A Feminist Discourse on Pardah in 19th century India: Translated Excerpt from Maulavī Sayyid Mumtāz ‘Alī’s Huqūq un-Nisvāñ (1898)

Abstract

For South Asian feminism to achieve enduring and far-reaching influence, it must embrace its cultural heritage. While academia often rely on insights from Western-centric feminist scholars, the rich history of feminism within our own region remains largely unexplored. This translated excerpt from a nineteenth century Indo-Muslim feminist text serves as an effort to shed light on a predominantly overlooked indigenous history of feminism, aiming to elevate it to the forefront of scholarly discourse. The following excerpt is part of a translation of Maulavī Sayyid Mumtāz ‘Alī’s Huqūq un-Nisvāñ that is currently in progress. Through this translation we aim to recover the work of early South Asian Muslim reformers like Mumtāz ‘Alī whose work has been missing from modern understanding of the history of women’s rights movement within South Asia.