Students’ Seminar on Roquiah Sakhawat Hossein’s Sultana’s Dream. 

A students’ seminar on Roquiah Sakhawat Hossein’s Sultana’s Dream was organised by the Department of English and Humanities on Thursday 5th August 2010 at the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh auditorium. The students of Course–Eng 436: ‘Bangladesh Literature in English and in English Translation’ directly took part in organising the seminar. Furthermore, they were the paper presenters of the seminar, while their teachers took a back seat. The programme was inaugurated by the Department Head – Prof. Mohit-ul-Alam. He, as well as Prof. Golam Sarwar Chowdhury, congratulated the students on their endeavour. They, in separate speeches, talked about Roquiah in relation to other feminists of various ages – of both the East and West.

 
To begin, the students discussed the life and times of Roquiah Sakhawat Hossein. Sinthia Rahman – the opening speaker – in a lively presentation, talked about Roquiah’s family background, the support she received from her elder siblings and her husband in education, how she went from door to door persuading parents to educate their daughters as well. After Sinthia, Humayra Kabir Bipasha spoke about the strict purdah system in Roquiah’s time. She mentioned that Roquiah struggled against not only the restraints imposed by physical purdah but also against mental purdah.

After discussing the background, the students discussed various aspects of Sultana’s Dream. Shafiul Alam Khan Chowdhury discussed the text as a work of utopian fiction. The whole of Ladyland resembles a great garden. The country is ruled by a benevolent queen who bans early marriage and ensures education for all of her female subjects. Following Shafiul, Sadia Afreen spoke about the use of science to create this perfect world. She mentioned how the inventions that Roquiah dreamt of in the early twentieth century have now become a reality.

Next, Tahmina Kamal Tanha spoke about Roquiah as a feminist. She emphasized Roquiah’s point that marriage is not necessarily the ultimate goal for a woman, and that a woman  should be able to look beyond just marriage and have other aims in her life. 
           
Then Nahidul Ehsan Milon analysed Sultana’s Dream in the light of socialist feminism. In his presentation, he mentioned the concepts of socialist feminists such as Lenin, Clara Zetkin and Rosa Luxemburg. He referred to the connection between employment and emancipation, and how just employment is inadequate to ensure women’s rights unless it is accompanied by raising awareness.

The last presentation of the evening was by Ainun Nahar Keya. She talked about the use of logic in Sultana’s Dream to dispel ignorance. She was accompanied by Syeda Zeenatunnessa Ali and Sinthia. They read relevant extracts from the text, following which these were explained by Keya.

To end the evening, Dr. Niaz Zaman – Supernumerary Professor of the English Department at Dhaka University and Adviser to the English Department at Independent University Bangladesh – commented on the students’ presentations – pointing out the strengths of each and suggesting areas where the presentations can still be improved. She shared with the audience – comprising both teachers and students – her own experience of teaching Sultana’s Dream at Dhaka University, indicating that in a class room, learning is a two-way process and teachers too can learn a lot from their students.