FEMINIST UTOPIA: FICTION OR REALITY IN BEGUM ROKEYA SAKHAWAT HOSSAIN’S SULTANA’S DREAM

Abstract

A feminist utopia entails new values-allocating principles and a new ethic based on the reproduction principle. It is innate in every human being to dream big. Thomas More’s Utopia is one of the pioneering works in this regard. Before this, Plato in his seminal work The Republic, describes a communistic, egalitarian city-state ruled by philosopher-kings known as guardians, who are made up of both men and women. Sultana’s Dream was written and published in the year 1905 much before Charlotte Perkins’s Herland (1915) but Sultana’s Dream remains unacknowledged. The plot of Sultana's Dream revolves around the creation of Ladyland, a fictitious feminist utopia that stands for empowerment and hope. Gender equality, women's empowerment, and technological advancement are the key themes of Sultana's Dream. The ideal land as envisaged by Begum Rokeya is controlled by women and men are given a secondary position. The absence of men is a blessing in disguise. The world of Ladyland may not be an accurate representation of what might be accomplished shortly, but it is a stark reminder of the need for gender equality and the possibility of a better future for women.

Keywords: defamiliarization, paradox, imagination, post-colonial, ecological, dichotomy, feminist utopia, patriarchy, circumscribed, and predisposition.

Feminist Utopia: Fiction or Reality in Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s   Sultana’s Dream