Women Without Men, Sultana’s Dream, and Brick Lane depict women who free themselves from their restricting home lives and societal pressures in favor of living without men. They are initially controlled by patriarchal traditions and expectations placed upon them. The protagonists in these novels are women who are initially restricted by patriarchal limits and societal expectations. The attempt to break free of those restrictions marks the strength to gain freedom from their respective situations. What does it mean to be “free?” The female protagonists in Women Without Men, Sultana’s Dream, and Brick Lane fight against the societal restrictions placed upon them through asserting their own power and gaining agency over their lives to become “free” women. They gain political and personal agency over themselves through questioning political systems. The hypothetical land presented in Sultana’s Dream explores a world in which a utopian future is run by women. These women are more intelligent and harder working than the men, which demonstrates a role reversal to the assumptions made by societies in the East and West. In Sultana’s Dream, purdah is still practiced. However, the men are kept in the zenana and the women can walk freely. Sultana’s shock at learning of this reversal demonstrates the resignation at which she had at accepted purdah, accepted being shut in from the world. When Sultana asks where the men are, Sister Sara replies, “In their proper places, where they ought to be” (Hossain, 8). This comment by Sister Sara emphasizes the absurdity of the situation; Sultana finds it shocking that men are kept in the zenana, while women are kept in the zenana and it is not questioned. There is a double standard here that Hossain is pointing out. The treatment of men in this hypothetical world would not stand in the real world, so why is it happening to women? Education in Sultana’s Dream underlines the significance of the text. The Queen ordered education laws to be set and early marriage laws to be abolished. The education led to inventions and strategies that ultimately saved them and proved they were as intelligent and powerful as men. They take it upon themselves to change the system and introduce female influence into the government. Instead of portraying a world in which the men and women are walking free together, Hossain reverses the roles of purdah. Men are secluded in the home and women are free to leave when they want. This role reversal, and the subsequent achievements made by the women in the novel, demonstrate the uselessness in keeping women in the zenana. The argument made is that if women can be educated and go beyond the limitations of the home, the achievements can be great. Although it is presented in a “dream,” the achievements that the women make in Sultana’s Dream represent the achievements that are possible in the real world. The restrictions that zenanas deliver only hurt society in the long run. Education is vital
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The similarity among them is their eventual settling at a house away from men. Apart from the gardener, they are left to run the house by themselves and in doing so, gain freedom. The empowerment they achieve derives from education. Munis is the prime example of empowerment through education. She begins the novel as a woman who is sheltered and controlled by her brother. After her “death,” she finds a book that explains sexuality and women’s bodies. “She saw the external world in a different light. She felt she had undergone a process of growth and maturation” (Parsipur, 28). The way one views their body is the easiest way to control and manipulate the person. In keeping Munis in the dark about her own body, she could be …show more content…
The idea of women’s sexuality and the presence of female desire goes against the nearly universal idea of Muslim women being timid and shy. It is not often discussed and Parsipur’s inclusion of it is this novel reveals the truth of women in a culture that seems to ignore or dismiss women’s sexuality. Munis’s dismissal of the importance of virginity, compared with Fa’iza’s distraught, is directly referencing society’s obsession with women’s virginity and women’s bodies. Controlling their sexuality is another way to control
The similarity among them is their eventual settling at a house away from men. Apart from the gardener, they are left to run the house by themselves and in doing so, gain freedom. The empowerment they achieve derives from education. Munis is the prime example of empowerment through education. She begins the novel as a woman who is sheltered and controlled by her brother. After her “death,” she finds a book that explains sexuality and women’s bodies. “She saw the external world in a different light. She felt she had undergone a process of growth and maturation” (Parsipur, 28). The way one views their body is the easiest way to control and manipulate the person. In keeping Munis in the dark about her own body, she could be …show more content…
The idea of women’s sexuality and the presence of female desire goes against the nearly universal idea of Muslim women being timid and shy. It is not often discussed and Parsipur’s inclusion of it is this novel reveals the truth of women in a culture that seems to ignore or dismiss women’s sexuality. Munis’s dismissal of the importance of virginity, compared with Fa’iza’s distraught, is directly referencing society’s obsession with women’s virginity and women’s bodies. Controlling their sexuality is another way to control