Three Centuries of Travel Writing by Muslim Women

Siobhan Lambert-Hurley is Professor of Global History at the University of Sheffield. She is author of Elusive Lives: Gender, Autobiography, and the Self in Muslim South Asia; (with Sunil Sharma) Atiya's Journeys: A Muslim Woman from Colonial Bombay to Edwardian Britain; and Muslim Women, Reform and Princely Patronage: Nawab Sultan Jahan Begam of Bhopal. She is editor (with Anshu Malhotra) of Speaking of the Self: Gender, Performance, and Autobiography in South Asia and of A Princess's Pilgrimage: Nawab Sikandar Begum's A Pilgrimage to Mecca.Daniel Majchrowicz is Assistant Professor of South Asian Literature and Culture at Northwestern University. His work appears in South Asia: Journal of South Asian Studies and Journal of Urdu Studies, as well as several edited volumes. He is author of a forthcoming book on the history of travel writing in South Asia. Sunil Sharma is Professor of Persianate and Comparative Literature at Boston University. He is author of Mughal Arcadia: Persian Literature in an Indian Court; Amir Khusraw: The Poet of Sultans and Sufis; Persian Poetry at the Indian Frontier: Mas'ud Sa'd Salman of Lahore, and (with Siobhan Lambert-Hurley) Atiya's Journeys: A Muslim Woman from Colonial Bombay to Edwardian Britain. He is editor (with Roberta Micallef) of On the Wonders of Land and Sea: Persianate Travel Writing.

Compiled by editors Siobhan Lambert-Hurley, Daniel Majchrowicz and Sunil Sharma, Three Centuries of Travel Writing by Muslim Women showcases writings from 45 Muslim women — acquired through an extensive selection of writings in 10 languages, including Arabic, Turkish, Urdu, Punjabi, Indonesian, English and others. . . . What emerges is a group of women writers who were not afraid to voice their thoughts in the presence of authority figures and unfavourable circumstances. Three Centuries of Travel Writing by Muslim Women Writers is an enduring testament to just a few of the countless fascinating stories documented by women travellers throughout the ages.- Fehmida Zakeer (The National News) This anthology will be of interest to anyone working on travel, colonial history, Muslim women, and comparative literature, Islamic Studies. It will also be an excellent resource in many courses that cover a range of topics be it religious piety, feminism, travel, travel writing, and much more.- Shobhana Xavier (New Books Network) The amount of work that has gone into uncovering these sources should not be understated. Lambert-Hurley and her team researched the book over seven years, collaborating with experts in Arabic sources and visiting private collections in rural Punjab. Three Centuries of Travel Writing by Muslim Women is all the more valuable for rendering visible a previously unwritten history of Muslim women travellers. It deserves a place on your bookshelf!- Evelyn Nichols (she/her) (Off the Shelf) This anthology will interest scholars and general readers wanting to know more about travel writing, gender, Muslim women, Islamic studies, colonial history and global history. It is also a good resource for many undergraduate and graduate courses.- Ammad Ali Malik (The News on Sunday (Pakistan)) Three Centuries of Travel Writing by Muslim Women fills important gaps in the history of Islam and the Islamicate cultures....Among the merits of this collection is that it can be read at multiple levels. It appeals to students of Islamic history because it offers important insights about family structures and social habits, including some interesting ethno-graphic notes that are otherwise under looked in texts that are more focused on the history of the Islamic institutions. It is an important tool for students who have an interest in gender and women studies especially as it contributes to decentring Europe and the West and shifting the focus on the Muslim world.- Lucia Sorbera, The University of Sydney (Afriche e Orienti) This timely scholarly intervention provides a much-needed counternarrative to the stereotypical conceptions and notions of what it meant—or means—to be a Muslim woman . . . Going through the narratives in Three Centuries of Travel Writing by Muslim Women, one is touched by their authenticity. In speaking of traditionally feminine concerns, none of the women seem to be relinquishing power, but rather exerting it, usually in a quiet, confident, and rather subversive manner. The excerpts contained in the book suggest that a much larger and richer body of work is available for translation to provide alternative, authentic narratives of the Muslim woman's experience.- Mariam Zia (Scholarly Editing) 'Three Centuries of Travel Writing by Muslim Women', edited by Siobhan Lambert-Hurley, Daniel Majchrowicz, and Sunil Sharma, disrupts this narrative in a groundbreaking way. It's a meticulously curated collection of firsthand accounts of Muslim women travellers, spanning ten different languages across the 17th to the 20th centuries. This book is more than just a travelogue; it's an act of historical reclamation that unearths the voices of intrepid women who ventured out into the world, defying the stereotypes of female seclusion often associated with Muslim societies.- Sobhika Vasanthan (Homegrown)

• AcknowledgmentsA Note on Translation, Transliteration and SyntaxIntroduction: Muslim Women, Travel Writing and Cultures of Mobility, by Siobhan Lambert-Hurley and Daniel MajchrowiczPart I: Travel as Pilgrimage1. The Widow of Mirza Khalil: A Bereaved Wife Seeks Solace2. Nawab Sikander Begum: A Queen's Impressions of Mecca3. Mehrmah Khanom: Adventures on the Road to Iraq4. Hajiyeh Khanom Alaviya Kermani: Iran to Mecca by Way of Bombay5. Sakineh Soltan Khanom Esfahani Kuchak: Iraq Diary6. Nawab Sultan Jahan Begum: The Long March to Medina7. Ummat al-Ghani Nur al-Nisa: Notes from Mecca and the Levant8. Begum Sarbuland Jang: Seeking Sisterhood in Damascus9. Rahil Begum Shervaniya: Life Aboard a Pilgrim Ship10. Nur Begum: Poems from a Punjabi Pilgrim11. Zainab Cobbold: At Home in the Hijaz with a British Convert12. Fatima Begum: An Indian Haji Observes her Fellow Pilgrims13. Qaisari Begum: The Long Road to Mecca14. Begum Hasrat Mohani: Letters from a Pilgrimage to Iraq15. Mahmooda Rizvi: Three Months in IraqPart II: Travel as Emancipation and Politics16. Melek Hanim: A Turk among the Greeks17. Huda Shaarawi: A European Summer on the Eve of War18. Zeyneb Hanoum: A Turkish Désenchantée in Europe19. Selma Ekrem: Alone in New York City20. Şükûfe Nihal Başar: Three Days in Finland21. Halide Édib: A Turkish Nationalist in Colonial India22. Amina Said: An Egyptian Feminist at an Indian Conference23. Shareefah Hamid Ali: Representing India at the United Nations24. Suharti Suwarto: Ten Indonesian Women in the Soviet UnionPart III: Travel as Education25. Atiya Fyzee: Living and Learning in London26. Maimoona Sultan: To Turkey by Train through a Child's Eyes27. Sediqeh Dowlatabadi: An Iranian Feminist Travails in France28. Begum Habibullah: With Three Boys at an English Boarding School29. Iqbalunnisa Hussain: At the University of Leeds30. Muhammadi Begum: Oxford Diary31. Herawati Diah: A Journalist in the Making32. Mehr al-Nisa: An Indian Nurse in Ohio33. Zaib-un-nissa Hamidullah: Sixty Days in AmericaPart IV: Travel as Obligation and Pleasure34. Princess Jahanara: Mystical Meetings in Kashmir35. Dilshad: A Prisoner is Taken to Khoqand36. Sayyida Salamah bint Said/Emily Ruete: A Lover's Flight from Zanzibar37. Taj al-Saltanah: Life and Death in Qajar Iran38. Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain: A Pleasure Trip to the Himalaya39. Nazli Begum: On Grand Tour with the Nawab of Janjira40. Safia Jabir Ali: Touring Europe on Business41. Sughra Humayun Mirza: Meeting the Caliph in Switzerland42. Sughra Sabzvari: An Indian Family in Iran43. Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah: Life in England on the Brink of War44. Shams Pahlavi: A Shah's Daughter in Exile45. Nyonya Aulia-Salim: An Indonesian Tours America by MotorGlossaryContributorsIndex