In 1905 colonial Calcutta, where purdah confined women and British rule circumscribed everyone, Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain imagined otherwise. Sultana's Dream transports its narrator to Ladyland, a society where men remain secluded in the mardana (a play on the word janana, which referred to the space women were “kept” in) while women govern through superior scientific knowledge, harnessing solar power, piloting air-cars, controlling weather, eliminating crime entirely. If physical strength doesn't entitle lions to dominate humans, why should it entitle men to dominate women? "Since the mardana system has been established, there has been no more crime or sin; therefore we do not require a policeman to find out a culprit, nor do we want a magistrate to try a criminal case," Sister Sara explains.
All tagged feminism
Mrs Palm is an interesting Discworld character, as is the historical context her story references. Discworld’s foremost witch, Granny Weatherwax, describes Mrs Palm as ‘almost a witch.’ These two characters provide a Discworld lens through which we can explore related real-world history and how that is applicable now: “[i]n Discworld, stories and lies come together to create something necessary and meaningful. […] It is a training ground upon which to learn that beliefs have power, regardless of whether or not they are, conventionally speaking, true (Fellows 2014, p.216).”
The real-world history and stories about “witches” directly inform the portrayal of Discworld’s witches. Discworld’s sex work and sex workers are similarly informed by real-world history and narratives.