Journey to the West: Malay(si)an Women’s Narratives of Travels in England, 1934-58

Ahmad, Siti Nuraishah (2020) Journey to the West: Malay(si)an Women’s Narratives of Travels in England, 1934-58. Asiatic: IIUM Journal of English Language and Literature, 14 (2). pp. 8-23. ISSN 1985-3106

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Abstract

This paper examines two texts by Malay(si)an women: Aishah Ghani’s Ibu Melayu Mengelilingi Dunia (1956) and P.G. Lim’s memoirs, Kaleidoscope (2012). It focusses on the narratives of their journeys to and in England between 1934 and 1958. P.G. Lim (1915-2013) and Aishah Ghani (1923-2013) were contemporaries who lived in Malaya under British colonial rule, participated in nationalist movements for Malaya’s independence, and served in the post-colonial government of Malaya and Malaysia in pioneering roles. Their journeys to England took place before the Second World War and after. Their travel narratives provide readers with valuable insight into the rapidly changing roles of Malay(si)an women within a span of twenty-five years. Lim’s and Aishah’s travels to England in the waning days of the British Empire reveal their experiences and observations of the imperial centre, and the significance of these to their notions of women’s freedom of movement and independence from colonial rule. Informed by the work of Inderpal Grewal on Indian female travellers to the West, this paper aims to address the limited research on the history of female mobility, travel, and travel writing in Malay(si)a.

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Additional Information:	4869/86565
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Southeast Asian female travellers, female mobility, twentieth-century travel writing, Malaysian women and travel, women’s travel writing
Subjects:	P Language and Literature > PE English
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences Kulliyyah of Islamic Revealed Knowledge and Human Sciences > Department of English Language & Literature
Depositing User:	Dr. Siti Nuraishah Ahmad
Date Deposited:	21 Dec 2020 09:39
Last Modified:	21 Dec 2020 09:39
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/86565

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