The Feminist Trends in
By
Tapas Kumer Pramanic
Tapas Kumer Pramanic
ID-043013006
Major in English Literature
Dhanmondi,
tkpramanic@gmail/hotmail.com
01714923310
Acknowledgments
My thanks are due to my class mates Hossain Mahmud, Meshkat Nahar Tania, Shafiul Alam Khan for their helpful correspondence. Hossain Mahmud and Meshkat Nahar Tania helped me by giving innovative ideas related to my thesis paper, Shafiul Alam Khan inspired me to write a enrich paper from abroad.
Table of Contents
| Chapter | Particulars | Page No |
| 01 | Introduction | |
| 02 | Life and Literary work of Roquiah Sakhawat Hossain | |
| 04 | Study on Sakawat Hossain and Niaz Zaman | |
| 05 | Sultana’s Dream | |
| 5.1 | Legal Rights of Women | |
| 5.2 | Repression on women | |
| 5.3 | Education and Training | |
| 5.4 | Women’s Active Participation in Economic Activities | |
| 5.5 | Health | |
| 5.6 | Knowledge about Science and Technology | |
| 06 | Mariam and The Miser and The Daily Woman | |
| 07 | Developing aspects of women in | |
| 08 | Conclusion | |
Abstract
We do not know when feminist movement started in greater Bangle. It is known to everyone that politically, culturally or in religious view the greater Bangla is male dominated society. Our mothers are dominated by our fathers. Our grand mothers were dominated by our grand fathers. This is the sequel picture of our society. Women have to maintain Pardah. In early period society thought that women are inferior then men. They had no right to go out side for education. Bagum Roquiah Sakhawat Hossain was the first person who knocked our society for awaking women. She declared as a human being woman has same right like men through her writing. She shows an imaginary picture in the Novella Sultana’s Dream how women are working out side of the home, going to University for higher education, researching as a scientist. It was created a great positive impact in the last decades of nineteenth century. The Muslim community entered the process of modernization through education and women’s reform. This is the part of the “Bangle Renaissance” which was launched by the intellectuals, writers, and reformers of
.
Chapter-1
Introduction
Feminist movement is a movement against male dominated society. It is happened to establish the belief in the society, economy and politics about the equality of the sexes. A feminist who belief that women should be allowed the same rights, power and opportunity as men. Though feminism originated largely in the west but is world wide. We do not know exactly when and who started write on feminism in greater Bangle. Some of women gave just their idea about right of women as a human being. For example Rasasundari, who thought that men and women are not different. Others gave some idea about feminism in early Bangle that’s not well constructed. We know
Chapter-2
Life and Literary work of Roquiah Sakhawat Hossain
Roquiah Sakhawat Hossain was an educationalist, social reformer. She was born on 9 December in 1880 into a landed family of Pairaband in Rangpur. Zahiruddin Abu Ali haider Saber was her father and Rahatunnesa Chowdhury, her mother. Her family preferred to maintain strict purdah for the women. Women of the household were taught only in Arabic in order to read the Holy Quran, but as Rownak Jahan Pointed out “defying custom, and valuing their Bangali identity over their religious one, Roquiah and her elder sister, Karimunnesa persisted in earning Bangla.” The name of Sakhawat Hossain an Roquiah’s brother Ibrahim Saber are offend attached one of the key sources of inspiration for Roquiah’s struggle for women’s rights. She was married off before the age of 15, after getting married at the age of 16 to Syed Shalawat, a widower of 39, in 1896.
Roquiah was well versed in Bangla, English, Urdu, Arabic and Persian. She wrote her first novel Sultana’s Dream (1905) in English. Its subject was feminism that is why she drew an opposite picture of our society, where women are more powerful then men. I will go through detail about her first novel in this paper. Motichur, Oborodhbashini, Padmarag, Narir Odhikar is her other famous short stories and Novels which topic also about feminism. Two major organizational contributions Roquiah made for attaining women’s rights. One is, she stands a girls’ school named “Sakhawat Memorial Girls’ School” and other she made a Muslim Women’s Association named “Anjuman-e- Khawatin-e-Islam”. She died on
Chapter-3
Life and Literary work of Niaz Zaman
Niaz Zaman was professor of English at the
Chapter-4
Study on Sakawat Hossain and Niaz Zaman
Though there is a clear gap of the time btween Rokeya Sakawat Hossain and Niaz Zaman. Rokeya Sakawat Hossain and Niaz Zaman are two important revolutionary writers of great consequences in the history of women’s rights movement of their respective society. Both fights for women’s rights in a time and social setting that believes in source of social mythologies about the role and status of women and hence was not ready to give women their proper dues. Late nineteenth and early twentieth century in
Chapter-5
Sultana’s Dream
Roquiah Sakhawat Hossein’s Sultana’s Dream, first published in English and then translated by the writer herself into Bangla. Hossain’s reason for writing Sultana’s Dream was not to entertain but to critique the prevailing injustice of a male dominated society. In creating lady land, where women take part in public life while men remain secluded in the murdana-a parody of the zenana, the women space where women were forced to remain indoors, behind the veil- Sakhawat Hossein was not just being fanciful but using her imagination to satirize the social inequities she was around her. Most of Roquiah sakhawat Hossein’s writing is, however, in Bangla as she tried to persuade her community to leave behind the old world for modern one where women were free to study and work. In the school that she founded in her husband’s name and for which she is known for enabling a whole generation of girls to go to school and later take up her mantle- girls were expected to learn women’s skills like sewing and embroidery but were also encouraged to take part in sports and games along with their studies. Sultana’s Dream is a story begins and ends in the same place, in Sultana’s bedroom. As the story opens Sultana is lounging in an easy chair one evening and thinking lazily of the condition of Indian (Part of Bangle) womanhood. At a time Sultana sleep lightly and has a fantastic dream. The dream is all about her visit to Ladyland which is dominated by women. In Sultana’s Dream we found some important issues that are:
· Legal Rights of Women
· Repression on women
· Education and Training
· Women’s Active Participation in Economic Activities
· Health
· Knowledge about Science and Technology
Chapter-5.1
Legal Rights of Women
Right is the word that refers to freedoms and basic notions of human rights. Legal means that any person deserves basic rights as a responsible citizen in a specific country. Now if we talk about the legal rights of women then question arise that, are they really enjoying their legal rights that they deserve. Then the answer will be from the earlier period of time till now they are still ignored, suppressed by the law, custom and behavior of the society. Still they are not free from the old school of our so called society.
If we go back to the old period then we will see that, at that time women were confined in the four walls in a house, mostly Muslim women. They were not allowed to go out side for any thing, anything that was related with their living. They were deprived from their basic rights because of the social context of that time. They could not even go to school or college. Most of the families arranged privet education and in that education system they used to learn Urdue, Farsi, and Arabic etc. They were not allowed to meet any outsider of the family. So as a result they were unknown about the out side world.
On the other hand Roquiah draws an opposite picture in Siltana’s Dream where women are more powerful than men. This is called ladyland. Where women are working like men and men are confined in four walls. For example: when Sultana asked “where are the men?” to Dear Sara. Dear Sara replied in their proper places, where they ought to be. All the time men are confined in four walls because of the Zenana! Roquiah shows to us that women are more comfortable to work outside of the house. They are working in office; they are going to School, College, and University for higher education. One of them invented a wonderful balloon using scientific knowledge in Roquiah’s as well as Soltana’s Ladyland. Where Roquiah shows women can do anything.
Now come to the modern era, what is going on in this period? There are some positive aspects are noticeable and negative side also. It is true that the development of women’s legal rights are gradually taking a good shape but still there are some place where they have not reached yet. In modern period they are allowed to go out side for education and all but still male dominated society is not giving them the chance to prove their ability of work or any other activities that a male can do. Yes it is true that there are some works that a female cannot do but there are lots of thing that a women can do like a man. It is proved that a woman can do a work with caring and all but a man cannot do that with care or something like that, I am not saying that man can do that perfectly but a woman can do that more appropriately, but they are still one step back comparing with the male society because of the social confinement. Still there are some families that they do not want to give their female child those facilities that they are giving their male child. It is mostly happing in the educated families and the lower class people in many countries and for this mostly mothers are responsible. They do not want that their daughter and son walk in the same track. We cannot blame them because they are also come from the same background that they are applying for their daughter. They cannot come out of that, but still there is hope if any woman want to come out from that bindings then she has to do it by herself and the positive thing is that there are many organizations which are ready to help them. Now at this moment women are enjoying those facilities or their legal rights that in the earlier period was like a dream for the women but now they can go out side for education and work and they can also participate in the politics.
Chapter-5.2
Repression on women
From the very beginning of the world women are looked down by male. They are considered as dumb and the form of property. They are not appreciated about their any kind of work; they have to all the household work as their duty. They have to take all the pain like giving birth of child and raising them and all the work related with their child. They are dominated by the men only because men are muscular then women. They are treated like a domestic animal. They are not allowed to take any kind of decision related with their family matters. They are always ignored by the society and family. They cannot make their own identity by themselves only because of the social structure, rules and norms.
Women are always dominated by the men; they are treated like a tool in a family. There is no difference between women and the army. They both are same; in army life they are bound to obey their seniors order and cannot violet any kind of rules made by the higher authority of defense, if we compare this with the life of women then we will see they are also leading life like this; they are also not allowed to violate any kind of rules or norms made by the society and family. In their father’s house they have to obey their fathers’ rule and after that when they are in their husbands’ house they have to obey their husbands’ rule, in this way they lead their life on others decision. They do not have any kind of freedom of choice or speech in their living period of time.
It is very depressing but true is that from the old time till now women are called as the product of emotion, they always take decision on the basis of their emotion and on the other hand men are the most reasonable person. They take any kind of decision logically. Men hold the important part of the decision making in political, social and religious part of the society. They control the political social and religious power; because of this institutional power they always have the control over women or girls empowerment. Men have the power of making of different policies in a political, social and religious in a institute so they make those policies according to their facilities. Men made rules make a woman immoral and dishonor in a family, their decision are not acceptable in a family or society or political sector. Women and girls activities are strictly controlled by these man-made rules. The interesting thing is that for this male controlled society different sexual terms are decided by these male-made rules in the society; like virginity of a girl is decided by the society, because the policy of this male dominated society made different definition of the term called virginity. Because of religious mold most of the cultures are controlled by it and it makes women subordinate to men. Fundamentalist movements, whether Christian, Jewish, Hindu or Islamic, advocate the repression of women and girls’ sexuality. Women and girls’ interaction with men and boys is closely monitored and restricted and their bodies and hair covered in a way deemed to be modest. For example; for the influence of fundamental Islamic rules women are restricted to wear full body covering, or else they are punished severely, because of sexual misconduct, in
The repression of women is global crisis. It is happening all over the world. It is the violation of human rights and it is also the crisis of democracy and security of nations. This kind of repression and oppression is going on extends from the individual to the state. Roquiah is the first person who shows men and women are equal in Sultana’s Dream. She shows a parallel world at a time in Sultana’s Dream. First world is real world that is represented by Sultana. This world’s women are repressed by men. On the other hand, another world is represented by Sister Sara that is opposite picture of real world, where women are more powerful and men are repressed by women.
Chapter-5.3
Education and Training
All over the world still women are deprived from proper education, which is their basic human right. They are not getting equal education facilities comparing with men. Still maximum women are illiterate, because of this they cannot move to any developing sectors. They cannot work any honorable position like men. In fact their illiteracy is giving a nation an illiterate generation. Because of the family and social bindings they cannot get education. They need a non-discriminate education system, family and society.
According to Roquiah we should improve the women access to vocational training, science and technology and to continuing education, allocating proper resource and implementation of this training and education and proper monitoring system. Despite progress in this area, girls still face discrimination because of ingrained cultural attitudes, early marriages, pregnancies, lack of accessible schools, and inadequate and gender-biased educational materials. Girls continue to be denied quality education in science and technology. Two thirds of the 960 million illiterate adults in the world are women. In Sultana’s Dream we saw a ladyland where every woman is educated.
Chapter-5.4
Women’s Active Participation in Economic Activities
For the majority of women are continuing obstacles have hindered their ability to achieve economic autonomy and to ensure sustainable livelihoods for themselves and their dependants. Women are active in a variety of economic areas, which they often combine, ranging from wage labor and subsistence farming and fishing, to the informal sector. However, legal and customary barriers to ownership of or means of access to land, natural resources, capital, credit, technology and other means of production, as well as wage differentials, contribute to impeding the economic progress of women.
Women's economic dependence and, often, lack of rights to property or access to finance have long crippled their ability to take care of themselves and their families.
ü Promote women's economic rights and independence, including access to employment, appropriate working conditions and control over economic resources;
ü Facilitate women's equal access to resources, employment, markets and trade;
ü Provide business services, training and access to markets, information and technology, particularly to low-income women;
ü Strengthen women's economic capacity and commercial networks;
ü Eliminate occupational segregation and all forms of employment discrimination.
Women still earn less than men do, with a gross domestic product per capita almost half that for men.
Although women have made substantial progress in closing the gender gap in managerial and professional jobs, unemployment rates are still higher for women than they are for men. Moreover, women worldwide still earn less than men do, with a gross domestic product for women, almost half that for men. Recent economic and political developments, such as globalization of the economy and economic crises in
Many international organizations assist projects that enable women, especially the very poor and the non-literate, to develop secure incomes. It supports advocacy aimed at providing access to credit and capital for "micro-enterprises" that teach women to manage productive activities. By reducing economic dependency, these efforts bolster women's self-esteem and empower them to participate more effectively in sexual and reproductive health decisions that affect their own health and lives. Many have found a voice in their communities for the first time as a result.
These have helped train rural women to set up savings groups eligible for bank credit for agricultural production. The Fund helped provide business training in collaboration with local government, NGOs and the private sector.
To mitigate the effects of economic crises, international organization supports the economic, political and physical empowerment of women, with special emphasis on poor women, indigenous women and girls.
Chapter-5.5
Health
Women have the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Good health is essential to leading a productive and fulfilling life, and the right of all women to control all aspects of their health, in particular their own fertility, is basic to their empowerment However, health and well-being elude the majority of women.
In earlier period women did not get the proper health care because of the social structure and religious bindings. Especially in Muslim religion women were not allowed to see any male doctor and they were not allowed to talk about their health by their own presence. Most crucial part is the moment when they became pregnant, that time they could not allowed to go to hospital. They had to give birth their child at home. As a result many mother died because of many critical problems that the family members did not know.
In modern period people are very much alert about health, they are conscious about health. The good news is that the health technology is developing day by day, people are aware about many diseases, but still many women are ignore in terms of health care. Still women are ding for unhealthy health care. Most of the women are not aware about health care; they don’t have that much Idea about modern health care only because of their educational background. It is mostly happening in lower class women. They do not get that much opportunity of education and because of that they cannot lead a sound life, and they cannot give a healthy life of their family. Most of their children are suffering from malnutrition and other different diseases.
Because of the unawareness of the proper health care women is also suffering from HIV AIDS. They do not have that much idea about it may be they only know that this is a life killing disease but may be they do not know how it spreads in human body. In lower class women are living in the unhealthy environment and for that reason most of their life time they and their children suffering from different diseases. But the depressing thing is that government is not giving any kind of notice about it. They are not taking that much steps about the health care development, even if they have but they are not giving that much concentration to implement those plans. In the rural areas women are totally unknown about many health care facilities. They do not even that many good doctors for their health care.
We have to have appropriate and affordable health care and information available to women of all ages; Bolstering preventive programs that promote women's health; Beginning to address the problems of sexually transmitted diseases, and sexual and reproductive health in gender-sensitive programs; Promoting research and disseminating information on women's health; Increasing funding and monitoring results for women's health.
Chapter-5.6
Knowledge about Science and Technology
From the very beginning of the development of science and technology women are underrepresented in every level of science and technology. They are always treated as dumb and useless element by their family, society and religious structure. The old generation has little idea about the term called science and technology. They still are doing not have that much touch with this.
Women still do not have effective touch or introduction with science and technology. It is because of their under-education problem, they are also under employed and under promoted around the world. Political, social, cultural and religious structure is the main barrier for their development in this field. Men are mostly benefited in this field because they have the proper access in this field and there are many organizations that are promoting them and giving all the facilities to have a better future in this area. The development of science and technology is getting beneficiary for the men then women. Maximum implementations of this field man are the most benefited sector rather then women.
This gender discriminate society pays high price and attention to reduce of poverty. They do not understand that When technologies improve women’s production and increase income, children’s well-being improves, school enrolment rises, birth rates decrease and environmental conservation increases.
To make women expert in this field then we have to Increasing girls’ access to science education contributes to the science literacy of a population and the increasing number of women’s participation in science and technology increases national capacity for scientific development. The increasing diversity in the science and technology workforce has been shown to increase production and creativity. Women have a right to participate in and benefit from the design, creation and management of their built and natural environments. A girl living in a rural area is three times more likely to drop out of school than a boy in the city. Numbers of girls and women in science subjects and disciplines decreases as one moves up educational system.
The backwardness of women in science ant technology only because of the socio-cultural attitudes: maximum family head think investing in boys’ education is the better option rather then doing the same for the girl, they expect girls will marry after a certain period of time. Lower levels of literacy and education are one of the alarming reasons of this condition of women in this field. It is very depressing is that most of the families keep lower expectations for girls’ achievements. Lack of appropriate facilities women are doing well in this sector and also domestic responsibilities - for both girls and women is one of the influential reasons for this low number of women in this subject. Sexual harassment in schools is also a reason and because of this parents do not feel secure to send their daughter to school and for this reason women are is not on the level of men.
Despite substantial increases in women’s enrolment in science and technology subjects, horizontal gender segregation continues, with women predominantly represented in health and biosciences, and poorly represented in engineering and physics. In many countries there is a low translation of women’s scientific training to recruitment and over qualification of women scientists in the science workforce.
Chapter-6
Mariam and the Miser and The Daily Woman
In Mariam and Miser author described a story told by her mother. In the story she showed how women are treated by the society and family. Author talked about her family how she were discriminated by her family; she used to eat the fleshless parts of a chicken like; ear, leg, wing etc and the other part of the chicken were preserved for her brother. This kind of situation shows the discrimination between male and female. Author’s mother told a story only to her not to her brother, because she thought it will help her daughter to face the social structure of the society. In the story she described how a woman was treated by her husband. If we consider the husband as the representative then we can say he treats women as a hungry animal, who just know how to eat up her husband’s asset. In the story the author’s mother described how a miser’s wife takes some steps to survive. The miser wanted a wife who will cost him like a bird, and he does not have to spend so much money to fulfill her needs. It shows how women were deprived from their basic needs and had to compromise with the society and family.
One thing is noticeable in this story is that author’s mother told this story only to her daughter not her brother where she always told story to both of them but this time she did not do that. If we analyze this why she did that then we will find that she may be wanted to build up her daughter according to the society at that time. Whatever she taught from her family and society, she wanted her daughter to adopt. She herself was an educated but she could not fight back with her social structure. She was a teacher but she had to leave that because of her family responsibility and dedicated her life in family’s betterment. She did not have any kind of individual life and she may be wanted the same for her daughter. May be she thought that her daughter will have to face the situation in the future. She tried to explain how women are fighting with themselves to survive in this male dominated society and may be that is why she did not tell this story to her son, who is also a part of male dominated society. She shows how women have to lead their life according to their social and family rules.
In our society every day women are deprived from their basic rights and they are needs but they cannot say any thing because of their limitations. In The Daily Woman Niaz Zaman introduced a woman like that who has given up her little child only because of her limitation and that was her daughter but kept the son because everyone said that when she will become old that time son will take care of her but daughter will leave her one day, so it is better idea to keep the boy. One significant sometimes in our society one woman does not understand other woman’s limitations, if they understand but they do not have that much option to that particular woman. Is this story Khalamma did not want to keep Fatema because she had a little child which Khalamma did not like but she promised that her child will not cry, only then her Khalamma agreed to keep her and her child.
In this story the author portrayed that how women dedicated their life to manage their family, but they never being appreciated for that, they are always treated like an element, if any thing bad happened in the family then they had to take the all responsibility. Here in this story, there is a line that shows how mean this society is;
“….And who would marry Fatema now? A woman who had killed her husband and child?”
Here Fatema is representing as a victim of this male dominated society. She had to work for her family’s’ survive because her husband was paralyzed and she had a baby. She could not take that much care of her baby because she had to go for work, as her husband could not work so she did not have any other option, and because of that she was being appreciated by her society but when they died that time they are telling that she is the killer of them. This attitude of the society proves that still this society is living in the Stone Age. Beside Fatema her Khalamma is also to some extend dominated by this male dominated society, though the author introduced her as a modern woman but still she is in the grip of this male dominated society. In the story we see that on Friday she had to prepare her husband’s lunch by
Chapter-7
Developing aspects of women in Bangladesh according to Roquah Sakawat Hossain and Niaz Zaman Stories
Now it is the time to look at the changes of women’s fortune. The thing is that is this really true that women’s fortune have been changed. Now they are independent, they have all the facilities like men. They are getting equal rights facilities that they did not get in the old days. Is it true or not it will be clear when we will see the changes from Sakawat Hossain to Niaz Zaman. What we have got in the age of Roquah Sakawat? And what is going on in Niaz Zaman’s period? At the age of Sakawat women were not allowed to go out side and they had to maintain Porda. They were not lucky like men in their family and society, because men was able to go out side and visit many places, they got all the opportunity of education in different subjects but women did not get chance like that. They had teacher who only teach them Arabic, Farsi and Urdu where as men got the change to know about many subjects like English, Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, Science and Technology, World history etc. this kind of discrimination pull back women to go forward, they could not gain the success to walk with men because they did not get any thing like men in that social structure and family structure. At that time religion was also a barrier for women’s development. Especially in Muslim community women were confined in the four wall of their home. They had to suffer a lot; men did not want them to go forward. For that reason Roquah Sakawat Hossain brought those entire topics, like; Legal Rights of Women, Repression on women, Education and Training, Women’s Active Participation in Economic Activities, Health, Knowledge about Science and Technology. She showed a different society in her story which was completely impossible at that time. She wanted to make aware of the women that they have to get out from their home if they want their real freedom, that is why she showed a female dominated society where male were doing all those things that in reality female had to do and female were doing all those things that in reality male had to do. Now a day women are getting many facilities that they never thought about at the time of Roquah Sakawat’s time. Now they are allowed to go out side and they are getting all the facilities of education and all but in lower class families still women are under male control. Still they are not getting those facilities that they did not get before at the old time. On the other hand in many higher classes conservative families are still practicing the same way of life. They are still trying to confined women in the four walls of their home. Still women are dominated by men and they have to lead their life according to their rules, if they do not do that then society treated them very badly. So to some extend still we are living like old days when women were not allowed to go out side. In Niaz Zaman Stories she showed the modern situation of women. In Mariam and Miser she showed how a woman lead her life with a miser and that are the steps she had to take to survive. She tried to teach her daughter about the society for her future. Author’s mother told that story only to her daughter, where as she always told stories to both her son and daughter but this time she did not do that. It proves that still women are not out of male control, they are still in the grip of man. On the other hand in the lower class people still women are deprived from their basic needs. They are still treated like very badly if any thing wrong happens. In this story Fatema were blamed for her husband and child’s death. So it is proved that yes there are many changes have taken place but still there are many things have not changed, like; still women are not completely free from the male dominated society, lower class family women are not getting proper education and health treatment. Still maximum percentages of women are unaware about out side world, science and technology. In reality what is going on; in the name of women development people are taking advantages of women weakness. Begum Roquah Sakawat Hossain started her journey with the dream of women’s development and it is true that there are some changes came in women’s life but the question is, how much this society and it situation has been changed for women comparing with the situation of Begum Roquah Sakawat Hossain.
Chapter-8
Conclusion
Bagum Roquah Shakwat Hossian is a pioneer feminist in greater bangla. Now a day Niaz Zaman is one of the renowned female writers. In Roquah’s Sultana’s Dream and Niaz Zaman’s
Mariam and the Miser and The Daily Woman there are many clues that hint at the kind of our society. It seems that women are types of puppets are controlled by men. Women are completely dependent on men. Men’s thoughts and movements are women’s thoughts and movements. Women are kinds of puppet who are dependent on its master for all of its actions.
Tends of English Fiction Feminist writer in
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