This volume looks at the life and works of Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain (1880–1932), arguably Bengal’s earliest and boldest feminist, revered as a crusader for the emancipation and advancement of women, in particular Bengali Muslim women. Through her spirited writings and her activism, Rokeya challenged the two pillars of patriarchy – hierarchical family structures and religious dogma. She demanded that the ‘family’ be restructured on the basis of gender equality. A devout Muslim, she asked that women be recognised as human beings in their own right within practices of Islam.

[Source: Orient Blackswan]