©º°¨¨°º©©º°¨¨°º© About the Author ©º°¨¨°º©©º°¨¨°º©

Nazia Peer grew up in Durban, which is on the eastern coast of South Africa.

She schooled at Westville Girls High School (WGHS) where she excelled at English and Mathematics. In 1994, she participated in the Toastmasters International Leadership Programme.

She read for her medical degree at MEDUNSA. During this tenure, she did a presentation on Rape in South Africa (1998) and in March 2003, she co-authored a paper entitled “The Necessity of Condom usage in teenagers from the Ga-Rankuwa and Soshanguve townships”. At the same time she authored her first novel entitled “House of Peace”. The book, which was published in November 2005, has been endorsed by Professor Fatima Meer and Dr Don Mattera, who were both key-note speakers at the launch.

Chris Dunton has said the following about “House of Peace”: “A real success of this book is that it manages to synthesis didactic and expository passages with the development of narrative and characterisation…As the plot reaches a multiple climax…the story becomes fully compelling. In the end, one does come to engage with the life of this family, with their concerns about their place in society, their conduct, their faith” (Sunday Independent, March 2006).

More than 1000 copies of “House of Peace” were sold within 6 month’s of its launch. Given its success, Nazia was invited to do readings from “House of Peace” at the first Cape Town International Book Fair which ran from 17 – 22 June 2006. Profits from the sale of “House of Peace” are being donated to the Christopher Nxumalo School in Chesterville, Durban.

During 2004, she worked as an intern at King Edward Hospital in Durban. During 2005, she worked as the Chief Medical Officer at the Natal Command Base, Durban (SANDF).

She is a current member of the Female Black Writer’s Association and the Islamic Medical Association.

In March 2006, Nazia was awarded the prestigious Nelson Mandela Scholarship, which “seeks to develop leadership of Nelson Mandela's calibre and it seeks to attract scholars who have already demonstrated strong leadership capacity, be it in politics, business or community work”. In September 2006, she commenced a Masters in Medical Law at Cardiff University in Wales. She hopes to integrate the disciplines of law and medicine with a view to increasing access to professional medical care.

In September 2006, she was awarded the Dhadji Platinum prize at the 2006 BTA/Anglo Plantinum Short Story Competition ceremony.