ISBN : 9780199407569
Originally published in 1944 by Hosali Press, Bangalore, this book is believed to be one of the first full-length English language novel by an Indian Muslim woman in the pre-Partition era. It has clear links with the biting criticism in the feminist Urdu fiction of writers such as Ismat Chughtai and Rashid Jahan. It mounts a scathing attack on the traditional systems of purdah and polygamy in which a man is treated as a virtual god and women, who are often barely literate, as chattel. Through its ironic tone, the novel demonstrates the corrupting influence of this patriarchal system and its power to warp the lives of the women who live under it. For this historically significant work, Jessica Berman of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, USA, has written the Introduction and provided contextual footnotes for the text. Also included are essays by literary critic Muneeza Shamsie (International Advisory Board, Journal of Postcolonial Writing) and academics, Suvir Kaul (University of Pennsylvania) and Arif Zaman (London School of Business and Management).
Acknowledgements
Contributors
Introduction by Jessica Berman
A Note on the Text
Purdah and Polygamy: Life in an Indian Muslim Household
Foreword
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII
Chapter VIII
Chapter IX
Chapter X
Chapter XI
Chapter XII
Chapter XIII
Chapter XIV
Chapter XV
Chapter XVI
Chapter XVII
Chapter XVIII
Chapter XIX
Chapter XX
Chapter XXI
Arif Zaman: Iqbalunnisa Hussain: A Biographical Sketch (1897-1954)
Suvir Kaul: Purdah and Polygamy in a Changing India
Muneeza Shamsie : Iqbalunnisa Hussain and Early English Fiction by South Asian Muslims
Appendix: Dr Salima Ahmed, foreword from Changing India
Explanatory Notes
References
