Shahida Rahman

Shahida Rahman
Native name শহীদুন নেসসা রহমান
Born Shahidun Nessa Karim
14 December 1971
Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England
Pen name Shahida Rahman
Occupation Novelist, writer
Language English
Nationality British
Ethnicity Bengali
Genre Fiction, non-fiction
Subject History
Years active 2003–present
Children 4
Relatives Abdul Karim (father)
Fultera Banoo Karim (mother)
Website
www.shahidarahman.co.uk

Shahidun Nessa Rahman (Bengali: শহীদুন নেসসা রহমান; née Karim Bengali: করিম; born 14 December 1971), commonly known by her pseudonym Shahida Rahman, is an English writer.

Early life

Rahman was born and brought up in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England.[1] She is of Bangladeshi descent[2] and both her parents are from Fenchuganj, Sylhet Division. Her late father, Abdul Karim, moved to Cambridge from East Pakistan (now Bangladesh) in 1957 and her mother, Fultera Banoo Karim, arrived in 1963.[3]

Career

Rahman writes historical fiction, non-fiction and short stories.[3] Since 2003, Rahman has been a freelance writer.[3] In 2005, she launched Perfect Publishers Ltd, a print-on-demand book publishing company providing a range of services for authors and other publishers.[4]

In June 2005, her first book Ibrahim – Where in the Spectrum Does He Belong? was published, which is memoir about her son who grew up with a learning disorder.[3] In June 2012, her first historical novel Lascar was published by Indigo Dreams Publishing.[1] Lascar was inspired by stories passed down orally through he generations about one of her paternal ancestors who was a lascar (sailor/seaman from East India).[5][6][7] It was shortlisted for the Muslim Writers Awards, Unpublished Novel Award in 2008 and longlisted for the Brit Writers Unpublished Award in 2010.[1]

In 2009, she was commissioned to write a radio play for the Lascar Heritage Project[8] for Silsila Productions[9] which aired in 2011.[1] In 2010, she co-wrote the screenplay India Ink with American screenwriter Halle Eavelyn which was based on Rahman's short story Homecoming. In 2011, India Ink was shortlisted for the Circalit First Draft Contest and reached the finals of the WriteMovies International Writing Contest.[8]

She wrote The Integration of the Hijab into Police Uniforms which was published in the Behind the Hijab anthology, in March 2009 by Monsoon Press.[8]

Other works of Rahman include: The Integration of the Hijab into Police Uniforms, The Lascar (radio play), and short stories and articles: Currying Favour, Backbone of the Fleet, The Life of Lascars Aboard Merchant Ships, Cambridge's first Gurdwara, Bangladeshis Trade Curry for College and Taxis, Baishaki Mela, Asian Women Suffragettes in the 1900's, Shongram-the Movie, Travel with Kids, The Middle Child Syndrome and Noor Inayat Khan.[3]

Rahman has contributed to and been published in the Best of British,[1] The Great War and SISTERS magazines, Asian World Newspaper,[3] Children of the New Earth, The Huffington Post and BBC Radio Cambridgeshire. She is a columnist at Weekly Desh newspaper.[4]

Rahman is currently working on her second historical novel about an Indian Ayah.[3] In 2014, she was on the judging panel in the short story category of the Young Muslim Writers Awards.

Rahman is a Liberal Democrat prospective councillor candidate for East Chesterton ward in the 2015 Cambridge City Council elections prior to the 2015 UK General Election.

Awards

In April 2012, Rahman was awarded a Channel S 'Special Acknowledgment Award' for her work drawing attention to the forgotten Bangladeshi cultural history and heritage.[3] In March 2014, she won 'Mother of the Year' at the Maa Amar Maa Awards. In January 2015, she won the Arts and Culture Awareness Award at the British Muslim Awards.[10]

Personal life

Rahman is married with three sons Ibrahim (born 1990), Imran (born 1997), Aniq (born 2000) and a daughter, Aminah (born 2003).[3]

Rahman has been most influenced by fellow authors; Rabina Khan and Shelina Zahra Janmohamed.[5]

Novels

Year Title Credit Publisher ISBN
2005 Ibrahim – Where in the Spectrum Does He Belong?[11] Author Perfect Publishers 978-1905399055
2009 Behind the Hijab Editor Monsoon Press 978-0955726712
2012 Lascar[12][13] Author Indigo Dreams Publishing 978-1907401718

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "About". Shahida Rahman. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  2. ↑ "Shahida Rahman". the Hilary Johnson Authors' Advisory Service. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 3.8 Karim, Mohammed Abdul; Karim, Shahadoth (October 2013). British Bangladeshi Who's Who. British Bangla Media Group. p. 34. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Shahida Rahman". About.me. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Vajpeyi, Yogesh (24 March 2013). "'Subject of lascars is under-represented in the UK'". India: The Indian Express. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  6. ↑ "Britain's first Asian immigrant issue: Lascars". Asian Culture Vulture. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  7. ↑ Hamilton, Keith (6 August 2012). "The forgotten men of maritime history". Hampshire: Southern Daily Echo. p. 17. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 "Shahida Rahman". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  9. ↑ "The Lascar Project". Silsila Productions. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  10. ↑ "British Muslim Awards 2015 Winners". British Muslim Awards 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "Ibrahim Where in the Spectrum Does He Belong?". Goodreads. 11 June 2005. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  12. ↑ Ali, Amber (14 June 2012). "BOOKS: Lascar by Shahida Rahman". Asian Image. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Alam, Farkrul (26 July 2013). "A Sylheti in Nineteenth Century London". Bangladesh: The Daily Star. Retrieved 1 September 2014.

External links