Reviewing The Views
Revisiting Sultana's dream in the light of the refugee law
Sultana's Dream is a short story by Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain which is regarded as a feminist critique. I have noticed that apart from feminism, it talks about the rights of refugees. Probably Rokeya is the first Bengali woman who speaks about the rights of refugees. To what extent she is for the refugees is clearly understood by reading her fiction Sultana's Dream. In the fiction, the Queen of Ladyland bravely engages in a war with the King of its neighbouring country in order to protect the rights of the refugees.
In the story, we see that a group of persons came from a neighbouring country and sought asylum in Ladyland. These asylum seekers were in trouble in their country of origin having committed some political offence. They got the refugee status in Ladyland. The king of the neighbouring country who cared more for power than for good governance, asked the kind-hearted Queen of Ladyland to hand the refugees over to his officials. The Queen refused to do so, as it was against her principle to turn out refugees. Hence the King declared war against Ladyland. Then the story goes on to describe how Ladyland won the war and finally protected the rights of the refugees by using the scientific discovery of its women warriors. My observation is that Rokeya shows that refugee rights are better protected in a country that is ruled by women. If the Head of Government of Ladyland was not a Queen and if women of the country had no participation in the decision making process, then the table may have been turned in a different direction.
Now let me describe some parts of the story. It begins with Sultana lounging in an easy-chair in her bedroom, not sure whether she had dozed off. All at a sudden Sister Sara appeared and took her for a walk. Sultana found that she had entered a new country called Ladyland that was ruled by women. The country was neat and clean and beautiful like a grand garden. While walking on the street, Sultana met many women but not a single man. When she asked curiously about the whereabouts of the men, Sister Sara informed her that all the men were in the Mardana (confinement) just as the women in British Bengal were being shut indoors in the Zenana. Sultana was very surprised and wanted to know why and how this had happened. In reply, Sister Sara referred to the refugee situation and the war. The enemy was very strong thus the military of the country had no options but to step back. Then the Queen held a meeting with the wise ladies of the country. After consultation, it was decided that a lady principal of a university who invented a device to collect the concentrated heat from the sun-light, would fight with the male warriors with her two thousands female students. However, the lady principal requested the Queen that before hearing her plan all the men of Ladyland should be entered into the Mardana. The men agreed to do so since they had no hope to win the war. But finally the ladies gained a decisive victory without shedding a single drop of blood. In the battle field, when they directed all the rays of the concentrated sunlight and heat towards the enemy, they fled away panic-stricken leaving their guns and ammunitions behind. This is how the ladies won the war and the men were confined. Then the story goes to inform Sultana about the progress of the country in the fields of education and scientific research, administration, judiciary, trade and commerce and so on under the women's leadership. Sultana also met the great Queen and visited different establishments of Ladyland. While returning, somehow Sultana slipped from the air-car and the fall startled her out of her dream. She woke up and found herself still lounging in the easy-chair in her bedroom.
If one revisits Sultana's Dream in the light of the modern International Refugee Law, one can observe that the story contains some essential ideas which are now part of the International Refugee Law, i.e., 'Convention grounds' and the 'Principle of non-refoulement'. As per the International Refugee Law, 'Convention grounds' are the reasons established in the 1951 Refugee Convention as one of the elements of refugee definition. It requires that a person's fear of persecution be linked to one or more of the following five grounds: race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion. These five grounds are known as the 'Convention grounds.' And, 'Principle of non-refoulement' is the core principle of the International Refugee Law that prohibits the forcible return of refugees in any manner whatsoever to countries or territories where their lives or freedom would be at risk for reasons of conventional grounds (race, religion, and nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion). The 'Principle of non-refoulement' is also part of customary international laws and is therefore binding on all countries, whether or not they have signed on to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. The 'Principle of non-refoulement' is also part of the International Human Rights Law and the International Humanitarian Law.
By providing a safe refuge to the asylum seekers and by taking a strong position of not forcefully returning them to their country of origin where their lives at risk, the Queen of Ladyland actually sets an example of managing refugee issues in a very good manner which, I see that in line with the modern International Refugee Law. This further reiterates the sagaciousness and far-sightedness of Rokeya who could think of the essences of the refugee law well in advance before the birth of the formal law. Sultana's Dream was originally published in The Indian Ladies Magazine, Madras, 1905 in English, when the refugee issue was not a great deal in the world politics. Refugee issue has become a concern of international politics after the first world-war held in 1914. The Refugee Convention was adopted many years later, in 1951, in the aftermath of the second world-war.
Day by day, Sultana's dream is realising in Bangladesh. Women education reached at village level. Women are being empowered and participating in the decision making process. Currently, the Speaker of the parliament and, the heads of the position and opposition parties in the parliament are women. Some core ministers in the cabinet are also women including the Prime Minister. Can't we expect that in the coming days the rights of the refugees will be better protected in Bangladesh?
The writer is doing his PhD. in Political Science at Dhaka University.
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