Sultana's Dream: And Selections from the Secluded Ones
- Book Review,
by Rokeya Sakawat Hossein
From Publishers Weekly
Hossain, born in north India (now Bangladesh) in 1880, was raised under the constraints of purdah, the Indian tradition that physically and spiritually isolates women, and devoted her life to writing about female oppression under purdah and to attempting to break through the stifling seclusion. The ironic "Sultana's Dream," first published in 1905, is a short story that reverses purdah: the narrator dreams she travels to the utopian Ladyland, a peaceful and technologically advanced state ruled by women, where men are docile, quarantined servants trained to cook and clean. "The Secluded Ones," published in 1928, is a collection of nonfiction reports on the incredible behavior that purdah demands from both women and men. Hossain tells, for example, of the matron who fell onto railway tracks but could not be rescued because of taboos against contact between the sexes. This short book is a window openedtoo brieflyonto a world whose exoticism is overshadowed only by its oppressiveness. Particularly chilling is Hossain's work's relevance to our timesas pointed out in the afterwordwhen purdah and its variants are being revived in different social and religious movements. Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Ten years before Charlotte P. Gilman published her feminist utopia, Herland (1915), "Sultana's Dream" appeared in an India-based English periodical. It is a clever and appealing story of reversed purdah (seclusion of women) in Ladyland, where women overpower men through brains rather than brawn. Accompanying this story are selections from The Secluded Ones (1928), a factual account of extreme cases of purdah. Commentaries by scholars put the works of the little-known Hossain in a global and historical context. An interesting and informative work for Asian studies and women's studies collections. Jeris Cassel, Rutgers Univ. Libs., New Brunswick, N.J.Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Holly Smith
The short story Sultana's Dream first appeared in print in 1905. Written by a Muslim woman, it reverses the role of purdah, the practice of seclusion and segregation of women. Through a dream, the narrator visits a country run by women where the men are hidden; on her tour she sees gardens everywhere, a transportation system that is efficient, and kitchens that are clean and pleasant to work in. When the narrator questions her guide about how this happened, the guide challenges her: "Why do you allow yourselves to be shut up?...You have neglected the duty you owe to yourself and you have lost your natural rights by shutting your eyes to your own interests." This amazing story reads very quickly, but it is not light reading. Following Sultana's Dream are selections of Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain's observations of women who live under purdah, including her own experiences: "Ever since I turned five, I have had to hide myself from women even...I had to disappear as soon as strangers approached." Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, who lived between 1880 and 1932, devoted her life to the education of women and the recognition of sexual equality. She was a thought-provoking, far-sighted woman with visions of a world beyond the realities of her life. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14.
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