Published: May 15, 2025, 03:40 PM
She is the first writer of Bangladeshi origin to win the regional prize
Faria Basher, a 25-year-old writer from Bangladesh, has made literary history by becoming the first writer of Bangladeshi origin to win the Asia Regional Prize in the prestigious Commonwealth Short Story Prize. Her winning story, titled "An Eye and a Leg," stood out among thousands of entries for its bold, surreal narrative and dark humour.
The story follows an unmarried woman in her mid-thirties whose body starts to "spontaneously disintegrate." In response, her anxious parents seek a bizarre remedy by taking her to the "Marriage Market." The tale cleverly satirises the societal obsession with marriage, particularly the devaluation of unmarried women in South Asian cultures, using absurdist and macabre elements to underscore its critique.
Reflecting on her inspiration, Faria said, “I`ve seen how women across the world, especially in South Asia, face pressure to marry and have children. It’s so pervasive that I felt absurdism was the only way to express just how ludicrous this mindset is.” She appreciated that the Commonwealth Short Story Prize allowed her to write without diluting cultural nuances, saying she felt “fully comfortable” bringing South Asian themes to the forefront.
Saras Manickam, the 2019 Asia winner and this year’s judge for the region, praised the story’s sharp commentary on societal expectations of women, calling it “one of the best crafted stories I have read in the competition.”
Faria’s win places her among the five regional champions of the 2025 prize, alongside Joshua Lubwama from Uganda (Africa), Chanel Sutherland from Canada/Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (Canada & Europe), Subraj Singh from Guyana (Caribbean), and Kathleen Ridgwell from Australia (Pacific).
Each regional winner receives £2,500, while the overall winner, to be announced on 25 June 2025, will be awarded £5,000. All winning stories will be published by Granta and featured in a print anthology by Paper+Ink.
