FHS Feminist Reading Group

The FHS Feminist Reading Group will meet again this term at a new venue: Petrohradská kolektiv. The next meeting will take place on 10 November 2026 at 6.30 pm. We warmly invite you to a discussion of Sultana’s Dream (1905) by Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain.

The meeting will be held in English and led by Ophshori Nondona.

Ophshori Nondona said about the text:

“For the session, I chose Sultana’s Dream (1905) by Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, a Bengali Muslim writer, educator, and feminist thinker from colonial Bengal.

Rokeya grew up at a time when girls’ education was extremely restricted, but she went on to become one of the strongest advocates for women’s education and established one of the pioneering schools for girls in Bengal. Sultana’s Dream is a short, playful, and surprisingly radical feminist utopia.

Rokeya imagines “Ladyland”, where women run the country, lead scientific research, and move freely in public, while men remain inside the home. By reversing the gender order, she uses humour and satire to make many things considered “normal” for women suddenly look absurd. Even though it was written more than 120 years ago, it still raises very contemporary questions around public space, safety, education, women’s intellectual agency, and what liberation actually means.”