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Women 's Dream By Rokeya Shekhawat Hossain Essay

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While feminists have been using literature to spread their beliefs and to advocate gender equality for centuries, science fiction as a genre is traditionally masculinist in its approach to the ideology of humanity. Within science fiction texts, human values are frequently represented by white male protagonists who become capable of overcoming natural limitations while women are reduced to insignificant supporting roles. Feminism seeks to counter such sexist depictions of humanity, and although such movements have obtained impressive momentum, much of the focus has historically been placed on women in the western world. Postcolonial feminism marked a transition away from a singular focus on middle class western women to campaign for the rights of women of color and developing nations. India in particular is and always has been governed under a strictly masculine hegemony that presents women with numerous cultural challenges such as discrimination and a lack of access to education. Rokeya Shekhawat Hossain is a feminist writer who was well ahead of her time as the themes portrayed in her most notable short story “Sultana’s Dream” coincide with the postcolonial feminist movement that would take rise over fifty years after the publication of her work. The article “Feminist Theory and Science Fiction” by Veronica Hollinger outlines several different approaches and general structures feminist science fiction authors undertake to promote their feminist agendas. Although Hollinger

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