Write a short note on Ladyland?

The start of the story begins in a dream-like space, where Sultana finds herself in an unknown world, emerging from night into the daylight of Ladyland. This passage from darkness into light serves as a metaphor for Sultana’s transition from the “darkness” of patriarchal India into the female-governed society in Ladyland. The landscape of Ladyland—one that is filled with a variety of flowers, plants, moss, and grass—is another figurative detail that symbolizes the idyll that Ladyland offers. The safety and refuge that Ladyland provides for women allow them to bloom, just like flowers and wildlife within it are able to blossom. Without men, women are able to transform their society into an abundantly beautiful space.

Ladyland is a reversal of the Hindu and Muslim religious practice of “purdah,” in which women are restricted to female-only rooms or spaces that are referred to as zenanas. This practice was common among Hindu elites and greatly restricted a woman’s behavior, freedom, and movement. While keeping purdah, women often wore garments, such as a veil, that covered their whole bodies. Sultana alludes to this practice when she mentions how uncomfortable and exposed she feels without her veil, which displays how Sultana is a woman that is not yet accustomed to the radical female empowerment practiced in Ladyland.

In Ladyland, purdah is inverted; instead of women being secluded, it is men who are kept separate from society and unable to move outside of their restricted areas. Ladyland creates a matriarchal society, one that is ruled by women, rather than functioning as a patriarchal society that is led by men and male-dominated structures.