Zulfiya (poet)

Zulfiya
Born	Zulfiya Isroilova زلفيه اسرائيل قيزى Зулфия Исроилова Tashkent, Russian Empire
Died	Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Pen name	Zulfiya (as takhallus)
Occupation	Poet
Language	Uzbek, Russian
Nationality	Soviet Union,  Uzbekistan
Literary movement	Socialist Realism
Notable awards	Hero of Socialist Labor, 1984; Order of Lenin, 1984
Spouse	Hamid Olimjon

Zulfiya (in Cyrillic Зулфия, full name Zulfiya Isroilova, 1915–1996, Tashkent) was an Uzbek writer. Her name Zulfiya originates from the Persian word زلف zulf meaning 'a curl of hair' and '(in a mystic sense) the divine mysteries forming the delight of the devotee'.^[1][2]

Zulfiya was descended from a family of craftsmen in Tashkent. Her first poem was published 17 July 1931 in the Uzbek newspaper Ishchi (The Worker). Her first collection of poetry (Hayot varaqlari, "Pages of Life") was published in 1932. In the following decades she wrote patriotic works as well as propaganda, pacifist works, and works on nature and women's topics.

From 1938 on, Zulfiya worked for various publishers and was a member of several national and interrepublican organizations. She repeatedly was a leader or chief editor for various media. After the death of her husband Hamid Olimjon in an accident in 1944, she dedicated to him several works. In 1953 she joined the Communist Party and also became the editor of Saodat magazine. In 1956, she was part of a delegation of Soviet writers led by Konstantin Simonov to the Asian Writers' Conference in Delhi. In 1957 she participated in the Asian-African Solidarity Conference in Cairo.

Zulfiya became the National Poet (1965) and was named a "Hero of Socialist Labor" (1984). In 1976 she won the USSR State Prize in literature and art.

In 1999, the Uzbek National Award for Women was created and named after her.

References

External links

• Biography (Russian)
• Information on the Zulfiya prize and Zulfiya