The 20th century in Indian history has been marked by reforms, revolutions and extraordinary change. Dawn of this century brought with it the winds of hope and change for not only the formative ideals of the Indian nation but also for the different sections of its society. One such section in Indian society was that of Muslim women. Presently, the public sphere is abuzz with the glamour and glory of the recently released Web series Heeramandi by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. The dramatic series explores and reveals the intricacies of the lives of the Muslim female performers, tawaifs (courtesans) and associated women. The show transports one back to the early 20th century and helps in developing an understanding of the psyche, aspirations and anxieties of this section of Muslim women.
The historical inaccuracies; certain flaws in the language of the show have been commented upon. Yet one interesting issue that can be observed in the show was absence and invisibility of women (Muslim or otherwise) apart from the tawaifs and their associates. There are hardly one or two women visible in the meetings of the revolutionaries or in elite parties who have almost no importance in the storyline. While it is significant to understand the struggles and dynamics of the lives of the tawaifs of the 20th century, this article will attempt to bring forth the changing dynamics of the lives of elite ‘sharif’ women Muslim women, living around the same time. The focus would be an analysis of the Urdu magazine Khatun which was issued from Aligarh for a decade.
The content of the magazine reveals the thought process, dynamics and awareness of the ‘sharif’ Muslim women. The primary objective of this magazine appears to be the introduction of modern education for Muslim women. While the tawaifs were already educated, the struggle to educate the womenfolk of sharif backgrounds was still going on in the beginning of the 20th century. One of the scholars working on tawaifs, Noble Srivastava, mentions that there existed a binary between courtesans as ‘sexually liberated and educated’ women in contrast to ‘sharif’ Begums who were seen as ‘chaste, sexually controlled, loyal’ wives. This dichotomy can be clearly seen in the imagination of the 20th century reformers, who wished to educate the Muslim women yet the attributes of loyalty and sexual control were to be ingrained in their characters.
Muhammadi Begum: The First Woman Editor of a Magazine in India
Waheed Jahan and her husband Sheikh Abdullah at Aligarh were making efforts for the establishment of Women’s School and College at Aligarh in the first decade of the 20th century. The struggle faced by them to work towards female education was paramount and to overcome the troubles, they decided to start a magazine to create awareness towards the importance of female education. Khatun (Woman), the Urdu language magazine was published from 1904 onwards to 1914. The idea behind the conception of the magazine in the words of the editor himself was, “Khatun would be a monthly magazine, in which there would be essays specifically related to the women. In addition to creating awareness regarding female education, our efforts would be to inculcate literary and noble spirit amongst the women. This is important for the success of the world and our qaum.” Aspirations of the editors and the writers of the Magazine were progressive for their time and the eventual aim was to normalize modern education of women.
Khatun was edited by Sheikh Abdullah, and the authors of various articles ranged from elite women to educated men (primarily the students of MAO College). As far as the readers of the magazine are concerned one can safely assume that it was the elite women and men of Muslim families residing within and in vicinity of the city of Aligarh. The publication of the magazine started with around 200 copies published in 1906 and during its peak years the number of copies in circulation reached 500.
Through analysing various issues of the magazine some deductions can be made on the nature of themes that were commonly written upon. These themes included accounts about historical women of India. In an issue of 1907, there was an account of Malika Jodha Bai written by Ms. Naseeruddin Haider. The author mentions that she has composed this article by collecting information from ‘gharelu’ (household) discussions which have passed down this information from generation to generation. The author explicitly mentions that she expects women to be aware of Mughal queen Jodhabai (wife of Jahangir). The Rajput Queen is depicted as an ideal for women. She is associated with adjectives like ‘ba-ismat’ (virtous), ‘shohar parast’ (worshipper of husband), ‘khush surat’ (comely), ‘danishmand’ (smart)etc.
In addition to these, the ideals of sabr (patience), tahammul (endurance) and shahara hausle (royal courage) were associated with the Rajput queen. Apart from this article on Rajput Queen of the Mughal Empire, one of the issues has an article dedicated to Zeb-un-Nisa Begum, daughter of Aurangzeb. This again was an attempt to give readers role models from history. The author remarks on the education of the princess, ‘Zebunnisa Begum ko inteha darje ka Ilmi Mazaq tha’ (Zebunnisa Begum had the temperament to learn). It is informed how the princess used to spend her time in educational engagements and valued knowledge and education. Her poetic expertise is also remarked upon and few of her verses were reproduced in the text. Apart from them there are elite historical women like Nurjahan, Mumtaz Mahal, Jahanara and Roshan ara who are mentioned.
The nature of these articles suggests that the editor aimed at providing strong role models to his readers in the form of these historical women. However, in addition to promoting female education there was a sense of caution and hesitation in disturbing the patriarchal dynamics of obedience to the husband.
The editors of the magazine towed a difficult line between introducing reformative ideas and appeasing the sentiments of the conservative society of the time. Interestingly, there are several articles in the volumes of Khatun which dispel the ignorant practices resulting from a patriarchal society. Mention is made of undue pressures exerted on women by their husbands. The ideals of a happy marriage which must include communication and consideration is detailed upon. The fact that the relationship between a husband and wife should not be of the nature of slave and owner is underlined. The writers of the magazine not only talk about the problems of ill behaviour of the husbands but also of the issue of ill treatment of daughters by their fathers.The magazine prides at the waking up of the ‘Musalman Hindustan’ (Indian Muslims) where not only the men but also the illiterate and ignorant women were becoming aware of the be-shari (non-Islamic) practices and traditions.
Furthermore, malpractices like believing in fraudulent peers who claim to remove bhoot or paret (ghosts) from the household are also criticised. Help from doctors is recommended instead of taweez or ganthon to ‘cure the ghosts’. An entire article was dedicated on the topic of ‘Taweez Ganthon ki Kharabi’ written by A.B. Sahiba. These kinds of articles truly usher the reader in the modern world and expect the women to be rational and reasonable instead of superstitious.
No, Tawaif & Kotha Didn’t Belong To Elite Culture: An Experience Of Z. A. Bukhari
The magazine covered a vast range of topics, but it stayed true to its purpose of creating awareness about the importance of female education. To normalize the modern education of women, several pieces mentioned successful female educational institutions. In some of these articles, a comparison is provided with other countries where educating women was an accepted norm. Most of these writings asserted how female education was beneficial. In one such article published in 1907, benefits of educating a female are highlighted. It is asserted that educated women can perform their duties properly; they can raise their children well and an educated woman can rightly guide and educate young minds.
Khatun remained in publication from 1904-1914 and during that time it worked towards making the people, especially Muslim Intelligentsia, aware and comfortable with the idea of modern education for women. The public sphere sustained by the magazine Khatun was later manifested in the form of the organization Anjuman-i-Khawatin-i-Islam which was formed in 1914. This magazine and people impacted by it were a small part of the larger Muslim intelligentsia of the 20th century India, yet it gives an insight into the thoughts, hopes, aspirations and anxieties of Muslim elite women of the time. It is important to remember the struggle for educating elite sharif Muslim women which helped in blurring the binary between the sexually liberated and educated courtesans and chaste, loyal Begums.
(The views expressed are personal of the author)
Dr. Lubna Irfan is an Assistant Professor at Dept. of History, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). Her areas of interest are the history of art and architecture, popular history, sociocultural history, and gender history.
