Beyond the Binaries: Tracing Women's Autonomous Struggle in Bengali Periodicals (1863-1924)

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Countless Bengali women writers like Rokeya Shekhawat Hossein and Kamini Kumari Guptavoiced their dissent against the patriarchal codes of femininity that were imposed on them in the19th century. To elevate the status of the 'antahpur', the inner/private domain of the Hindu lifeideologically presaged the 19th century Bhadralak's competence for national self-rule in colonialBengal. The reform project entailed popularization of antahpur education for women andconstruction of a new femininity, characterized primarily by traditional feminine virtues forwhich the periodical medium served as a vital instrument. A flurry of women's periodicalsstarted appearing in the Bengali literary scene to carry forward the nationalist agenda. A total oftwenty-one women's periodicals came into circulation from the latter half of the 19th century toearly 20th century.1 I have undertaken the project of looking at women's writings in fifteen ofthese periodicals that were in circulation in Bengal from 1863-1924.