Hum Khawateen English Brochure

Hum Khawateen: A dramatic narration of writings of Muslim women published in different Urdu magazines, more than a hundred years ago

Direction: Vinod Kumar

Hum Khawateen: These voices of Muslim women, in Urdu, were first heard in colonial India, when neither Muslims nor Urdu felt inhibited or subdued, as they do now. In sync with their world, Muslim women celebrated, questioned, and critiqued all that happened around them. They were independent and intelligent women, but sometimes had to hide their identity to make their point.

These days, Muslim women are typically made out to be a miserable lot, lacking in voice and in dire need of being rescued from their boorish husbands and fathers. Hum Khawateen is an attempt to dispel this misplaced perception, and to tell the world that many educated women, far from being ashamed of either their gender or Muslim identity, are, in fact, searching for their place in the world, like everyone else.

There were several magazines from which these writings have been extracted. Tahzeeben Niswan was published from Lahore, Ustaani came out from Delhi, and Khatoon from Aligarh. Nirantar, a Delhi-based organization, brought out a compilation of such pieces called Kalame Niswan. Written by different women,
in different years, and for different Urdu magazines, all the pieces selected for
Hum Khawateen are part of this compilation.

The presentation begins with “Ustaani Ka Tarruf”(Khwaja Bano, Ustaani, 1919), an article that personifies the Ustaani magazine as a teacher in a fascinating way. The author seems to be describing a teacher, when she actually means the magazine, which arrives, enveloped in a “hijab made of paper”, in a mail van. The author delves into the world of women’s magazines and highlights some of the challenges of publishing such journals. She expresses her gratitude towards other magazines for women that came before Ustaani and laid the ground for women’s education and created a literate and an informed readership for such magazines.

The next piece, “Aap Beeti” (Zehra, Khaatoon, 1910) lets us know that Muslim women have been questioning some of the unreasonable customs and traditions, which undermine the status of women, for a very long time. A subtle critique of the institution of marriage, “Aap Beeti” recounts author’s own story and all that she went through when she was married against her wishes. Told in a voice that gets stronger as the story unfolds, the author exhorts other women not to give in to any pressure from society, even at the risk of making their parents unhappy.

That women authors have an expansive worldview, stretching beyond their own religion and culture, comes through quite clearly in “Meera bai” (Taaj Sahiba Lahori, Ustaani, 1920). This is not just a retelling of Meera bai’s spiritual love
for Lord Krishna, but is also about a young girl questioning and challenging set norms. Do women have the right to interpret religion and experience religiosity in their own way?  Are they allowed to shun the world and adopt the life of a Sanyasi as men do? Can they create an alternate world for themselves, far removed from
the hurly-burlies of a daily existence?

Women were being shaped in new and different ways at the beginning of the
19^th century. Education was a major influence then. Do women need education? How much education is good education? Will school education push women away from religion? Will educated women forget their duty towards hearth and home? Will they become westernized in their ways? “School ki Ladkiyan” (Zafar Jahan Begum, Tahzeebe Niswan, 1927) is a humorous take on some of these concerns about women’s education.

With new education came new sensibilities and fresh aesthetics, affecting taste in women’s clothing and jewellery, as reflected in “Phat Pade Woh Sona Jisse Tootein Kaan” (Alia Begum Bint Mujeeb Ahmed Tammanai, Khatoon, 1911).. The author emphasizes the need for women to change the way they dress, or the kind of jewellery they wear, albeit gradually.  She is careful enough not to rock their world, but also seeks to dispel the notion that these symbols of feminity have religious sanction.

Whether it was religion or norms of society, women did not hesitate to challenge them. They actively participated in politics, held their own in spite of stiff opposition, and never failed to raise their voice against the crooked and corrupt, as can be heard loud and clear in “Jinse Lateef ki Sargarmiyan” (Unknown, Ustaani, 1920). The author chronicles women leaders and their revolutionary activities from all over the world: from Agra and Bareilly to Nottingham and Turkey.

It won’t be wrong to say that women have their own way of looking at things, and have their own basis for criticizing even the high and mighty, as brought out quite well in “Khaddarposhi” (Zafar Jahan Begum, Tahzeeben Niswan, 1927). At
a time when Gandhi was gaining in popularity and a whole movement was being built around Khadi, the author critiques the fabric and the movement, highlighting poor economics and impracticality of the idea.

Women need a platform to express their views and voice their concerns; they need to be part of the decision-making process, as is made explicit in the last piece, “Government Houwwa Nahin Hai”(Aziza Khatoon, Ustaani, 1919). Displaying a sharp understanding of how government-people relationship plays out in democracy, the author makes it quite clear that any political set up is made up of regular people, and not supernatural beings that we should be afraid of. She cites examples from Western Europe, where it is quite common to criticize the state and the government.

Raschakra is a gang of like-minded people, who follow their heart and do stuff in their own time, place, and pace. Hum Khawateen is their first presentation. Besides being staged in Delhi once before, it has travelled to cities such as Pune and Mumbai. It was conceived with a purpose of commemorating Ismat Chugtai’s
birth anniversary but has changed its form since.

Vinod Kumar is a senior theatre personality, who has been acting for the last 35 years. In the last few years, he has experimented with non-fictional writings, as reflected in Hum Khawaateen. Purwa Bharadwaj selected writings for the presentation and was instrumental in developing its script.

Presenters include Purwa Bharadwaj, Alka Ranjan, Shweta Tripathi, and Rizwana Fatima. They all come from different backgrounds, and are associated with fields such as writing, editing, research, and organizational activities. They do what they believe is right and stand firm on their ground -- the fuel that propels Raschakra
and keeps it moving.