Naseem Shafaie

Who is Naseem Shafaie?

Naseem Shafaie is a Kashmiri language poet who writes about a variety of topics including the turbulent atmosphere of Kashmir from a woman's perspective. In 2011, She became the first Kashmiri woman to win the Sahitya Akademi Award.

Shafaie was born in a middle-class family in Srinagar. She has a post-graduate degree in Kashmiri language and literature from the University of Kashmir and is a teacher of Kashmiri language at a graduate level.

Shafaie has published two poetry collections. Derche Machrith was published in 1999. Her second collection Na Thsay Na Aks won the 2011 Sahitya Akademi Award for Kashmiri making Shafaie the first Kashmiri woman to win the prize. Na Thsay Na Aks was also among the eight winners of the inaugural Tagore Literature Award in 2009. Her poetry has been translated into English, Urdu, Kannada, Tamil, Marathi and Telugu.