Haseena Moin: Writer of Modern Drama
A pen is mightier than sword is an idiom that almost all of us have been listening to throughout our lives. However, there are few people who make us believe in it. Haseena Moin is a prominent Pakistani dramatist and scriptwriter whose work has been the voice of many people. At times when Pakistani media was under stringent media polices Haseena Moin wrote on many sensitive and critical issues and used her words to inspire and motivate people.
Born in Kanpur Haseena Moin after partition migrated to Pakistan and spent early years in Rawalpindi where her skills as a writer laid its first foundation and she started writing for a weekly column, Bhai Jan. She earned her Master’s degree in History from Karachi University and it was after this that her career as a professional writer took off. Her first landmark in the field was plays for Radio Pakistan’s program Studio Number 9. After establishing repute at radio television drama became her next conquest.
She has been a prominent team member that pioneered various trends in PTV’s history like writing first original script (Kiran Kahani), first colored drama (Parchaiyan), first serial on topics like family planning (Aahat), etc. A distinctive feature of all her plays is the heroic female characters who were never portrayed as a weaker gender, but as strong, confident women who dealt with realities of life firmly.
During the eras of 70s and 80s when gaining access to international platforms was difficult, Haseena Moin wrote dialogues for one Indian movie and two plays. Her play Gurya won the award for best script at Global TV Plays Festival in Tokyo. Apart from this many of her plays like Tanhayian, Dhoop Kinare, Kiran kahani, Uncle Urfi, Aansoo, Ankahi, Parchaiyan, Parosi, etc. have also gained international recognition. In addition to her expertise as a writer Haseena Moin has an eye for talent recognition as well. Many of TV’s established stars have started their career with her plays; this includes big names like Shehnaz Sheikh, Marina Khan, Nadia Jamil, Nadia Kahn, etc.
As Brian Aldiss quotes there are two kinds of writer; those that make you think and those that make you wonder. Haseena Moin rightly personifies this; her work not only inspires people, but makes them think on various aspects of life. Undoubtedly, Haseena Moin is one of the greatest assets of Pakistan and in lieu to her efforts she has been bestowed with the greatest Pakistani civil award, Pride of Performance.
