Rokeya's Ladyland : Rewriting the Rules of Women's Education

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Afsana, Anta (2025) Rokeya's Ladyland : Rewriting the Rules of Women's Education. SERA Researching Education Bulletin (Specia). pp. 33-35. ISSN 2752-4000

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Abstract

Begum Rokeya, one of the most influential yet often overlooked educators of colonial Bengal, was a visionary who fought relentlessly for Muslim women’s education. At a time when women were confined within the four walls of their homes under the strict practice of purdah1, she recognized that education was the only way to break the cycle of oppression. She founded a school for women in 1911 through which she opened the doors of learning to Muslim girls who had been systematically excluded from formal education. However, her vision extended beyond just access to schooling; it encompassed a complete reimagining of gender roles in society. With a prolific body of work encompassing essays, short stories and novels to support her activism, Rokeya’s work was about both real-life change and new ideas. She questioned deep-rooted social rules both through her actions and her writing. Although she has gained some prominence in Bangladesh, global awareness of her contribution is still minimal.

ORCID iDs

Afsana, Anta ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-5839-5332;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)