Khadija Mumtaz

Khadija Mumtaz (born 1955) is a Malayalam author from Kerala state, India. She is a medical doctor by profession and is probably best known in the Kerala literary circles for her second novel Barsa which won the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award in 2010.

Early and personal life
She applied for voluntary retirement from government service in June 2013 to protest against her transfer from Calicut Medical College at the fag end of her service.

Literary career
Mumtaz started her literary career with Athmatheerthangalil Munginivarnnu, which was first published as a serial novel in Chandrika weekly and later as a book by Current Books in 2004. Mumtaz rose to fame with her novel Barsa (2007), which was a great critical and popular success. The book, which won critical acclaim for its forceful but humorous presentation of the restrictions under which Muslim women are forced to live, was hailed a milestone in Malayalam literature. It won the prestigious Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for the year 2010. Mumtaz's next novel, Athuram, released on 28 January 2011 at the 12th International Book Festival in Kochi, also received rave reviews from critics. According to renowned writer U. A. Khader, this novel, after her acclaimed Barsa, was sure to trigger off a diverse kind of reading and interpretations as it passionately dealt with a sphere closer to Dr. Mumthas by her own experience as a medical practitioner. "The unique style of narration that develops through the inner conflicts of characters is sure to compel the readers' attention throughout the work," he said.

Awards

 * 2008: K. V. Surendranath Literary Award for Barsa
 * 2010: Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for Barsa
 * 2010: Cherukad Award for Barsa
 * 2018: Thrissur Sahithya Vedi Award for Neettiyezhuthukal