Kia Abdullah
Encyclopedia
Kia Abdullah is a British-Bangladeshi
author and journalist. She contributed to the guardian.co.uk website Comment is Free from 2008 to 2010 and has written two novels: Life, Love and Assimilation (Adlibbed, 2006) and Child's Play
(Revenge Ink, 2009).
with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science. The novel debuted among praise and controversy in equal measures. The Bangladeshi community, including members of Abdullah’s own family, denounced the book due to its no-holds-barred description of the drugs problem in Tower Hamlets
along with the inclusion of several sexually graphic scenes.
Despite the controversy, Abdullah remained firm in her view that taboo issues should be explored: “I have a voice and I’ll say what I want with it. I am not backing down. I am not staging a retreat. Let people say what they want to say.”
Life, Love and Assimilation, drew comparisons with Monica Ali's
Brick Lane. Despite feeling “honoured” by this comparison to Ali, Abdullah says, “I feel that we are being pigeonholed together simply because of the content of our novels.”
Due to the success of the novel, Abdullah was offered a position at Asian Woman Magazine, a monthly glossy lifestyle title aimed at women from the South-Asian community. After a year at the magazine, Abdullah left to freelance and write second novel Child’s Play, a psychological crime thriller published in December 2009. Subsequently, Abdullah was offered, and accepted, a role as columnist for Asiana magazine. In addition to writing for the magazine, Abdullah writes on a range of topics from politics to relationships for the Guardian newspaper.
Abdullah has interviewed a range of prominent Asian actors and musicians including Meera Syal
, Anoushka Shankar
and Nitin Sawhney
. She is an occasional guest on Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show and has appeared in documentaries and news reports for the BBC
and Channel 4
.
On 1 July 2011 Abdullah attracted widespread criticism when she tweeted
that she did not feel sympathy over the news of the deaths of three British students who had died in a bus accident whilst on a gap year
in Thailand. In a second tweet she added that she smiled when she read that they had double-barrelled name
s. She later deleted the tweets and apologized on Twitter for being "stupid and very heartless" and then at greater length on her personal website.
in the East End of London
. She is of Bangladeshi
descent; her parents moved to Britain from the Sylhet region
of Bangladesh
during the 1970s.
British Bangladeshi
A British Bangladeshi is a person of Bangladeshi origin who resides in the United Kingdom having emigrated to the UK and attained citizenship through naturalisation or whose parents did so; they are also known as British Bengalis...
author and journalist. She contributed to the guardian.co.uk website Comment is Free from 2008 to 2010 and has written two novels: Life, Love and Assimilation (Adlibbed, 2006) and Child's Play
Child's Play (novel)
Child's Play is a novel by the British-Asian author Kia Abdullah, and is due for release by Revenge Ink publishers on 4 December 2009.- Plot :...
(Revenge Ink, 2009).
Career
Kia Abdullah wrote her first novel Life, Love and Assimilation after graduating from Queen Mary, University of LondonQueen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
with a Bachelor of Science degree in computer science. The novel debuted among praise and controversy in equal measures. The Bangladeshi community, including members of Abdullah’s own family, denounced the book due to its no-holds-barred description of the drugs problem in Tower Hamlets
London Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
along with the inclusion of several sexually graphic scenes.
Despite the controversy, Abdullah remained firm in her view that taboo issues should be explored: “I have a voice and I’ll say what I want with it. I am not backing down. I am not staging a retreat. Let people say what they want to say.”
Life, Love and Assimilation, drew comparisons with Monica Ali's
Monica Ali
Monica Ali is a British writer of Bangladeshi origin. She is the author of Brick Lane, her debut novel, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2003...
Brick Lane. Despite feeling “honoured” by this comparison to Ali, Abdullah says, “I feel that we are being pigeonholed together simply because of the content of our novels.”
Due to the success of the novel, Abdullah was offered a position at Asian Woman Magazine, a monthly glossy lifestyle title aimed at women from the South-Asian community. After a year at the magazine, Abdullah left to freelance and write second novel Child’s Play, a psychological crime thriller published in December 2009. Subsequently, Abdullah was offered, and accepted, a role as columnist for Asiana magazine. In addition to writing for the magazine, Abdullah writes on a range of topics from politics to relationships for the Guardian newspaper.
Abdullah has interviewed a range of prominent Asian actors and musicians including Meera Syal
Meera Syal
Meera Syal MBE is a British comedienne, writer, playwright, singer, journalist, producer and actress. She rose to prominence as one of the team that created Goodness Gracious Me and became one of the UK's best-known Indian personalities portraying Sanjeev's grandmother, Ummi, in The Kumars at No...
, Anoushka Shankar
Anoushka Shankar
Anoushka Shankar is a British Indian sitar player and composer who lives between the United States, the United Kingdom, and India. She is the daughter of Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar and Sukanya Shankar...
and Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney
Nitin Sawhney is an Indian-British musician, producer and composer. His critically acclaimed work combines Asian and other worldwide influences with elements of jazz and electronica and often explores themes such as multiculturalism, politics and spirituality...
. She is an occasional guest on Radio 2’s Jeremy Vine Show and has appeared in documentaries and news reports for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
.
On 1 July 2011 Abdullah attracted widespread criticism when she tweeted
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
that she did not feel sympathy over the news of the deaths of three British students who had died in a bus accident whilst on a gap year
Gap year
An expression or phrase that is associated with taking time out to travel in between life stages. It is also known as sabbatical, time off and time out that refers to a period of time in which students disengage from curricular education and undertake non curricular activities, such as travel or...
in Thailand. In a second tweet she added that she smiled when she read that they had double-barrelled name
Double-barrelled name
In English speaking and some other Western countries, a double-barrelled name is a family name with two parts, which may or may not be joined with a hyphen and is also known as a hyphenated name. An example of a hyphenated double-barrelled surname is Bowes-Lyon; an example of an unhyphenated...
s. She later deleted the tweets and apologized on Twitter for being "stupid and very heartless" and then at greater length on her personal website.
Personal life
Kia Abdullah was born and raised in the borough of Tower HamletsLondon Borough of Tower Hamlets
The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough to the east of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It is in the eastern part of London and covers much of the traditional East End. It also includes much of the redeveloped Docklands region of London, including West India Docks...
in the East End of London
East End of London
The East End of London, also known simply as the East End, is the area of London, England, United Kingdom, east of the medieval walled City of London and north of the River Thames. Although not defined by universally accepted formal boundaries, the River Lea can be considered another boundary...
. She is of Bangladeshi
British Bangladeshi
A British Bangladeshi is a person of Bangladeshi origin who resides in the United Kingdom having emigrated to the UK and attained citizenship through naturalisation or whose parents did so; they are also known as British Bengalis...
descent; her parents moved to Britain from the Sylhet region
Sylhet Division
Sylhet Division , also known as Greater Sylhet or Sylhet region, is the northeastern division of Bangladesh, named after its main city, Sylhet...
of Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
during the 1970s.