What Does It Mean to Be a Woman? Reading Rashid Jahan’s “Behind The Veil”

Abstract

The present paper intends to attempt a critical appraisal of Rashid Jahan’s sole dramatic contribution “Behind the Veil” (Parde Ke Peechhe) in the collection Angarey (1932) and analyze how she exposed the myriad problems of the middle and lower-middle class women in Indian society. While her writings document her resentment against the status quo, at the same time they can be read as successful demonstrations of the fissures in the nationalist project. My paper will discuss how by presenting her female characters as political subjects with a sense of agency she has challenged the existing structures of family, religion, community, colonial domination, racism, and economic exploitation.