The Venerable Hindi Feminist Magazine "Stree Darpan" is Resuming Publication

By: WE Staff | Saturday, 2 July 2022

On July 1st, the venerable feminist publication "Stree Darpan" was resurrected. It will be officially introduced on July 15 in an offline format after an initial online debut. It is one of the periodicals that operated successfully for 20 years, from 1909 to 1929, in the years before independence, when it was challenging to practise one's right to free speech and expression while living under British control. It was at this time that women were beginning to become more aware of their rights and our society as a whole was going through a period of rebirth.

This journal made just as big of an impact on the independence struggle as Premchand's "Hans" and Ganesh Shankar Vidyarthi's "Pratap." But for some reason, there wasn't much discussion of the meaning of "Stree Darpan."

More information was obtained about it when the researchers of the Indian Renaissance and women's empowerment called attention to this magazine's significance.

Rameshwari Nehru, Motilal Nehru's cousin and daughter-in-law of Brijlal Nehru, edited Stree Darpan. The most amazing aspect of this magazine was that the majority of the work required to take it out was completed by women.

A Facebook page with the name Stree Darpan was established two years ago on the occasion of the passing of renowned Hindi poet Mahadevi Verma. It served as a forum for conversation about female authors, academics, and women's issues.

Numerous topics that had hitherto received little attention in Hindi literature were also emphasised. A website with the same name was created after the Facebook page gained popularity. It features a large number of videos as well as the writings of around 125 Hindi women writers. Now, Stree Darpan also has a YouTube channel. The website showcases popular female poets from around the world who have produced poetry in Hindi.

As soon as Hindi novelist Geetaanjali Shree received the Booker Prize, development on the magazine began. All of the advisers for this magazine are well-known Hindi authors. Veteran writers Sudha Arora, Rohini Agarwal, Dr. Sudha Singh, and poet Savita Singh all helped revive this influential feminist publication.

Senior poet and journalist Vimal Kumar is a key author driving the magazine's resurgence.