Publisher’s
write-up:
‘Sultana’s Dream first appeared in 1905, ten years before the American feminist and
novelist, Charlotte P. Gilman, published her feminist utopia Herland. Sultana’s Dream is an
appealing story of reversed purdah – the secularism of women – in Ladyland,
where peace-loving women overpower aggressive men through the power of their
brains.’
Sultana’s Dream is a sci-fi pro feminism
novella written during the early years of the previous century by the Bengali feminist
writer Begum Rokheya. This review is solely based on the edition with
illustrations from Durga Bai; and I don’t even know whether this edition is the
full story or it has been abridged.
The story is straightforward, a woman by
the name Sultana is led by another woman whom she presumes to be her friend
Sara, takes her to a faraway land, which is far more advanced than what she has
seen in India – with solar powered kitchens, devices up in the air which stops
rainfall and in turn provides endless supply of water, irrigation fully carried
out using electricity, etc. This is a land completely ruled by women and where
men are confined inside the houses, the converse of what used to happen in early
20th century India.
I really loved the imagination of the
author in this book; to think of solar powered kitchens back in 1905, flying
machines three decades before it was invented and for putting forth feminist
thoughts at a time when subjugation was considered normal and that too, hailing
from one of the most conservative regions of the country (which it till date
is); is something commendable. I also liked the illustrations of Durga Bai in
traditional Bengali art, especially, that of the solar powered kitchen (as
shown above) and I guess that makes the book adorable across all age groups.
Also, the book didn’t drag on pointlessly and ended when it had to, making it
the perfect novella.
However, what I totally loathed was that
the author is such a militant feminist, she is not a feminist who is fighting
for the equality of women in the society, but represents that extreme brand of
feminism (I don’t even consider that as feminism, would prefer using the term
that is circulated in the internet – feminazism)
which merely promotes hatred towards more than anything else. All that this
book tries to portray is that men are absolutely good for nothing, in their
seven hours of working life; they work for an hour and spend the rest of the
time smoking, and several other absolutely preposterous remarks. Had a man
written a novel, merely portraying the society as it was in those days, would’ve
been condemned as a chauvinist but it is rather unfortunate that media houses
and several other feminazis support
these kind of women. Personally, I consider myself a feminist who supports equality and stops at equality.
Leaving my personal opinions apart, purely
seeing it as a story, I feel it is a decent work and could be a really good
read to keep yourself occupied during a short travel. While I might have given
this book a rating of seven, I can’t ignore her rather radical opinions and
hence, I award this book a rating of six.
Rating
– 6/10
Have
a nice day,
Andy