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In her famous essay-turned-speech entitled A room for yourselfIn what is now considered a seminal piece of feminist literature, English writer Virginia Woolf argued that “a woman must have money and a room of her own” if she is to write fiction or engage in intellectual pursuits. Woolf’s words have resonated so deeply with women across time and space and are often brought up in conversations about gender inequality because they highlight the connection between the lack of ownership of material resources and the marginal position accorded to women in society. Zeenath Sajida, an Indian writer and academic, explores the same idea as Woolf in her writings, but from a different perspective.
Best known for her concise prose and her sharp khaake (pen portraits) and inshaaiye (light sketches), Zeenath Sajida is considered one of the most influential writers in Urdu literature. The Deccan Sun, translated by Nazia Akhtar and published by Penguin India in 2025, is a collection of essays and short stories written by Sajida in the mid-20th century. In the short stories, sketches and essays included in this collection, Sajida paints a vivid picture of Hyderabad, where she grew up, and holds a mirror to the socio-political realities of her time, focusing in particular on the everyday challenges and inequalities faced by women.
While Sajida’s writings are characterized by a strong element of playfulness and humor, she addresses serious issues such as gender inequality, women’s lack of agency and bodily autonomy, the restrictions and burdens placed on women, the invisibility of their domestic work, and their consistent exclusion from public spaces and roles of power. Through her essays, Sajida gives voice to women’s many unspoken grievances and unheard requests and advocates for equality in all areas of life.
Women cannot be prophets
In “As Long as I Exist, There Will Be Obstacles in My Path,” the first essay in this collection, Sajida makes a provocative statement, declaring that women “could never be prophets” as men have been throughout history. While a comment like this could potentially be misconstrued as an expression of internalized misogyny or inferiority, a closer reading reveals that Sajida’s proclamation is based on pure practicality.
In Sajida’s view, prophethood is an unworthy calling for women because to become a prophetess one must have time to sit, think and ponder – a luxury that most women, especially in the Indian subcontinent, cannot afford. Women already have so many responsibilities on their shoulders and so many duties to perform that taking on the additional “burden” of prophethood would only cause them more problems. In a patriarchal social system where women are expected to take care of all aspects of the household and take care of all the needs of their families, there is no time for women to fulfill a larger-than-life mission.
Prophethood is merely an extended metaphor that Sajida uses to show that women have no control over their time and lives. Let alone becoming a prophetess, a woman cannot even achieve mastery of mundane things such as cooking, sewing, or painting because this mastery requires consistent practice and time to develop this skill. Even in the hypothetical scenario Sajida presents, in which a woman attempts to receive a divine revelation in a cave, her focus is interrupted by various members of her family who want her to help them with something. And when the woman finally gets the opportunity to “breathe a sigh of relief, the divine revelation has sailed past Mecca and Medina.” Interruptions, says Sajida, are part of a woman’s everyday life.
While it would be easy to dismiss the issues raised by Sajida as problems of the past or as challenges faced only by Muslim women living in Hyderabad in the 1940s and 1950s, recent research has shown that women from diverse backgrounds and contexts in India today disproportionately bear the burden of housework. The time use surveyThe study conducted by the Indian government in 2024 found that 81.5 percent of women in India perform unpaid domestic work, as opposed to only 27 percent of men; And on average, a woman spends 289 minutes each day providing unpaid domestic services to family members, while her male counterparts spend just 88 minutes doing the same. Reports like these only confirm that the gender division of labor and the lack of free time for women are problems that have existed for a long time and continue to exist today.
Job or not, women are doomed either way
Sajida’s work also explores the double-edged sword faced by women seeking careers and a life outside the home. In the essay “I Got Myself a Job,” Sajida recounts the dilemmas she faced when she started working. Her job took up all her time and energy, so she had no desire to do anything creative or leisurely, and even after she got home, she could not recover from the “trap of work” as she was expected to do household chores.
This essay highlights the unrealistic demands placed on working women and emphasizes that ambition and career orientation are traits valued in men but considered undesirable in women. Women who prioritize their careers are seen as selfish and arrogant. Sajida writes about the resentment and contempt she received from her family and friends, who, instead of sympathizing with her or appreciating how she juggled work and housework, quickly complained because she could no longer be there for them.
While a career should ideally feel liberating for women, in patriarchal societies it often becomes an additional source of suffering and worry. “The woman, caught between work and home, becomes like the caged bird that keeps returning to its prison – even after gaining freedom – and bangs its head against the cage.”
Always “someone is something”, never an independent person
The Deccan Sun also highlights how women are devalued and seen as just “someone is something” – a woman is the daughter of X, the wife of Y or the mother of Z, not a separate individual. While a man is seen as a complex person with a fully developed personality and has the freedom to chase his dreams, a woman must “consider her mother’s tears, her father’s honor, her brother’s threats, the child’s voice, the family name and the dignity of her community” before making the smallest decision.
In “If I Were a Man,” Sajida reflects on how life would have been very different for her and other women if they had been granted the same privileges and freedoms as men. She lists the things she could do if she were born a man, things women could never get away with, like wasting time at home without being expected to cook or clean, going on dates and sleeping with whoever they wanted without judgment, roaming around late at night and exploring the world without fear.
Sajida argues that if she were a man, she would also be “a slave to her appetites,” pursuing a hedonistic lifestyle and presenting herself as “a free thinker,” as many men do. By drawing attention to the many ways in which men and women lead different lives, this essay offers a powerful critique of societal norms and social attitudes that limit women’s freedoms, deprive them of life’s small joys, and force them to conform to the narrow schemes and ideals that others have created for them.
Sajida’s desperation and anger over sexist double standards are clearly expressed in this piece and are also visible in the ironic advice she gives to young women:
“If someone says that a woman can’t do art, please scratch his face. And tell him to save himself a room and a day of free time [to the woman]!”
Women looking for a room over the years
While it is hard to imagine what a woman from 1920s England, a woman who spent her youth in Hyderabad in the 1960s, and a woman living in New Delhi in 2025 could possibly have in common, there are several common threads that connect women’s experiences and lives across time and space.
Although decades have passed and the world has undergone all sorts of changes since Sajida wrote these essays, women in India and elsewhere still struggle to receive the same opportunities, recognition, freedoms and privileges as men. The winner of the International Booker Prize 2025 Heart lamp from Banu MushtaqTaylor Swift’s 2019 song ‘If I were a man‘,’ the Malayalam language film 2021 The great Indian cuisine and its Hindi counterpart from 2025 Woman are just a few examples of contemporary literature and popular music that shed light on ongoing gender inequalities and call for greater representation and rights for women.
The space that Virginia Woolf, Zeenath Sajida and thousands of other women speak of and sought is not just a physical place consisting of four walls, a desk or a window to look out of, although sometimes it can be that way… This space is a metaphor for every opportunity and resource that has been denied and withheld from women. It is a symbol of freedom, equality and much more. So much more.