Canadian Woman Studies / les cahiers de la femme (E-Journal, York University)

Cet article examine les étapes entreprises par les Nations Unies depuis ses débuts en1945 pour promouvoir et protéger les droits des femme à l’intérieur de ses cadres et critique les stratégies qui sont inadéquates jusqu’au détriment des droits des femmes. Elle considère que spécialiser leurs droits lors de l’adoption par les Nations Unies a marginalisé leurs droits et transformé le système en place. Elle ajoute que si cette dernière stratégie avait été exécutée adéquatement et liée aux précédentes, la protection et la promotion pour les droits des femmes auraient été assurées à l’intérieur des Nations Unies

van Leeuwen, Fleur

English

The United Nations and the Promotion and Protection of Women's Human Rights: A Work in Progress

Martonfi, Ilona

VOLUME 33, NUMBERS 1,2 185
Day, Indian Act.
38Parliamentary Budget Officer, Bill S-3: Addressing Sex-
Based Inequities in the Indian Act, December 5, 2017 . Web.
39Ibid.
40CEDAW, Report of the Inquiry Concerning Canada 
of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination 
against Women under Article 8 of the Optional Proto-
col to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms 
of Discrimination against Women Committee on the 
Elimination of Discrimination against Women, CAN/
CEDAW/C/O P.8/CAN/1 (2015).
41Ibid. at para 219(e).
42 United Nations Human Rights Committee, Concluding 
Observations of the Human Rights Committee, CCPR, 
114th Sess, UNDOC C/CAN/CO/7 (2015), at paras 
17-18.
43See, for example, CEDAW/C/CAN/CO/8-9, 18 No-
vember 2016, para. 13; E/C.12/CAN/CO/6, 23 March 
2016, para 22 (b); Report of the Working Group on the 
Universal Periodic Review, Canada, A/HRC/24/11, 28 
June 2013, para 128.59.
44Sharon Mcivor and Jacob Grismer v. Canada, Commu-
nication Submitted for Consideration Under the First 
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil 
And Political Rights, November 24, 2011. Web.
45Communication of Jeremy Matson to the Committee 
on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, 
Communication No. 68/2014.
46Bill C-3, Act to promote gender equity in Indian registration 
by responding to the Court of Appeal for British Columbia 
decision in McIvor v. Canada (Registrar of Indian and 
Northern Affairs) (assented to December 15, 2010), at 
s.9, online; Bill S-3, Projet De Loi S-3, An Act to amend 
the Indian Act (elimination of sex-based inequities in 
registration) First Reading, October 25, 2016, at s. 8.
47The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, 
Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Brit-
ish Columbia, Canada, January 2015, online, at para 107 
[hereinafter Missing and Murdered Report]. The IACHR 
report cites as references, Statute of the Inter-American 
Commission on Human Rights (1979), Article 1, pro-
viding that the Commission was created “to promote the 
observance and defense of human rights” and defining 
human rights as those rights set forth both in the Ameri-
can Declaration and the American Convention. See also, 
American Convention on Human Rights, Article 29(d), 
stating that no provision of the Convention should be inter-
preted “excluding or limiting the effect that the American 
Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and other 
international acts of the same nature may have;” See also, 
Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Commission of 
Human Rights (2009), Articles 51 and 52, empowering 
the Commission to receive and examine petitions that 
allege violations of the rights contained in the American 
Declaration in relation to OAS members states that are 
not parties to the American Convention.
48Sharon McIvor and Jacob Grismer v. Canada, Communi-
cation Submitted for consideration under the First Optional 
Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political 
Rights, November 24, 2010. Web.
49United Nations Human Rights Committee, Views ad-
opted by the Committee under article 5 (4) of the Optional 
Protocol, concerning communication No. 2020/2010, Jan-
uary 11, 2019. Web.
ilona martonfi
Rue Lépine
Marshmallows on sticks
at the cabin in Lanaudière,
rusty metal barrel
at night our children
roasting marshmallows
by a boulder, raccoons
35 rue Lépine, Saint-Calixte
Lac des Artistes
steep gravel road, bullfrogs
fetching source water
walking in the forest.
At night when we sleep in this hut
long-tailed grey wood mouse,
builds a nest for a litter
of six blind babies
mouse mother hides from us
she, who eats the raw potaotoes
she, who owns my country kitchen
behind the black iron stove
he saves her,
pups in her mouth
lets her bring them to safety.
Where should I hide
from his fists?
Wild raspberries, blue irises.
Ilona Martonfi has published three poetry books, Blue 
Poppy (2009), Black Grass (2012) and The Snow 
Kimono (2015). Forthcoming are Salt Bride (2019) 
and The Tempest (2020). 


Rue Lépine

Graphic zine illustrating the history of the rape kit

Quinlan, Andrea

"They Turned It Against Us." How the Rape Kit Failed Sexual Assault Survivors and Their Allies: A Brief History

Day, Holly

VOLUME 33, NUMBERS 1,2 125
y Erradicar los Delitos en Materia 
de Trata de Peresonas y para 
la Protección y Asistencia a las 
Víctimas de estos delitos.” Web. 
01/30/2014.
Ministerio de Justicia y Derechos 
Humanos. Ley 26842 “Trata de 
personas y asistencia a sus víctimas. 
Prevención y sanción. Código 
Penal y Código Procesal Penal. 
Modificación.” 12/19/2012. Web. 
10/12/2017.
Piscopo, Jennifer M. Inclusive 
Institutions Versus Feminist Advocacy: 
Women’s Legislative Committees and 
Caucuses in Latin America. Paper 
presented at the 23rd World 
Congress of the International 
Political Science Association, 
Montreal, Canada, July 19-J25, 
2014. Web. 09/06/2018.
Rodríguez Gustá, Ana Laura and 
Madera, Nancy. “Dimensiones 
colectivas, relacionales y supra-
nacionales en la construcción de 
una agenda legislative de derechos 
humanos de mujeres en América 
Latina.” Revista Uruguaya de 
Ciencia Política  23.2 (2014): 37-
64. Print.
Rodríguez Gustá, Ana Laura and 
Nancy Madera. “Organizational 
Repertoires for Advancing Women’s 
Rights. An analysis of Structures, 
Groups and Policies in National 
Legislatures in Latin America.” 
Women, Politics and Democracy 
in Latin America. Eds. Tomas 
Dosek et al. New York: Palgrave 
Macmillan, 2017. 89-106. Print. 
Rousseau, Stephanie. “Indigenous 
and Feminist Movements at the 
Constituent Assembly in Bolivia. 
Locating the Representation 
of Indigenous Women.” Latin 
American Research Review 46.2 
(2011): 5-28. Print. 
Tripp, Aili Mari. “The Evolution 
of Transnational Feminisms: 
Consensus, Conflict, and New 
Dynamics.” Global Feminism. 
Transnational Women’s Activism, 
Organizing, and Human Rights. 
Eds. Myra Marx Ferree and Aili 
Mari Tripp. New York: New York 
University Press, 2006. 51-78. 
True, Jacquie and Michael Mintrom. 
“Transnational Networks and 
Policy Diffusion. The Case 
of Gender Mainstreaming.” 
International Studies Quarterly 45 
(2001): 27-57. Print. 
United Nations. Recomendaciones 
Generales  Adoptadas por el 
Comité para la Eliminación de la 
Discriminación contra la Mujer. 
22 Jun. 2014. Web. 06.22.2016. 
Vargas, Virginia. Feminismos en 
América Latina. Su aporte a la 
política y a la democracia. Programa 
Democracia y Transformación Global. 
Lima: Centro de la Mujer Peruana 
Flora Tristán, and Universidad 
Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, 
2008. Web. 07/03/2015.
Zub Centeno, Marcella y Line Bareiro. 
Recomendaciones Legislativas del 
Comité CEDAW a los países 
latinoamericanos. Documento de 
trabajo. Madrid: Fondo Fiduciario 
España-PNUD. Encuentro de 
Mujeres Parlamentarias de América 
Latina y el Caribe, June 15-16, 
2009. Web. 02/07/2018.
holly day
My Skin With Your Beak
I stopped at your table and looked down. Sand stuck to my skin
such tiny pink scared eyes, perfectly-coifed hair. Look at
me. I kissed you back, brushed the sand from your face,
prepared to dance. But the music was so bad, so sad
the violins a reflection on the massacre of 1936
and our imperfect night. Crematory ash
fell to the dark bottom of a miles-deep crevasse
I waited until I felt the impact.
Holly Day’s poetry has recently appeared in The Cape Rock, New Ohio Review, and Gargoyle. Her 
newest poetry collections are A Perfect Day for Semaphore (Finishing Line Press), In This Place, She Is 
Her Own (Vegetarian Alcoholic Press), A Wall to Protect Your Eyes (Pski’s Porch Publishing), I’m in a 
Place Where Reason Went Missing (Main Street Rag Publishing Co.), and The Yellow Dot of a Daisy 
(Alien Buddha Press).


My Skin With Your Beak

Rogers, Kate

CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIES/LES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME248
are made from toilet paper rolls and 
felt to make a resounding “#MeToo” 
call-to-arms. 
But it’s not all about playing dress-
up; there are also office supplies for 
the career woman like a pizza-shaped 
reusable lunch bag, a sarcastic “Male 
Chauvinist Tears”-painted coffee 
mug, and a sassy business card case 
made from a gutted girl band’s cas-
sette tape, held together with tape and 
magnets, so you can network in style. 
You can embrace your inner domestic 
goddess and découpage anti-diet 
“Food For Thought” dinnerware 
with Mod Podge or cut-and-paste 
cocktail-sipping Flappers onto a 
“Drinking Dames Flask.” You can 
even wear your heart on your sleeve 
with girl-scout inspired “Feminist 
Badges of Hono[u]r” that proclaim 
your politics, statements like “Girls 
Rule,” “Riots Not Diets,” or a cute 
embroidered fish awkwardly strad-
dling a bike depicting the adage that 
a woman needs a man like a fish 
needs a bicycle. 
The book revives ‘zine culture 
and the tactile pleasure of making 
something from scratch. I do have 
one caveat, however: While there are 
no knitting patterns, there are a lot 
of projects involving an embroidery 
(or “Em-broad -ery”) hoop, which are 
a little too advanced for the novice 
crafter. Burton makes up for it by 
offering a feminist primer, listing 
key texts in the second wave and the 
present “Craftivism” movement by 
the likes of Betty Friedan and bell 
hooks. The point is to have a good 
time while standing up for what you 
believe in; it’s edutainment. Badger 
also offers tips on hosting girls’ night 
crafting parties: riot-grrrl-inspired 
playlists, party themes from baby 
showers to fund-raisers, planning 
the “perfect crafternoon” or holding 
a chick-flick movie marathon. 
Avant-garde feminism doesn’t have 
to be to the barricades or in yer face 
to be effective. 
FLESH
Sonia Di Placido
Toronto: Guernica Editions, 2018
reviewed by kate rogers 
At its best, poet Sonia Di Placido’s 
Flesh is visceral. Associations tumble 
loose like the innards of a gutted 
animal. That’s appropriate with refer-
ences to hunting in northern Ontario, 
and especially, taxidermy. The poetry 
collection is literally and figuratively 
raw in places—with sections at the 
beginning entitled “Field Notes from 
a Taxidermist’s Daughter” and “Reci-
pes.” The latter section features many 
recipes for cooking game including 
Moose, Deer, Elk and Wild Turkey. 
Ironically, however, there are more 
The personal is political, and it 
can be fun, too. 
Deborah Herman earned her Ph.D. 
from York University’s department of 
Humanities in 2013. She specializes 
in gender, history, myth, and folktale. 
She is currently teaching economics at 
Humber College.  
felt and visceral poems in other sec-
tions of the book, particularly in the 
sections “Friends” and “The Moon 
and Her Friends.”
The first poem in the first section, 
“Field Notes from a Taxidermist’s 
Daughter” is “What is Animal Mem-
orabilia?” It is felt and humorous. It 
begins with the amusing, macabre 
lines, “I remember ducks in the 
dryer.” The narrator goes on in her 
reverie to “remember the freezer 
keeping meat—a butcher/stocks 
his rocks of flesh for the feast.” (She 
plays) “Persephone hiding/from 
Hades in abasement.” However, the 
definition, “What is Taxidermy?” 
flattens the narrative of that section 
and the whole collection.
“Tenderise,” the first poem in the 
“Recipes” section, is also more lyrical 
and visceral than most of the recipes 
which follow. “Tenderise” begins 
with this stanza: “This is what I hear 
them tell me/from the refrigerator, 
marinating in milk”/‘Our dead bod-
ies want to thirst us.’” It goes on to 
declare that “The second coming of 
milk is pink.” If more associations had 
been set free in that poem it would 
have continued to be as interesting. 
In the poem “Moose Meat & 
Pureed Tomato Stew,” also in the 
“Recipes” section, the description in 
the fifth stanza is evocative: 
A rich tomato moose 
   bourguignon
…Like precious stones gone soft
the tissue folds, stouter than 
   beef…
Succulent with sauce, the plush 
   life
melts in the mouth. 
The erasure treatment of “Wild 
Turkey” is interesting in the Notes 
section because as the recipe is “re-
duced,” the brutality of hunting is 
revealed: 
hot water weakens the skin 
VOLUME 33, NUMBERS 1,2 249
A SEASON AMONG 
PSYCHICS
Elizabeth Greene
Toronto: Inanna Publications and 
Education, 2018.
reviewed by kate 
rogers 
In its first sentence, the novel A Season 
Among Psychics entices the reader 
with empathy, wit, and anticipation: 
“When I was fifty and thought my life 
was over, I let my best friend, Claire, 
persuade me to attend a psychic fair.”
Elizabeth Greene’s dedication at 
the beginning of the book also drew 
me in: “For the teachers,” it states. If 
any group of professionals deserves 
such recognition, teachers at all levels 
around the feathers
…the bird has been shot. Then 
remove the innards. This makes 
the process much easier for the 
finer feathers are almost like hu-
man hairs around the skin….”
However, many of the recipes seem 
like filler and are neither lyrical nor 
engaging. 
As already mentioned, the best 
sections of the book with the most 
consistently engaging poems are 
“Friends” and “The Moon and Her 
Friends.” Many of the poems in 
“Friends” are playful, like the first 
poem in that section, “Doe,” which 
begins: 
I am learning to hide
the hairs of this language
by losing [an] other.
I give you words in all my  
   skins—
moistened, tanned, stained
stamped
leather patent or pleather…”
“Elegy for a Stuffed Duck,” which 
begins with a tribute to the parts of a 
feather, is a playful and witty riff on 
birds. It is one of the strongest poems 
in the collection, beginning with:
O Calamus! Let us follow the 
   birds
to paradise in the wild range…
turn our backs from the earned 
   science
of con artist structures and 
   vehicle
cement
to the call of faraway climes.
It continues in strong form in the 
fourth stanza: 
Oh mallards, O ring necks, O 
   wood
ducks! We survey
snivel for a closer listen to your
clarinet sighs, aim to
silence your swank saxophone
quack…”
Also in the “Friends” section, 
“Nesting with the Sparrow” is an-
other strong poem. It evokes the 
narrator’s connection to that bird at 
a visceral level: 
In the long-ago shadows of  
   our past
I was beneath your ribs, eating 
   foliage
…I was the gorge between
your legs, waiting for the 
   collide of
water and womb:
…I long to return to you….
enter the dark world of your 
   Mouth—broken
beaked, beaten, breathing.
On page 60 is “Whale Revenge” 
with “lapping, shiny smooth skin, 
a rubbery roof—…shouts//hooved 
sounds,/wailing water-wish/from 
whalebones.” It is among the most 
evocative poems in the book. 
As a writer long based in Asia, I 
found the first of the two poems set 
there gave in to cliché and predictable 
tropes of China. In the first stanza 
of “Red Colossus after Sylvia Plath” 
there are “Tiger prowls”…”Pig-
grunts”, and a “Monkey-King,” “All 
of it hushed by great lotus lips and 
a /monk’s moon.” The following 
poem, “Who Dares to Encounter 
the Dragonfly of Binhai,” is more 
original in both its setting and the 
questions it asks: “…you continue to 
seek out/weeping willows for a gentle 
hook into the sway of breeze” the 
narrator observes, then asks, “Have 
you circled yourself enough today?” 
In the final section of the book, 
“The Moon and Her Friends”, we 
meet a vulnerable and engaging 
narrator in “Moon Madness” who 
takes “moon-shaped medicine…/
to make more serotonin for moon-
white.” More poems like this and 
those which play with language and 
association and fewer recipes would 
have made Flesh a stronger collection 
of poetry, but there is much to enjoy 
within its pages.
Kate Rogers’ poetry has been shortlisted 
for the 2018 Vancouver Tagore Society 
Contest and the 2017 Montreal Inter-
national Poetry Prize. Kate has poetry 
forthcoming in Tamaracks: Canadian 
Poetry for the 21st Century; Algebra 
of Owls, and Catherines, the Great 
(Oolichan). Kate has taught Literature 
in the Language Classroom, EAP, 
and Cultural and Media Studies for 
community colleges and universities in 
Canada and Asia for twenty-eight years. 
She currently teaches creative writing 
to refugee women and domestic helpers 
in Hong Kong for the Poetry Festival 
Foundation, a coalition made up of 
Baptist University, Chinese University, 
and Cha: An Asian Literary Journal. 
Kate Rogers’ latest poetry collection is 
Out of Place (Quattro-Aeolus House, 
Toronto. 2017).


FLESH Sonia Di Placido Toronto: Guernica Editions, 2018

Ashby, Kathy

78 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIES/LES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME
INANNA PUBLICATIONS
CELEBRATING  40 YEARS  OF FEMINIST PUBLISHING 
#FemLitCan 
...change the world!
www.inanna.ca
ALL TITLES ON OUR WEBSITE 
USING CODE FEMLIT4040% offSPECIAL ANNIVERSARY DISCOUNT:
ESSENTIAL READING FOR FEMINISTS EVERYWHERE
Made possible with the support of the Ontario Media Development Corporation
Inanna 
Prizewinners 
2018 IPPY 
Gold Medal 
Winner
2018 IPPY 
Bronze Medal 
Winner
Finalist, 2018 
Arthur Ellis Awards 
for Crime Fiction
Finalist, 2018 First 
Horizon Award 
(Eric Hoffer Award)
2017 IPPY 
Silver Medal 
Winner
2018 IPPY 
Gold Medal 
Winner 
kathy ashby
Roommates
I splash my face, a warm-water ritual and look up
at eyes happy with the new day and hair wet on the edges
as though all night had been one of rapture, steaming loins and love spent
As if that ever happens
I bow my head and heed the voice from the bedroom
What-time-is-it-I’m-going-to-be-late-is-the-coffee-ready?
I flip the visor down to check my lipstick, then my hair – all still good
eyes sparkle, lips stretch wide with the recent memory of purchases
I got everything on the list but
gaze turns down when next I hear,
What-took-you-so-long-I’m-bored-did-you-get-me-anything?
After the long hike, I wash my hands of good clean dirt then chin up
my face returns a deep-dreamy peacefulness, forest-luscious, pink roses in my cheeks
remembering every solid treasure in every new path taken
My heart drops listening to,
Where-were-you-what-do-you-see-in-that-park-anyway-what’s-for-dinner?
Eyes peer around the corner, surprised that feet follow and then the words just before the slam 
of the door,
I’m-leaving-you-ciao-oh-and-by-the-way-I’m-taking-the-mirrors.
Kathy Ashby is the author of the book Carol ‘A Woman’s Way,’published by DreamCatcher NB.  Kathy’s poetry and 
stories have appeared in numerous publications such as Descant Magazine, Canadian Woman Studies Journal, and 
Chicken Soup for the Soul, and have been broadcast on the program Outfront on CBC Radio One.


Roommates

Miles, Angela

Facio, Alda

Corbiere Lavell, Jeannette

Nyaundi, Patricia

Editorial/Éditorial

Thakur, Usha

Combatting Family Violence: The South Asian Canadian Experience in Canada

Hossain, Yasmin

The Education of the Secluded Ones
Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain 1880-1932
By Yasmin Hossain
Le processus de l'education des femmes
vivant dans la claustration implique
beaucoup de discretion en plus de
provoquer de la desapprobation, de
l'ostracisme et parfois une perte de
dignite. Ce processus depend aussi de la
cooperation des freres, des epoux et des
beaux-parents qui se sont occidentalises.
L' article traite de comment Begum
Rokeya a acquis sa propre education
avant de s' en alier negocier l' education
des jeunes flUes musulmanes du
Bengale.
Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, com-
monly known as the emancipator and
educator of the Muslim women of Ben-
gal, is of particular significance in under-
standing the attitude of the Muslim com-
munities of Bengal regarding female edu-
cation and eventual emancipation. Born
within the confines of a rigid ashraffam-
ily (Roy), in rural Rangpur in present day
Bangladesh, Begum Rokeya was to con-
tradict all the predictions of her back-
ground. In later life, she moved into the
public sphere to assume the role of a
national figurehead by actively promot-
ing female education through the estab-
lishment in 1911 of the highly successful
Sakhawat Memorial Girls' School, in
Calcutta. Shesimultaneously campaigned
for full emancipation of purdahnasheen
women through the establishment of the
Bengal branch of the Anjuman-e-
Khawatin Islam, in 1916. (Minault)
Begum Rokeya is best known for the
establishment of the school which she
began with only a handful of girls whom
shepersonally collected from andretumed
to their homes in specially designed
purdahnasheen carriages. Mindful of her
critics, Rokeya negotiated with, as well as
challengedthepatriarchy,particularlyover
the issue ofpurdah, the main deterrent to
female education. The success of her at-
tempts is clearlydemonstrated in the blos-
soming of the school, which having gath-
ered a momentum of its own, runs to the
present day.
Rokeya is also known for her writing.
She was published regularly in journals
It was not education
but purdah which
was deemed necessary
for the upbringing
ofgirls.
such as Mashik Muhammadi, Sawgat,
Nabanur, Muazzin, Bangiya Musalman
Sahittya patrika, and al-Eslam. Her liter-
ary contribution is also significant. She
wrote one novel, several plays, poems and
short stories, the best known of which is
Sultana's Dream, published in 1905 in
the Indian Ladies Magazine (Jahan 2).
Begum Rokeya' s educational process
is not an uncommon story in the lives of
most educated women of her time and
background. In her father's polygamous
household, it was not education but pur-
dah which was deemed necessary for the
upbringing of girls. The vulnerability of
the Muslim identity reached a crisis point
in nineteenth century Bengal with its
highly successful class of Hindu profes-
sionals. As a consequence, Muslim fami-
lies, such as Rokeya's, clung fiercely to
traditional values, incessantlyevoking the
ashraf way of life, claiming foreign an-
cestry and descent from lands close to that
of the Prophet Muhammad. (Roy). Ofher
childhood Rokeya recalls:
I had to observe purdah even from
women from the age of five. I did not
understand why it was improper to
meet somebody, but I had to observe
purdah. The inner side of the house '
was outofbounds for the menfolk; so
I did not have to suffer by their pres-
ence. However, women freely en-
tered the house, and I had to hide
myself before they could see me. As
soon as any woman of the locality
would come, somebody ofour house
would give a signal with the eye and
I would run pell mell and hide myself
anywhere-in the nookofthekitehen,
within...the rolled up pallet of the
maid-servant and sometimes under
the bedstead. I had to run and hide
myself just as the chicks do when
their mother gives them the signal
against a kite. But while the chicks
had a definite place-their mother's
wings-to hide, I had no such place.
Moreover, thechicks understand their
mother's signal instinctively. I had
no such instinct, and if I failed to
understand the signal of the eye and
cameacross somebody, thewell wish-
ing elders used to say "how shame-
less the girls have become." (Joardar
and Joardar 5).
In this environment, girls with educa-
tion were regarded as being as abomina-
ble and shameless as those without pur-
dah. How then was it possible for Rokeya
to familiarize herself not only with the
Urdu and Bengali alphabets, but also with
English? We know that at the age of five
56 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIES/LES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME
Rokeya once visited Calcutta with her
mother. There, she was introduced to tu-
tors and a missionary woman was even
appointed to teach her. But the plan was
quickly abandoned when the elders of the
family decided that education received
from a Western woman would breakpur-
dah. Mter returning to her village house
in Rangpur, it was her eldest brother,
Ibrihim Saber, who inspired Rokeya and
initiated the learning process.
Most of the teaching sessions, how-
ever, took place in the darlmess of night.
Samsun Nahar, familiar with the Saber
family and a personal friend of Rokeya,
presents us with a romantic picture of the
siblings seated with their books after the
evening meal when the father had gone to
bed. They studied together by candle-
light, often until dawn, when they were
interrupted by the Azan for the morning
prayer. (Akanda) Rokeya was not only
hard-working but also bright and curious.
Her progress no doubt delighted Ibrihim
and soon a tender relationship developed
between the two. It was also Ibrihim who
postponed Rokeya' s date of marriage for
as long as he could, and when the time
came, he was most enthusiastic about the
educated, westernized Sakhawat Hossain
whom Rokeya eventually married.
The other major influence on Rokeya's
education was her sister, Karimunnessa.
She is interesting in herself, apart from
her role as Rokeya's guide and mentor.
Born in 1855, Karimunnessa too was an
exceptionally bright and curious child,
eager to learn. Her life in her father's
house was uninspiring. She learned the
Quran by heart, but any other education
was taboo. Yet from an early age, she was
resourceful enough to eavesdrop on the
Munshis who came to teach the brothers.
In this way, she taught herself some Per-
sian and, by copying her brothers, learned
to write Bengali in utmost secrecy. Learn-
ing by eavesdropping on the lessons ofthe
male members of the house was not un-
common in secluded households, where
education was taboo for girls.
Karimunnessa was eventually discovered
by her father, who at first was amused and
for a short while took an interest in teach-
ing her himself. However, this came to an
abrupt halt when the mullahs learned ofit.
Their criticism was so severe that, fearing
ostracism, not only did her father stop her
education at once but married her off
VOLUME 13, NUMBER 1
hurriedly when Karimunnessa was about
fourteen.
She married Abdul Hakim Khan
Gaznavi, the son ofa zamindari family in
Deldewar in Tangail. (Khan 244). Her
new home, although far from Rangpur,
and remote and difficult to get to, was a
blessing for her. Not only was it liberal
and modem, but most importantly, it en-
couraged female education. She began to
learn along with her brothers-in-law. She
proved to be a gifted woman who read
"hundreds of thousands of books" (Kadir
288) and began to write love poems, as
well as others dealing with gender issues
and the question of women's status. The
following is an exampleofonesuch poem:
Whether rich, poor or middle class
Men are never trust worthy
Forget not, forget not sisters!
Their words
Are the ruination of women.
(SufIan 86).
Girls with education
were regarded as
being as abominable
and shameless as those
without purdah.
In 1881, she completed her long poem,
Dukkha Tarangini, as well as her 118-
page long Manob Bikas. She had worked
on the latter for almost twenty years. Nei-
therof these was published but we are told
that they were carefully written, bound in
leather, and presented as proper books.
Hercuriosity andenergy for learningnever
ceased, at the age of sixty-seven she de-
cided to take up Arabic in order to under-
stand the Quranic verses sheknew so well
by heart.
In 1878, on her widowhood,
Karimunnessa was left with two young
boys, Abdul Karim Abu Abmed Khan
Gaznavi and Abdul Halim Hussain Khan
Gaznavi. There was general opposition in
Delduar to the education ofher sons in the
modem system, soshe moved to Calcutta,
breaking with the custom of a joint fam-
ily. It is likely that as a widow, she would
have spent much time in her paternal
home. Being twenty seven years older
than Rokeya, Karimunnessa took on the
role ofmother in the large andbusy house-
hold.
Karimunnessa was crucial to Rokeya's
development It was she who voiced her
opposition to the social norms concerning
women, thus setting a precedent for
Rokeya. She was defiant in her challenge
to society, her convictions were strong,
and her faith in herself constant In her,
Rokeya, younger and impressionable,
found a mentor. It was theolder sisterwho
taught her not only to intellectualize the
issues and themes we see her so involved
with in her work, but also to question the
verynature andpurposeofexistence,push-
ing her forward onto the quest for self
identity. In this, her influence is immeas-
urable, for in her, Rokeya found a role
model who inspired and encouraged her
at every step.
The elder sister died of heart failure in
1926 at the age of71. It is with deep regret
thatRokeya writes "Karimunnessa Sahiba
could have been one of the brightest jew-
els of this land had society not throttled
her genius."
The third person most influential in
encouraging Rokeya's education was
Sakhawat Hossain, her husband. He was
the Deputy Magistrate of Bhagalpur, a
man in a position of some power, and one
who enjoyed the trust of his colonial em-
ployers. Not only was he likely to have
been influenced by them in European
ways of thinking, but he himself had vis-
ited the Continent and had studied agri-
culture in England. He was an advocate of
female education and, recognizing the
potential of his wife, was determined to
develop it further. He improved her Eng-
lish and stimulated her intellectually, no
doubt introducing new ideas and litera-
tureall the time. InBaiyu JanayPanchash
Mile. we are told that Rokeya began to
write Sultana's Dream not only to fill the
time while her husband was on tour, but
also to impress him on his return. No
doubt Rokeya was a tremendous asset to
her husband, contributing greatly to his
reputation as a westernized, modem man.
It is clear that he was proudofherachieve-
ments and believed in the causes she her-
selfbattled for. At hisdeath, he left herRs.
10 000 to spend on schools for Muslim
girls.
57
Rokeya's educational accomplishments were acquired on an
informal basis, yet the idea offormal academic qualification had
enormous appeal for her. There remained in her a longing for
formal recognition as an accomplished scholar. Yet, she was a
learned woman. Ofher,Dr. MuhammadEnamul Haq writes: "the
knowledge this extraordinary woman acquired on her own, from
within the confines of her home, was no less than the education
meted out at universities." (Alam 5) .
The educational experiences of women such as Rokeya and
Karimunnessa were not unique. Learning in secrecy from well-
meaning brothers or guardians, or even learning by eavesdrop-
ping on their lessons, and after marriage, from the modem
westernized husband, were the only means of women's initial
access to education. Buthowever sympathetic to the education of
women, most male patrons pursued their own interests through
them. The patriarchal aim diverged from the course set out by
Rokeya and other women educators. The male ideal of female
education was tailored to fit the image of modem India. The
education of women was not a cause in itself, but an issue in the
process of decolonization. Therefore, the beginning of female
education controlled by women depended on a negotiation with
the patriarchal establishment, leading to a relaxation of its con-
straints. Rokeya began to challenge prevailing assumptions about
the status of women in earnest after widowhood, when women,
particularly those without children, were freed from the ties of
domesticity.
The crucial issue was that women could begin to teach one
another, as in the case ofKarimunnessa's instructions to Rokeya.
This was then an important turning point Women could begin to
depend on others of their own sex rather than on men. It is when
women began to claim and take responsibility for their own
education that marks the beginning of female-engineered eman-
cipation outside direct male control, and often in defiance of it.
Yasmin Hossain is currently completing a PhD. at the School of
Oriental and African Studies, University ofLondon. The subject
ofher study isBegum Rokeya and the position ofBengali Muslim
women.
References
Akanda, L. "Kartini and Rokeya: Their Contributions Towards
EmancipationofWomen,"Dhaka University Studies39(1983).
Alam,M. S.RokeyaSakhawatHossain:JibonoSahittya. Dhaka,
1989.
Jahan, R., ed. Sultana's Dream. New York: 1988.
Joardar, H. and Joardar, S. Begum Rokeya: The Emancipator.
Dhaka, 1980.
Kadir, A. Ed. Rokeya Racanabali. Dhaka, 1973.
Khan, N. I., ed.BangladeshDistrict GazetteersRangpur. Dhaka,
1977.
Minault, G., ed. The Extended Family: Women and Political
Participation in India and Pakistan. Delhi: 1981.
Roy, A. The Islamic Syncretistic Tradition in Bengal. Princeton,
1983.
Sufian, N. I. M. Bangla Sahityer Nutan Itihas. Dhaka, 1965.
The Women's Movement in
Canada and the United States Edited by CONSTANCE BACKHOUSEand DAVID H. FLAHERTY
By allowing the reader to draw comparisons between women's movements in
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58 CANADIAN WOMAN STUDIES/LES CAHIERS DE LA FEMME


The Education of the Secluded Ones: Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain 1880-1932

Ritchie, Elisavietta

Safe Keeping
ELISAVIETTA RITCHIE
Defensive Measures
It's for your good, the guard
insists, your own good
we protect you from each other
and the world from you.
Our fingernails are filed,
hair cut like nuns'.
Who needs forks or knives
for soup and stew and bread.
As if a spoon
could not gouge eyes.
As if a handle, snapped,
would not cut veins.
Deidre Scherer, Magnitude, 1990. Fabric and Thread. 10" x 8.5"
VOLUME 12, NUMBER 4
Chili still burns my mouth
like the twisted scythe
of peppers redder than blood
or the brick lace of the bruise
on my cheek. To kill
if you have no weapons:
maintain surprise,
find two sharp rocks,
swing them like cymbals
in a curve toward the temples-
your target will squash
like a frog.
You can also hug-break ribs,
bite the neck, shark-kiss
the throat, slice skin,
smother in mud. But here
mud is frozen in snow,
all stones removed
to landscape the entrance.
As in Aesop's cave
where creatures came
to call on the lion,
more footprints point in
than out. And I am five
feet tall, a gnarled
nanny goat of a crone
trying to fight a war.
No more guitar for a shield,
only a song for my sword.
Wait until I get outside.
Elisavietta Ritchie is a writer, editor, photographer and
translator. In addition to seven collections ofpoetry, she has
written Flying Time: Stories & Half-Stories (Signal Books,
1992).
59


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