Pakistani anglophone literature in general is the literature of romance and conflict. The conflict emerges immediately as soon as an individual begins to tread a non-traditional path of love or ambition. When a man and woman fall in love with each other, mostly society and the families come in conflict with each other and this development of romance is strictly opposed. It is evident from the folk tales of regional and indigenous literature of Pakistan, like Heer-Ranjha, Sassi-Punoo and Sohni-Mahinwal. The same conflict would emerge if a woman decides to tread a different path as compared to the traditional areas allowed to women or she raises her voice to challenge these accepted norms. This conflict can also be between one’s ambitions and desires and the social set up because it would allow only the ambitions which do not come in direct conflict with the major interests of the society. If anyone dares cross the established boundaries, heavy penalties are imposed to crush the dissenting voice. Among many reasons of this conflict, one is the non-synchronic attitude of the Eastern Muslim societies, which generates an attitude of social lethargy that remains unable to accept the change or material realities in time. In such an environment if anyone challenges the situation, that person is looked upon derogatorily and never encouraged. Pakistani anglophone fiction is indicative of these conflicts between the individuals and social set up. The short fiction by Aamer Hussein suggests that struggling men and women ultimately succeed and make a socio-political space for themselves. The short story ‘Needle Woman’ in the collection Cactus Town and other short stories by Hussein, focuses on the similar issues in Pakistan. The story is constructed on the theme of bad marriage which in real life is the cause of undue pain and suffering for women in Pakistan. It also depicts that now women do not want to suffer in silence because their education, skill and the modern facilities made available by technology, coupled with the awareness have made it possible for the women to quit the abusive relationship and live on their own and raise their babies. Tabinda, the needlewoman in the story, is married to Sohayl, who lived outside the country and visited Pakistan for a few days only for his marriage. Tabinda gave birth to a baby girl, which was not accepted by her in-laws. The worst shock, though not unexpected, came when her husband returned to Pakistan with his new English bride. She could not digest all this. “But since she had heard the news, she’d been a captive of corners, hiding her face from the light”. Instead of staying in the relationship and suffering the humiliation, she decided to quit and to survive on her own. She started her journey by train in a veil to reach the home of her family but “left her burqa behind on the seat of the compartment”. The removal of this veil symbolizes that she had to remove her shyness and protective cover of the social tradition, which is actually employed to make women helpless and dependent. She removes this cover and enters the world of economics where it was a little bit hard in the beginning but ultimately, became a success. Tabinda is a role model developed by Hussein. The emotional crisis, through which Tabinda had to pass, proves very damaging and becomes cause of psychological suffering for women in real life as well. But Tabinda, in the story instead of lingering her suffering of emotional crisis, goes one step ahead and decides to change her life by taking her destiny in her own hand. In this way, she challenges one of the traditional norms of the society which compels women to keep silent. She challenged the silence and emerged as a different entity capable of holding on her own. The most powerful sentence comes from her only after she had learnt to survive on her own. She says that she wants to divorce her husband. Tabinda becomes the representative of the Pakistani women who would prefer to resist instead of losing their personality under the load of culture and traditions of the patriarchal set up. They would prefer to stand on their own feet instead of lurking behind an abusive husband. In comparison to the portrayal of women in the fiction of pre-1970s, for example that of Tallat Abbasi, Zulifkar Ghose, Zaibunissa Hameedullah, Ahmed Ali, where women have been portrayed as reticent and voiceless, the portrayal of Tabinda is a powerful voice that is capable of making her own decisions and implement them as well. Her education, training, and upbringing enabled her to find her way in the difficult time of her emotional crisis. This step of hers empowers and encourages her sufficiently that she decided to divorce her husband. This portrayal of woman is that of a modern and progressive woman who is unable to accept the social or domestic oppression on her and leaves the situation by taking a daring step and can decide to survive on her own. This trend in the fiction is a feminist trend which not only highlights the issue but also devises a way out. The writer is a professor of English at Government Emerson University, Multan. He can be reached at zeadogar@hotmail.com and Tweets at @Profzee