A 19th-century Woman Poet of Punjab: Peero

Abstract

This article explores society, religion and identity in the poetry of a 19th-century woman poet of Punjab. Widely regarded as the first woman poet of Punjab, Peero wrote her autobiography in verse. In the process, she transcended the individual limits set by her condition and moved to a general exposition of the position of women in Punjabi society. Subsequently, she built a critique of the exploitative nature of the society: her critique was to focus on three major religions, Islam, Hinduism and Sikhism, as all of them made claims and counter-claims of equality in their discourses.