane, she authored six influential short story collections that expanded the boundaries of Kannada literature.A fearless advocate for women’s rights within the Muslim community, Mushtaq was among the earliest voices to demand the right for women to offer namaz in mosques — decades before the hijab debate made national headlines. Her campaign in the 1990s invited a fatwa and social boycott, but she stood firm.“I was only making a point that even in Islamic countries like Saudi Arabia, women are allowed to pray alongside men,” she said in an interview. “But my argument earned the wrath of the community. It led to mental distress. I recovered only because of the support of family and solace I drew from my writing.”Before entering law and politics, Mushtaq began her career in journalism with Lankesh Patrike, where her first report exposed a fatwa against a Muslim girl in Bijapur for watching a movie. She took up the cause, sparking what became known as the Najma Bagi controversy.She denounces the triple talaq system as un-Islamic and continues to push for internal reform within the community. “Change must come from within,” she insists, “free from external political influence.”Her acclaimed short story Kari Nagaragalu (Black Cobras), featured in her award-winning collection Heart Lamp, was adapted into a national award-winning film ‘Hasina’ by director Girish Kasaravalli.“I have read many stories by Banu Mushtaq. They are all rich with literary value and powerful in expressing the anguish of oppressed women in the Muslim community,” said Kasaravalli. “I’m surprised she hasn’t won recognition in the Kannada literary field so far. The International Booker Prize may serve as an eye opener for those who ignored her.”