Mardanas (Situational Irony)
The restriction of men to male-only spaces inverts the gendered practice of purdah, which leaves women sequestered in zenanas. This inversion creates a form of irony as it subverts the gendered expectation of purdah being practiced by women and reverses it. In Ladyland, it is not women who must stay in the house, but men.
"Gentlemen" doing "domestic work" (Situational Irony)
Sultana is excited to tell her friends back home about the irony of role reversal that occurs in Ladyland: rather than women cooking, cleaning, and looking after children, it is the men who execute all of these roles, which are typically associated with women and with female responsibility. This irony brings both humor and sociocultural commentary into the story.
Eliminating crime (Situational Irony)
The women's ability to eliminate crime without the use of legal measures, police force, or any other form of institutional intervention is ironic because it contradicts the belief that such measures would be necessary to combat crime. Instead, the solution was "simple": without men, crime disappeared on its own. Although crime is perceived as a complex issue, in the story, it is "solved" with the single act of restricting men from public life.
"Mannish" (Verbal Irony)
Sister Sara describes Sultana as acting "mannish" when she is being shy and timid, which inverts the expectation that acting shy and timid is womanly, and instead associates it with men, who are typically described as acting courageous or confident. This expectation is reversed; to act timid is to act like a man.
