Abstract

Rokeya Shakawat Hossain was a Bengali feminist writer, activist, and forward thinker. Born in 1880, in what is now Bangladesh, she wrote extensively, arguing for the education of women. She set up a school for Muslim girls and founded the Bengali Muslim Women’s Association.
In 1905 she wrote Sultana’s Dream, used as quotes within this work. This is a witty story about a Utopia, Naristan, (Ladyland) where women are free within the public arena and men are kept secluded away. Naristan is a non-violent country of health and beauty, combining knowledge from the arts and science to form a sustainable society working in tandem with nature.
Bangladesh still celebrates 9th December, the anniversary of Rokeya’s birth, as Begum Rokeya Day, with newspapers publishing special articles, organised events and conferences as well as posters and chains of flowers to decorate the roads.