Words of resistance in ‘Our Stories, Our Struggle’
Blending fiction, non-fiction and verse, ‘Our Stories, Our Struggle’ celebrates women’s resilience and their capacity to transcend victimhood. It amplifies voices of women across South Asia — from India to Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka — and challenges deep-rooted patriarchy, while advocating for justice across borders.
Violence against women manifests in various forms — rape, acid attacks, trafficking, dowry deaths, caste-based oppression, killings in the name of ‘honour’, and much worse. Central to this anthology is Meenakshi Malhotra’s powerful essay on Nirbhaya, whose case catalysed critical changes to rape laws in India. She writes how the woman and her parents broke the mould of victimhood and conveyed their outrage and sense of loss and devastation by garnering the power of the media to reach people. Farah Ahamed writes about a Christian woman in Pakistan wrongfully incarcerated under stern patriarchy laws.
Eli Prue Marma from Bangladesh writes of the harrowing plight of Chakma women. Anuradha Kumar approaches a chilling case study on suicide stemming from familial rape.
The fiction section echoes these themes and beyond. There is also a story of how a courageous survivor of violence puts her past behind and builds a life for herself. The poetry section has contributions from Arundhati Subramaniam and Deepti Naval, besides others.
The volume confronts societal norms that have suppressed women’s freedoms and safety. It grapples with cultural shifts, complex emotions, and the impact of trauma on survivors of violence and their families, prompting readers to envision a future where equity and fairness prevail.
