Sultana's Dream

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 a story of reversed purdah - the seclusion of women - in Ladyland, where peace-loving women overpower aggressive men through the power of their brains. Begum Rokheya Sakhawat Hossain, who lived during the last years of colonial rule in East Bengal, was a quiet and determined pioneer of Muslim feminist thought and writing, championing Muslim women's rights to education and freedom. This was her first full-length work in English. This edition of Sultana's Dream is a dialogue across time and cultures. Durga Bai, a brilliant young woman artist from the Gond tribe of central India, has drawn her response to this hundred year old feminist fable. She delights in drawing women in a variety of situations.