 | This article needs more citations. (September 2025) |
Iqbalunnisa Hussain | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 January 1897 Chikkaballapur, Bangalore, Karnataka |
| Died | 22 October 1954 |
| Occupation | 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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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.[citation needed]
Literary works[edit | edit source]
- 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[edit | edit source]
Hussain was married to Syed Ahmed Hussain, a government official at Mysore in 1914, aged 15. They had seven children together.[citation needed]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 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.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 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[edit | edit source]
- 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.