Off the Beaten Track: Rethinking Gender Justice for Indian Women

"For the past two decades, Madhu Kishwar has been at the forefront of the battle for justice and equality for women. Manushi, the journal of which she is the founding editor, is well known throughout the country and abroad for bringing women’s issues to the centre state of political discourse in India. Presented here are some of Kishwar’s best and most controversial essays, each tackling a topic of vital concern for Indian women today: the role of marriage payments and dowry; unwanted daughters; the denial of inheritance rights to women; land rights; love, sex and marriage; sexual harassment; the problem of identities; the culture of beauty contests; and why Sita continues to be an important ideal for Indian women. This thought-provoking collection attempts to answer one of the most serious questions facing the women’s movement today–why is it that, despite so much attention being focused on women’s rights, the vast majority of women in India are still so disadvantaged? Many of the essays offer a self-critical appraisal of Kishwar’s work during a lifetime of activism and engagement. It is in this vein that she also examines the reasons for her own estrangement from ‘ism-driven’ politics and much orthodox feminist thinking. Hard-hitting and characterized by the fiery spirit which is quintessential Kishwar, Off the Beaten Track issues a challenge to statist authoritarian approaches to social reform, and emphasizes the need to appeal to people’s consciences in order to bring about the changes in women’s position so urgently needed in India today."