Edited and Contributed to by the Ladies Only: Bengali Magazine Antahpur and its Focus on Reforms for Women

Abstract:This historical study examines the Bengali magazine Antahpur, which was the first magazine in India that was written and edited solely by women in the late nineteenth century. Examining the articles in Antahpur shows that the focus of the writings were the key themes of reforms closely tied to the Bengali Renaissance. Women writers of this magazine emphasized the importance of women’s education, trials of widowhood and the necessity of prohibiting child marriage. Traditional feminine themes like homemaking and fashion were not given prominence in the magazine. In leveraging issues related to condition of women and the necessity of social reforms the writers exhibited feminist thoughts that were similar to the early feminist thinkers of the West.