Iqbalunnisa Hussain
Iqbalunnisa Hussain | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 January 1897 Chikkaballapur, Bangalore, Karnataka |
| Died | 22 October 1954 (aged 57) |
| Occupations | Activist, Writer |
| Academic background | |
| Education | University of Leeds |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Sociologist |
| Sub-discipline | Feminism |
Iqbalunnisa Hussain (21 January 1897 – 22 October 1954) was an Indian educator, writer, activist and feminist who worked for the educational reform in Muslim women.
Early life and education
Iqbalunnisa Hussain was born on 21 January 1897 at Chikkaballapur, Bangalore, Karnataka into the family of Gulam Moinuddin Khan and Zaibunnisa, a descendant of Tipu Sultan. They belonged to a family who followed Sunni Islam.[1][2]
Hussain was fluent in Urdu, Arabic, English and Persian. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree with a Gold Medal from Maharani College, Mysore, then studied at the University of Leeds for her post graduate degree of Master of the Arts.[3][4]
Career
Hussain's book Purdah and Polygamy (1944) was the first novel in English written by a Muslim woman.[5] In the episodic novel, which follows three generations of an upper-class Muslim family, the practice of purdah (the seclusion of women) and zenana[6] are represented with restrained irony,[5][7] as Hussain "did not feel that purdah had any sanction in the tenets of the Prophet."[8] The book also depicts polygamous marriages.[7][9][10] Hussain additionally wrote essays about the social status of women in India.[11]
Hussain also worked as an assistant teacher at Vani Vilas High School in Bangalore.
Literary works
- Hussain, Iqbalunnisa (1940). Changing India: A Muslim Woman Speaks. Hosali Press.[12]
- Hussain, Iqbalunnisa (2018). Purdah and Polygamy: Life in the Indian Muslim Household. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-93-86771-86-5.[13][14]
Personal life
Hussain was married to Syed Ahmed Hussain, a government official at Mysore in 1914, aged 15. They had seven children together.
References
- ^ "Iqbalunnisa Hussain: A Stalwart of Muslim Women's Education". Indian Liberals (in Bengali). Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ Begum, Dr. Shameemunnisa. "IQBALUNNISA HUSSAIN'S PURDAH AND POLYGAMY: LIFE IN AN INDIAN MUSLIM HOUSEHOLD: A STUDY". EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research. 7 (5): 281–285. doi:10.36713/epra2013. eISSN 2455-3662.
- ^ Rehman, Mumtaz (30 May 2021). "Iqbalunnisa Hussain: A Pioneer In The Education Of Muslim Women In India l #IndianWomenInHistory". Feminism in India. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ Azfar, Ayesha (6 September 2015). "REVIEW: Leading the way: Changing India by Iqbalunnisa Hussain". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ a b Malak, Amin (16 December 2004). Muslim Narratives and the Discourse of English. SUNY Press. pp. 31–32. ISBN 978-0-7914-6306-2.
- ^ Basu, Argha; Tripathi, Priyanka (2 July 2024). "Poetics and Politics of Seclusion: Approaching Purdah Through Intersectionality in Select Works of Indian Female Authors". Lit: Literature Interpretation Theory. 35 (3): 229–252. doi:10.1080/10436928.2024.2383144. ISSN 1043-6928.
- ^ a b Ahmed, Tajuddin. (2011) "Raise the Sail and Lift the Veil: Islam and Woman’s Rights in the Writings of Iqbalunnisa Hussain Tajuddi" In: Journal of the Department of English 9, Vidyasagar University. p. 117-118. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
- ^ Souza, Eunice de (2006). "Recovering a Tradition: Forgotten Women's Voices". Economic and Political Weekly. 41 (17): 1642–1645. ISSN 0012-9976.
- ^ Noreen, Munnzza; Asif, Muhammad (16 March 2023). "Muslim Women's Agency and South Asian Literature: A Postcolonial Feminist Analysis of Purdah and Polygamy: Life in an Indian Muslim Household by Iqbalunnisa Hussain". Pakistan Languages and Humanities Review. 7 (2): 68–77. doi:10.47205/plhr.2023(7-II)07. ISSN 2708-6461.
- ^ Aftab, Tahera (2008). Inscribing South Asian Muslim Women: An Annotated Bibliography & Research Guide. BRILL. p. 517. ISBN 978-90-04-15849-8.
- ^ Siddiqui, Naila Usman; Madani, Munazza; Raza, Sabahat (30 June 2019). "REFLECTION OF WOMEN'S OPPRESSION IN THE WRITINGS OF QURUT-UL-AIN HAIDER: A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS". Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities. 58 (1): 165–178. doi:10.46568/jssh.v58i1.136. ISSN 2664-4967.
- ^ "Book Review: Changing India". Newsline. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
- ^ Anwar, Nadia (2 September 2020). "Purdah and polygamy: life in an Indian Muslim household by Iqbalunnisa Hussain, edited by Jessica Berman, Karachi, Oxford University Press, 2017, 276 pp., £19.99 (hardback), ISBN 978 0 1994 0756 9". Journal of Postcolonial Writing. 56 (5): 724–725. doi:10.1080/17449855.2020.1739886. ISSN 1744-9855.
- ^ "Even Without Polygamy and 'Purdah', Patriarchy Continues". The Wire. Retrieved 26 December 2024.
Further reading
- Souza, Eunice de (2006). "Recovering a Tradition: Forgotten Women's Voices". Economic and Political Weekly. 41 (17): 1642–1645. ISSN 0012-9976. JSTOR 4418141.
- Three Centuries of Travel Writing by Muslim Women. Indiana University Press. 2022. doi:10.2307/j.ctv2nwq9jx. ISBN 978-0-253-06239-0. JSTOR j.ctv2nwq9jx.