Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was an autodidact who became a formidable champion of women’s rights and education when women in South Asia, especially Muslim women, were forced to live in subhuman conditions, almost like animals, or even worse than animals
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary (online), the first known use of the term ‘feminism’–
“They should not do anything, excuse me; they are fit for nothing.”
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880–1932) was exceptional in many different ways. Born on December 9, 1880, in a sleepy village in Rangpur, undivided Bengal, she died on the same day, 52 years later,
"Sultana's Dream" draws inspiration from the eponymous 1905 book by the renowned Bengali feminist thinker and writer, Begum Rokeya. The story unfolds as it follows a Spanish artist residing in India who serendipitously encounters a science fiction narrative centered on "Ladyland," a utopian society where women hold sway over the nation while men retreat to seclusion and assume responsibility for domestic chores.
Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932) and Begum Sufia Kamal (1911-1999), two icons in Bangla literature and culture, were not kins but kindred spirits.
For those who are especially interested in literature in book form, the first two floors of the exhibition hold treasures.
The zine-making workshop was divided into four groups based on the central themes of Begum Rokeya’s story: arts, social justice, city planning and science & education.
Her 1903 piece “Alonkar na badge of slavery” marked the start of Rokeya’s explicitly feminist writing.
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was an autodidact who became a formidable champion of women’s rights and education when women in South Asia, especially Muslim women, were forced to live in subhuman conditions, almost like animals, or even worse than animals
According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary (online), the first known use of the term ‘feminism’–
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880–1932) was exceptional in many different ways. Born on December 9, 1880, in a sleepy village in Rangpur, undivided Bengal, she died on the same day, 52 years later,
“They should not do anything, excuse me; they are fit for nothing.”
"Sultana's Dream" draws inspiration from the eponymous 1905 book by the renowned Bengali feminist thinker and writer, Begum Rokeya. The story unfolds as it follows a Spanish artist residing in India who serendipitously encounters a science fiction narrative centered on "Ladyland," a utopian society where women hold sway over the nation while men retreat to seclusion and assume responsibility for domestic chores.
Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880-1932) and Begum Sufia Kamal (1911-1999), two icons in Bangla literature and culture, were not kins but kindred spirits.
For those who are especially interested in literature in book form, the first two floors of the exhibition hold treasures.
The zine-making workshop was divided into four groups based on the central themes of Begum Rokeya’s story: arts, social justice, city planning and science & education.
Her 1903 piece “Alonkar na badge of slavery” marked the start of Rokeya’s explicitly feminist writing.
The Penguin Classics edition of Sultana’s Dream and Padmarag comes in a paperback, ebook, and as an audiobook narrated by Priya Ayyar, a television and film actor and award-winning audiobook narrator with a BFA and MFA from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.