The Female Reader

Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain was a Bengali Muslim writer and feminist activist who founded the first Muslim girls' school in Calcutta in 1911. She wrote Sultana's Dream  as a means to pass the time while her husband was away with work. Writing this short story was a means for Rokeya to demonstrate her prowess in English to her husband, who appreciated her work. He encouraged her to submit the piece to The Indian Ladies Magazine , which published the story for the first time in 1905. This feminist utopia is based in a place called Ladyland   where women roam free and thrive, while men are secluded. It is considered the opposite of the purdah : the practice of seclusion prevalent in some Muslim and Hindu communities. Most notably, crime is completely eliminated in Ladyland, since men are considered responsible for all of it... Reading time: 19 minutes Sultana's Dream by Begum Rokeya One evening I was lounging in an easy chair in my bedroom a...

Florence Nightingale by Augustus Egg Although Florence Nightingale is best known as The Lady with the Lamp , she was also a prodigious and versatile writer. During her lifetime, her published works focused on spreading medical knowledge, and many of her texts (including the extract we will read below) were written in plain English to ensure a wide readership even among the less literate of her peers. Today's reading is an extract from her short reference text, Notes on Nursing  in which she imparts knowledge and advice to assist her fellow medical practitioners in the service of patients. Even today, and especially during this time of world health crisis, it is important we remind ourselves how to take care of our families' health within our homes. Reading time: 17 minutes NOTES ON NURSING: WHAT IT IS, AND WHAT IT IS NOT. II.—HEALTH OF HOUSES [1] Health of houses. Five points essential. There are five essential points in securing the health of houses:— Pure air...

Illustration for the cover of Christina Rossetti's Goblin Market and Other Poems (1862), by her brother Dante Gabriel Rossetti ( Source ) Goblin Market  is the titular poem of Christina Rossetti's acclaimed collection which was first printed in 1862 when she was aged 31. It is ostensibly about two sisters' misadventures with goblins, critics have interpreted the piece in a variety of ways, seeing it as an allegory about temptation and salvation, a commentary on Victorian gender roles and female agency, and a work about erotic desire and social redemption. Personally, I find it an intriguing poetical fairy tale, moralising on the bonds of sisterhood. Read on and decide for yourself! Reading time: 13 minutes Goblin Market by Christina Rossetti Morning and evening Maids heard the goblins cry: 'Come buy our orchard fruits, Come buy, come buy: Apples and quinces, Lemons and oranges, Plump unpecked cherries, Melons and raspberries, Bloom-down-cheeked peac...

Mary Livermore Though practically unknown today, Mary Livermore was a popular figure in 19th Century America. A suffragist, abolitionist, and co-director of the U.S. Sanitary Commission in Chicago during the Civil War, Livermore travelled the country and gave over 1,000 inspirational speeches to raise money for her favoured causes. Today's reading focuses on one of her more famous speeches, concerning the health of young women with particular caution against fashions which injure the female form. Reading time: 21 minutes What Shall We Do With Our Daughters? Chapter II: Physical Education Good health is a great pro-requisite of successful or happy living. To live worthily or happily, to accomplish much for one^s self or others when suffering from pain and disease, is attended with difficulty. Dr. Johnson used to say that "every man is a rascal when he is sick." And very much of the peevishness, irritability, capriciousness, and impatience seen in men and women h...