Everyday is Women’s Day
Another Women's Day whooshes past us. A day that usually begins and ends with only cursory flowers, discounts, and coupons to celebrate us! We, at Champaca, have rounded up a little pile of books to celebrate what we think all women want, all year long: agency.
While we deliberate over laws for women, have we stopped for a moment to ask what women want? ‘Queens of the Kingdom’ by Nicola Sutcliff does just that. In this collection of essays, women of Saudi Arabia speak of their experiences growing up in the country and of their hopes and dreams. Meet Hafsa, a Bedouin who gave birth to eleven children in the open desert; Jamila, the first wife in a polygamous household; another Jamila, a medical student who married a stranger to pursue her education.
In ‘She Goes to War’, Rashmi Saxena profiles the stories of women militants in India, from Chhattisgarh to Kashmir, to try to understand what goes into the making of a woman militant. What motivates them to abandon the traditional playbook for girls and embrace the uncertain life of an insurgent, and, equally, how easy is it for them to return to the ‘normal’ world, when age, or the desire for marriage and motherhood, makes them want to give it all up?
Hossein Kamaly takes us on a whirlwind tour of the world in ‘A History of Islam in 21 Women’ by not just narrating the story of Islam, but also the personal tales of 21 women who have made a mark, from Khadija the first believer to the modern day award-winning, British-Iraqi pioneer architect, Zaha Hadid.
Prostitution may not be a choice, but the life that one leads after certainly is. ‘An Educated Woman in Prostitution: A Memoir of Lust, Exploitation and Deceit’ by Manada Devi and translated by Arunava Sinha is an intimate and vivid portrayal of Manada’s fascinating life in Calcutta, that takes her from her wealthy cossetted upbringing to a life of debauchery and prostitution after she elopes with her married lover. Weaving together multiple strands, looking beyond ideas of morality and accusations, we are presented with a life of immense beauty and endurance.
Sangita Jogi’s ‘The Women I Could Be’ is a colourful and feisty exploration on what it means to be a modern woman. Jogi was married into a traditional and patriarchal family set-up in rural Rajasthan when she was very young. Despite the constraints in her role as the daughter-in-law, she snatches time to draw whenever she can, her confident lines dreaming up endless possibilities—where desire, play and exploration make up enchanted alternative worlds that are as alive to her as her own.