Nonfiction
Read it
As I've mentioned with previous reviews, India has it's own brand of feminism. It ranges from apologist to ineffective firebrand to practical suggestions. Unfotunately, India is still a land where feminism is pared down to a need for security and personal agency. Equality is still a far flung dream for many Indian women.
This collection of essays has highlighted areas in both home and the outside world where women struggle on many fronts. The essays aren't really a call to action, but they do point out the unvarnished truth of how many women live. It's a tragically frustrating subject to read about, and then undertand how many lives are affected negatively because of tradition and a stranglehold patriarchal society.
To be blunt, essays aren't going to change India. It's a behemouth of a country with issues as long as the day. Undoing the structures that resulted in the current day situation is a concept that I struggle to understand the feasibility of. But I do believe that continuing to talk about it and make women aware that they are being repressed and that they deserve safety and personal agency is absolutely the only way to keep moving forward. Unfortunately, feminism beyond information is still too scattered in India to be effective.
There's nothing earth shattering in these essays. If you read on this topic and India then nothing said here will surprise you. It will depress you but read it anyways. Look at the ways in your own life (if you are a woman) that you have accepted some of the behaviors that repress you. If you are a man, question some of the assumptions that you've been raised with about your gender role and the role of women in society.
Read it.
~Becky~
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