The Women's Courtyard

Aliya lives a life confined to the inner courtyard of her home with her older sister & irritable mother, while the men of the family throw themselves into the political movements of the day. She is tormented by the petty squabbles of the household and dreams of educating herself & venturing into the wider world. But Aliya must endure many trials before she achieves her goals, though at what personal cost?

Set in the 1940s, with Partition looming on the horizon, The Women's Courtyard cleverly brings into focus the claustrophobic lives of women whose entire existence was circumscribed by the four walls of their homes, & for whom the outside world remained an inaccessible dream. 

Daisy Rockwell's elegant & nuanced translation captures the poignance & power of Khadija Mastur's inimitable voice.

Daisy Rockwell is a painter, writer & translator living in the US. She has translated a number of classic works of Hindi & Urdu literature, including Upendranath Ashk's Falling Walls, Bhisham Sahni's Tamas, & Khadija Mastur's The Women's Courtyard. Her 2019 translation of Krishna Sobti's A Gujarat Here, a Gujarat There was awarded the Modern Language Association’s Aldo & Jeanne Scaglione Translation Prize. She is the winner of the 2022 International Booker Prize.