A train filled with light wound through the city. I too wanted to get on that moving island of light and travel...

In Shahina Rafiq's carefully crafted stories, women fantasize about genies as well as murders, dive into hidden worlds, and seek to wrest control of their lives. Slipping past the tedium of homemaking and the frustration at husbands and fathers, they travel, stick together like migrating birds, and poke fun at the imposing patriarchal world.

Deftly translated by Priya Nair, these unabashed stories cast an incisive look into the hidden layers of fundamentalism and misogyny in today's society. Bold, perceptive and audacious, The Menstrual Coupé is a celebration of women's spirit and their endlessly inventive power to create their own realities.