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surabhichatrapathy's review
4.0
The world understands women, feminism and the feminist movement more often than not from a very white perspective. For us even in India, feminism is introduced and discussed as a foreign concept.
One of the main reasons for that belief is how we have successfully veiled, ignored and buried the efforts of countless Indian women in the fight against patriarchy.
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain is one such ignored voice, whose razor sharp wit does not make it to the popular discourse.
Freedom Fables is a collection of satires.
You can hear her through her writing, her anger, frustration and the zeal to rattle the norm.
This book brings two of her fascinating satirical stories, Muktiphal and Gyanphal. Interwoven with djinns, King of Gods, Adam, Eve and man, the stories mock the Great divide of the Congress Party and the colonization of India.
In each she does not fail to highlight the unfair plight of women and what knowledge in the hands of women can actually do.
The book also has additional essays and poems by Rokeya which throw light on the political situation of Bengal, the struggle of peasants and her own life.
For the context that she grew up in and the many limitations she had to navigate, she liberated herself through these works and the foresight she had is truly astounding.
Books like these are a strong reminder that the movement to reclaim political, social and educational spaces for women has existed in India long before it translated into a misunderstood trend.
One of the main reasons for that belief is how we have successfully veiled, ignored and buried the efforts of countless Indian women in the fight against patriarchy.
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain is one such ignored voice, whose razor sharp wit does not make it to the popular discourse.
Freedom Fables is a collection of satires.
You can hear her through her writing, her anger, frustration and the zeal to rattle the norm.
This book brings two of her fascinating satirical stories, Muktiphal and Gyanphal. Interwoven with djinns, King of Gods, Adam, Eve and man, the stories mock the Great divide of the Congress Party and the colonization of India.
In each she does not fail to highlight the unfair plight of women and what knowledge in the hands of women can actually do.
The book also has additional essays and poems by Rokeya which throw light on the political situation of Bengal, the struggle of peasants and her own life.
For the context that she grew up in and the many limitations she had to navigate, she liberated herself through these works and the foresight she had is truly astounding.
Books like these are a strong reminder that the movement to reclaim political, social and educational spaces for women has existed in India long before it translated into a misunderstood trend.
_askthebookbug's review
5.0
| Book Review | Freedom Fables.
•
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was and is still known for her feminist attitude and various female empowerment activities that she carried out. Even though I never had the chance to read her renowned work, Sultana's Dream, I still managed to hear snippets of it's greatness ever so often. Her kindness did not stop at just one religion as she wanted to see girls and women of all races, castes etc to be educated. Back in those days, women's education was shunned so one can imagine how difficult it was for Rokeya to fight against men and families. When @zubaanbooks sent across Freedom Fables, I was thrilled for now I was finally able to read Rokeya's thoughts.
•
This is a relatively small book but powerful nonetheless. Wrapped behind this gorgeous cover are Rokeya's famous works in which she addresses the political patriarchy and now seems like the right time for one to read it. Under 'Gyanphal', she takes Adam and Eve as the main characters and goes ahead to show the irony with which political parties tend to function by trying to restrict women from having access to many facilities. In 'Muktiphal' she narrates a story of the people of Kanakadwipa being invaded by Djinns and Paris. Through this she talks about British rule all the while pointing to the fact that if women were educated and provided knowledge, things could have never gone so awry.
•
I especially loved Narir Adhikar which also happens to be her last work. It is said that she passed away while still working on this brilliant essay about women's rights and even though it's incomplete, it still makes a strong impact on the readers. In addition to other stories, there's a brilliant introduction and also a brief detail about Rokeya's life. With the support of her brother and her husband, Rokeya goes ahead to become a brilliant feminist writer and later founded Anjuman-i-Khawateen-i-Islam (Islamic Women’s Association). Her thoughts on triple talaq are loudly written along the pages which throws light on how misogynistic the society was and to some extent, it still is.
•
Rokeya was a harsh critic about anything that made a point to put down women and there's a chapter in which she writes about how and why the practices of people has changed from what has been written in the holy books. She says "In every district, jute cultivation should be reduced and instead cotton grown in large quantities. Also the promotion of the use of charkha and Endi yarn is desirable. If the women of Assam and Rongpur become active in cultivating Endi insects, the clothing problem of all of Bengal will be solved. Education must be spread in the villages.” It is fair to say that she played a significant role in pushing women forward to the frontline and her work speaks volumes about her desire to see our country finally consider women equal to men. A must read.
•
Rating - 5/5
•
Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was and is still known for her feminist attitude and various female empowerment activities that she carried out. Even though I never had the chance to read her renowned work, Sultana's Dream, I still managed to hear snippets of it's greatness ever so often. Her kindness did not stop at just one religion as she wanted to see girls and women of all races, castes etc to be educated. Back in those days, women's education was shunned so one can imagine how difficult it was for Rokeya to fight against men and families. When @zubaanbooks sent across Freedom Fables, I was thrilled for now I was finally able to read Rokeya's thoughts.
•
This is a relatively small book but powerful nonetheless. Wrapped behind this gorgeous cover are Rokeya's famous works in which she addresses the political patriarchy and now seems like the right time for one to read it. Under 'Gyanphal', she takes Adam and Eve as the main characters and goes ahead to show the irony with which political parties tend to function by trying to restrict women from having access to many facilities. In 'Muktiphal' she narrates a story of the people of Kanakadwipa being invaded by Djinns and Paris. Through this she talks about British rule all the while pointing to the fact that if women were educated and provided knowledge, things could have never gone so awry.
•
I especially loved Narir Adhikar which also happens to be her last work. It is said that she passed away while still working on this brilliant essay about women's rights and even though it's incomplete, it still makes a strong impact on the readers. In addition to other stories, there's a brilliant introduction and also a brief detail about Rokeya's life. With the support of her brother and her husband, Rokeya goes ahead to become a brilliant feminist writer and later founded Anjuman-i-Khawateen-i-Islam (Islamic Women’s Association). Her thoughts on triple talaq are loudly written along the pages which throws light on how misogynistic the society was and to some extent, it still is.
•
Rokeya was a harsh critic about anything that made a point to put down women and there's a chapter in which she writes about how and why the practices of people has changed from what has been written in the holy books. She says "In every district, jute cultivation should be reduced and instead cotton grown in large quantities. Also the promotion of the use of charkha and Endi yarn is desirable. If the women of Assam and Rongpur become active in cultivating Endi insects, the clothing problem of all of Bengal will be solved. Education must be spread in the villages.” It is fair to say that she played a significant role in pushing women forward to the frontline and her work speaks volumes about her desire to see our country finally consider women equal to men. A must read.
•
Rating - 5/5
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