Purdah and Polygamy

Originally published in 1944 by Hosali Press, Bangalore, this book is believed to be one of the first full-length English language novel by an Indian Muslim woman in the pre-Partition era. It has clear links with the biting criticism in the feminist Urdu fiction of writers such as Ismat Chughtai and Rashid Jahan. Through its ironic tone, the novel demonstrates the corrupting influence of this patriarchal system and its power to warp the lives of the women who live under it.