How a Bengali Woman Pioneered the Concept of Female Utopia

By Pitamber Kaushik for Invisiblites

Human history has been dominated by scapegoating, arbitrary inculpation, and persecution of women owing to prejudice, superstition, stigma, and systematic patriarchal exploitation. Nonetheless, the idea of a female utopia, an idealistic society in which women hold primary power and influence, has proliferated in literature from occasional fever-dream whispers to full-fledged futuristic fictional worlds. The concept of a female utopia had its beginnings in the benevolently typecasting, gender essentialist notion of females being pure, caring, humble, and diffident but grew in scope and nuance as both scientific evidence and practical experience affirmed the idea that females are inherently better leaders, organizers, and managers, capable of effectively leading social movements and social systems independent of men. While men are naturally predisposed to greed and violence, women are not only more harmonious with each other and with the environment but also more efficient, dynamic, and versatile. They are capable of being conflict-averse while staying pragmatically and sustainably competitive within a broader basic cooperative framework. From ancient myths to modern speculative fiction, female utopias have been imagined as both idealized societies and critiques of prevailing gender norms.

One of the earliest depictions of a female utopia can be found in Greek mythology with the myth of the Amazons, whose name literally translates to “those without breasts”. These legendary warrior women said to have lived in isolation from men, have been interpreted as symbols of female independence and strength. Although often portrayed as antagonistic in Greek literature, the Amazonian society represents an early vision of a formidable female-dominated community.

Themes of women power and agency had almost always existed in literature but it wasn’t until the 20th century that the concept of a female-only utopia gained prominence. Charlotte Gilman’s “Herland” (1915) depicted an isolated society entirely composed of women who could reproduce asexually (without the need of a man). Joanna Russ’s “The Female Man” (1975) followed four women, each in a parallel world free from male oppression. More recently, Naomi Alderman’s “The Power” (2016) depicted an imaginary world where women develop supernatural abilities and become the dominant gender. Brian Vaughan and Pia Guerra’s comic series “Y: The Last Man” (2002-2008) explored a world where women rebuild society after the near extinction of all male mammals.

Wonder Woman’s creator William Moulton Marston drew inspiration for the character from his wife Sarah Elizabeth and their partner Olive Byrne. Marston, whose work had led to the invention of the polygraph, firmly believed in the superiority of women over men, particularly the fact that women would lead society better than men. Marston believed that women had greater sincerity, integrity, and efficiency than men in most circumstances. Marston wrote, “Frankly, Wonder Woman is psychological propaganda for the new type of woman who, I believe, should rule the world”.

The idea of a female-only utopia did not start in the West. In 1905, a Bengali writer Begum Rokeya penned “Sultana’s Dream”. Born in present-day Bangladesh, she wrote profusely on women rights in the Indian subcontinent and established a girls-only school in Kolkata. Her efforts led to the establishment of the Muslim Women Association, an organization dedicated to women education and employment. In Bangladesh, 9^th December is commemorated as Rokeya Day, a testament to her enduring influence and legacy. In 2004, BBC named Rokeya as one of the Greatest Bengalis of all time.

Rokeya’s “Sultana’s Dream” introduced “Ladyland”, a utopian society where women are the dominant gender. Pioneering science and technology, women in Ladyland achieve unparalleled prosperity and autonomy. Rokeya’s Ladyland is a world of labor-free agriculture and flying cars, all made possible by women. It is a crime-free world built on love and truth with purity esteemed above everything else. Sultana’s Dream is not merely about gender role reversal, it is a vibrant idea of women empowerment stemming from the intersection of social progress and science and technology. Through women empowerment, Sultana’s Dream dreams of a world free of exploitation, hatred, and wars.

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Rokeya’s vision is built around but not limited to South Asian women, it is universal and enduring. Her narrative offers a compelling vision of female empowerment and social transformation, rooted in the realities of her own geocultural context and circumstantial influences. Through her imaginative storytelling, Rokeya challenges conventional gender roles and colonial power structures, advocating for a more inclusive and equitable society for all. What sets Rokeya apart is the fact that she remained firmly rooted in the harsh realities and struggles of womanhood. Always clad in a plain saree, she struggled against the practice of purdah (veiling) and got herself educated by persuading her elder brother to surreptitiously teach her and her elder sister at night.

Rokeya never abandoned her faith in her pursuit of reform – she remained a devout adherent to Islam. She worked to illustrate how much of the mistreatment of women at the time in the name of faith, culture, and traditions was a result of prevalent ignorance, misunderstanding, and misinterpretation of religious texts. She used exegetical argumentation to justify her reforms. She experienced first-hand the stigma directed at widows and worked to provide them with vocational training and enable them to financially sustain themselves. She ran literacy and hygiene awareness programs in slum areas. Following the death of her husband in 1909, the 29-year-old Rokeya experienced threefold oppression – discrimination as a widow, pressure from her in-laws to abandon the property that her husband had left her to run the school, and societal duress for promoting female education. But this only strengthened her resolve. The vision of Begum Rokeya is not limited to Bengal or Bangladesh. She is a trail-blazing inspiration for the Indian subcontinent and beyond. There will not be another Rokeya but the world needs heroes like her. 

[Pitamber Kaushik is a writer, journalist, columnist, independent researcher, consultant, and educator whose articles have appeared in over 350 publications across 70+ countries. He has previously written in Asia Times, Brussels Times, Helsinki Times, Gulf News, Mongabay, Scotland History Magazine, New Humanist Magazine, International Policy Digest, History is Now Magazine, and Baltic Review, among others.]

Photo via Wikimedia Commons.