In the early 20th, Rokeya Sakhawat Hussain (1880-1932) lit the flame for women. To light that flame Rokeya established Sakhawat Memorial Girls' High School in 1911 in Kolkata, West Bengal. This school was not an end in itself. For Rokeya, it was a part of the mission: emancipation of women. She wanted them to reject an inferior role of passive obedience and to claim to be allowed and expected, like men, to make independent judgements. Her fervent appeals inspired millions of oppressed women of the then undivided Bengal to come out of their seclusion and bondage of slavery.

Rokeya was the most outspoken feminist of her time and the one who did most develop a feminist point of view about religious and moral questions, education and marriage. Rokeya turned Mary Astell’s advocacy into reality by founding Sakhawat Memorial Girls' High School. She was far in advance of her time. The definition of ‘Feminism’ is culturally very different from the perception of Feminism in the West. For the Bengali Muslim women, the family was a very important institution and therefore she is 'trying to find autonomy within'. Rokeya's advocacy for women's emancipation has led women to “assertion within the family” and “asking for democracy” inside the almost sacred institution. But where she spoke of women she meant it irrespective of religion or any other sectarian bias.

To make women aware of their rights she initiated organisational activities like setting up Sakhawat Memorial School and Anjuman-e-Khawatin-i-Islam (Association for Muslim Women). Praising the non-communal characteristics of Sakhawat Memorial School, A K Fazlul Haq (1873-1962), the then Chief Minister of Bengal, said, “The school she founded though largely attended by Muslim Girls, she was non-sectarian in character.” About Rokeya's liberal teaching at school, Mrs. P K Roy, a great educationist and social reformer of that time said, “To her Hindu and Mohammedan had no difference. I respected her for her great loyalty to her ideal of life and for the beautiful characteristics of Indian womanhood she preserved in herself to the end of her life.” Besides, Anjuman-e-Khwatin-i-Islam was founded in 1916 aiming at promoting unity, social intercourse and a friendly feeling among Mohammedan ladies who lived in Kolkata by providing them with a common meeting ground. Though Rokeya's organisational activities were important contributors to our society, the major part of her greatness lies in her writings -- thought provoking and at the same time rich in literary values. Rokeya realised at the very outset of her literary career that in a male-dominated society all the values and customs are based on male interest.

In her ‘Ornament or Badge of Slavery?’, she fired the 'holy' concept of womanhood set in religion. There she challenged with a firm conviction that these are so-called saints-made strictures to perpetuate their control over the opposite sex. Therefore, women should disobey all such man-made strictures and educate themselves for their own emancipation. Her actions and writings demonstrate her lifelong struggle to emphasize women's rights as human beings for which she had to overcome tremendous resistance posed by society. She said, “Since our birth, we have heard that we are born slaves, and will remain slaves forever. Say loudly that we are human beings. In action prove that we are half of the best part of the creation. In reality, we are the mothers of this world of creation.” She further said, “What we want is neither alms nor favour. It is our birthright. Our claim is not a pinch more than what Islam has given women 1300 years ago.”

Begum Rokeya was very progressive in her ideas. As early as in the 1910- 20s she, with her deep insight, could identify the root causes of the miseries of the distressed women of the then Bengal. Accordingly, she laid down the basic principles of alleviation of their sufferings which are identical to those “Three Forward Looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women”, that is, Equality, Advancement and Peace, as declared in the platform at Action of the Fourth World Conference of Women (FWCW) held in Beijing in September 1995. Rokeya's mottoes of Women's Emancipation were as follows: a) To achieve equal rights for women in all stages of life, b) To advance them by giving proper education and making them self-reliant, and c) To make their lives peaceful by liberating them from slavery, poverty and religious superstitions. Now let us look into her works where her great wisdom and foresight had changed the views of the social leaders and convinced them of the urgency of educating the women.

In Aborodbasini (In seclusion), Begum Rokeya had strongly criticised the imitators of Persian culture which had compelled the women to remain inside the harem to be used as instruments of pleasure and luxury of their owners, having no identity or opinion of their own. By presenting forty-seven cases from her experiences, she became the first-ever feminist to come forward to unveil the facets of oppressions, suppressions and deprivation of women in the 'purdah' dominated society. Here she had also criticised the women for their love of ornaments, which, according to her, are nothing but badges of slavery. She advised the parents to educate their girls with the money they spoil on ornaments because ornaments of knowledge are more useful than ornaments of gold. She had rightly believed that women's real worth lies not in her looks or clothes but her qualities of head and heart. In spite of belonging to higher society, her strong and compassionate commitment to society led her to the life of a dedicated reformer. She spent all the money left by her husband for the alleviation of the sufferings of the distressed women.

Begum Rokeya strongly emphasised that a society cannot progress further if its women are not equally educated and not given equal status. Through her writings, she had strongly criticised the social oppressive rules against women. She fervently appealed to those distressed sections to break off those shackles and educate themselves to earn economic freedom. The reactionary forces considered her to be radical that she certainly was not. She always opposed extreme measures. She was against the excess of seclusion which stood in the way of women's development as a human being not against the principle of purdah which is concerned with modesty and decorum.

In Aborodhbashini the absurdity, the ridiculousness, the horror and the shame even the inhumanity of seclusion are presented. It is in revealing this that Aborodhbashini differs from other accounts of Indian Zenana life, particularly those written by foreign women. While foreigners like Frances Billington writer of the book titled Women in India (1895) were honest to detail; they viewed the Zenana life from a distance. Their glimpses were necessarily brief and cursory. Even a woman like Mrs. Meer Hassan Ali, who lived in a Zenana herself, did not perceive the conflict women might feel about purdah. But Rokeya's accounts are fuller. Begum Rokeya had the advantage of belonging to the culture.

There were contradictions that we could easily find in Rokeya. She fought against the seclusion of women. Yet sometimes spoke in favour of purdah and pleaded for its moderate application (Rokeya herself observed purdah strictly throughout her life). In this respect, we have to keep in mind the unfavourable situation in which she had to work. As a social activist, she had to make some adjustments– this adjustment of idealism is with reality. It was quite natural that she chose for herself the Muslim society where she was born and brought up as her field of action. And the awakening of the Muslim women was one of her main concerns. But where she spoke of women she meant it irrespective of religion or any other sectarian bias.

Rokeya's secular mind is revealed through the preface of Padmarag. It reads “Religion is a three-storied building. There are many rooms on the ground floor. The Hindus- and the sects Brahmins, Sudras etc; the Muslims - and the sects Shia, Sunni, Hanafi, Sufi etc; and then the Christians - Roman Catholics, Protestants etc. Then on the second floor, you see only Muslims, all are Muslims; Hindus, all are Hindus. Then go to the third floor, only one room. It means there are neither Muslims nor Hindus - everybody is one human being and they worship one Allah (God). After a minute observation, nothing is found, but in spite of this nothingness only Allah survives.” In the book Begum Rokeya, through Tarini Bhaban Ashram that half Utopia, half reality, projected a model institution where the oppression of class, gender, caste, and religion is left out. Rokeya gave to it a universal quality beyond the middle-class home.

Padmarag, by its story, would have been a romantic novel. But Rokeya did not do that. Two things made the book different. The first one is the nature of Tarini Bhaban and the second is Siddiqa's renunciation at the end that reminds us of Nora of Ibsen's A Doll's House. In the closing parts of the novel, Siddiqa provided a political reason for her decision. She wanted the world to know that some women, at least, would not allow themselves to be treated like puppets whose fates will be played with. This is a rare utterance against patriarchy in Bangla literature. The last two sentences of the novel are soft natured in the humanitarian sense, but rebellious in tone. “Latif got down from the vehicle holding one hand of Siddiqa. This is their last meeting.” Siddiqa is much more ruthless than Nora of Ibsen.

In Sultana's Dream, Begum Rokeya had shown an imaginary but peaceful city administered by women only where the husbands are serving their wives as cooks and helpers. Written in 1905 and published in 1908 the feminist utopian story ends in the same place, in Sultana's bedroom. Begum Rokeya was inspired to write Sultana's Dream not as an entertaining and purely literary dream piece but with the earnest desire of broadening the mental horizon of both men and women and particularly to instil women of their vast potential and sense of buoyant confidence and self-reliance. Though Rokeya discusses the issue with satire and wit it has a deep meaning and we need to focus on this meaning to understand her concern for women's emancipation and their potentiality. For all its purposefulness, however, Sultana's Dream is an artistic literary creation as well.

Regarding retaining religious value Rokeya was unique among the Muslim women. She said, “Islam allows every freedom to women (so much so that a woman cannot be given in marriage without her consent of the free will, which indirectly prohibits child marriage.)” But she was not happy with the condition of Muslim women. She said, “We see people giving away their daughters in marriage at tender ages or giving them in marriage without their consent. Many a time a bride bitterly bewails her fate on being compelled to marry a bridegroom whom she knows to be a drunkard or an old man of sixty, but the marriage celebration proceeds despite her silent protest." For this helplessness of women, Rokeya blamed the Muslims with advanced ideas.

Rokeya tried, by all means, to broaden the outlook of the girls and teach them to modernise themselves. She believed that they should be made to realise that the domestic duties entrusted to them cover a task which the welfare of the country depends on. They should not fall behind their illiterate sisters in splendid endurance, heroism and discipline. Except for some compromise with the patriarchy, Rokeya came out to be one of the radical feminists in the world who embarrassed the patriarchy by her continuous attacks. But the Bengal Muslim patriarchy has made her ideals inoperative. The successors she created have moved far away from her ideals now.

The writer is the Treasurer, Jagannath University. Email: dr.kamaluddinahmed12gmail.com