Ab Mein Sanwari Jaon Gi By Salman

About this afsana

Ab Main Sanwari Jaon Gi by Salman is a short Urdu afsana written as a Hijab Day special about a carefree university girl. A cruel bet teaches her a lesson she learns the hard way.

The story opens in a dark, old room on a stormy night. Lightning flashes through the bars of a window, thunder rolls, and a girl sits on a broken charpai, crying as the light shows her tears. Something has clearly broken her heart.

Then we go back to happier days. At breakfast, Tashfeen Begum calls her daughter Abro, who comes down in a pink shalwar kameez with her bag on her shoulder, already late for university. Her mother begs her to eat something, but Abro only says, “Kha lungi Ammi, aap itni fikr na kiya karein,” and rushes out. Tashfeen Begum sighs: Abro’s late father brought her beautiful hijabs from Saudi Arabia, but she never wears them, while her younger sister Kulsoom, who is still in matric, covers herself without being asked.

At university, Abro and her friend Zainab stand by the canteen with cold drinks. Zainab gently tells her to be careful about how she dresses, and Abro laughs it off: “Hum azaad parinday hain.” Zainab only asks her to fear Allah a little, and the two go off to class. Nearby, Sharib sits with his friends drinking coffee and watching Abro. They make a bet that he can win her over within a month. If he does, they will throw him a party at the city’s biggest restaurant. “Ek mahina zyada nahin hai?” asks Jamal, raising an eyebrow. Salman sets up a story about respect, choices and the people who see a girl only as a challenge.

حیا کوئی قید نہیں، یہ وہ چادر ہے جو عزت کی حفاظت کرتی ہے۔

Read more short stories by the same writer: Sada, Piyasa Kavwa and Saat Samundar Paar Raha Mera Dil, or see all Salman Daieem novels and more Urdu afsanay.