I Read Utopian Feminist Fiction From India: The Sultana's Dream
A light-hearted feminist utopia from 1905 by Rokeya Sakhwat Hossein. The Sultana falls asleep and wakes up to discover herself in Ladyland, where the men are kept in purdah and women run everything. The workday is two hours long as men waste their time, mostly smoking. There is advanced technology thanks to the women’s university. This happy state of affairs came about after a great military defeat; the Queen offered to take command if the surviving men went into the zenanas so the women could work outside without being compromised; in desperation they did, and the women of the university devised a solar cannon to defeat them.
Read This: If you have an interest in utopian fiction this early 20th century Indian feminist fable is fascinating
Don’t Read This: If a didactic thought experiment-cum-satire from a hundred years ago is just going to annoy you
Out Of Copyright: And available online
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