Like everything else in life, feminism is a constantly evolving concept. Even though I call myself a feminist, I often catch myself asking questions like:
Do I know everything there is to know about feminism?
What is the ‘right type of feminism?’
Am I a good feminist or a greenhorn?
Ufff, these questions can be daunting to say the least. But, deep down, i’m sure of one thing. For me, feminism is all about women having the same rights as men. Over the years, my idea of feminism was heavily influenced by the books I read. The words, descriptions, and pages made me an erudite feminist.
I’m sharing a few book recommendations that I prod you to read if you are a feminist.
1. Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez
“Imagine a world in which your phone is too big for your hand. Your doctor prescribes a drug that is wrong for your body. In a car accident, you are 47% more likely to be seriously injured.
If any of this sounds familiar, chances are that you’re a woman.”
And that’s the back-cover blurb of Caroline Criado Perez’s Invisible Women.
She begins by speaking of how language itself is not a gender agnostic tool of communication. When one says man does it refer to males or human species? Why is the England National Football team’s wikipedia page about men’s football, while the women’s page is called England women’s national football team?
Close to home in India, why is the Indian Premier League a men’s league, while the women’s league is called Women’s Premier League? This is just scratching the surface.
Caroline dives deep into how everything in our daily life, homes, workplaces, public places, everything we use are all designed for ‘men’ with data.
As I reached the last page of the book, I was flummoxed and furious. If you are a feminist, I recommend that you read this book to understand the deep rooted data bias in the world around us.
Click here to buy Invisible Women by Caroline Criado Perez
2. We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
I’m going to begin by keeping you honest. I love Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, but that’s not why I am recommending this book.
If you are a feminist looking for a simple and easy to get through book on feminism, We Should All Be Feminists is the book for you. This 48-page essay is a modified version of Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s TEDTalk by the same name.
The author talks about a fairer world for our future generation and how it begins with us raising our daughters and sons differently. The anecdotes she shares from her own life will make you think.
Click here to buy We Should All Be Feminists by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
3. The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
Growing up I watched TV shows and heard stories from my grandmother based on Indian epics and absolutely enjoyed them. As an adult, when I revisited those memories, I wondered why all of these stories were written from a male point of view.
But asking such questions is frowned upon and borderline disrespectful. So, I kept them to myself. And then, drumroll pleaseeeeeeee! I discovered Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
This literary genius fictionalizes Indian epics from the woman protagonist’s point of view.
The Palace of Illusions is her take on Mahabharata with Draupadi’s (Panchaali) narration and POV. I can still recount how empowered I felt the day I completed reading this book. The book follows an autobiographical style right from Draupadi’s birth from flames to her death.
It’s an absolutely thrilling encapsulation of Draupadi’s emotions, strength and above all, who she is beyond the wife of Pandavas
Click here to buy The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
4. Seeing Like a Feminist by Nivedita Menon
Nivedita Menon begins her book by drawing parallels between ‘nude makeup’ and ‘maintaining social order.’
One spends hours applying makeup on their face to achieve a look that’s natural and as though nothing was done to it. Similarly, the social fabric is all of us performing faithfully throughout our lives without making it obvious.
She says looking at the world through a feminist lens like activating the ‘Reveal Formatting’ function in MS Word. In this book, she does exactly that. She reveals the format of the world and touches on various topics like family, body, desire, sexual violence etc.
I implore you to read it to understand feminism in India.
Click here to buy Seeing Like a Feminist by Nivedita Menon
5. A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian
Often feminism is mistook as a concept of elite women or women with privilege. As though only they have the right pedigree to understand the nuances.
But in reality feminism is not just a theory. It is a way of life. How you treat yourself as a woman and how you expect those around you to treat you.
A People’s History of Heaven is a story set in a slum called ‘Heaven’ in Bengaluru that’s threatened by urbanization and technological development. At the center of it are a group of girls, their mothers, and grandmothers raising their voices to save the slum.
The writer Mathangi Subramanian’s storytelling is powerful and makes her characters very real. If you want to learn more about these central characters from the slum through the filter of aspiration and not pity, you should give this a read.
Click here to buy A People’s History of Heaven by Mathangi Subramanian
6. 5 Novellas About Women by Indira Goswami
Indira Goswani is a feminist icon and writer who was way ahead of her time. She is the first Assamese women writer to win the Jnanpith in 2000. She was unafraid of taboos and believed in breaking shackles.
She wrote openly about widowhood, female sexuality and caste oppression.
Her novel 5 Novellas About Women have female protagonists who are poor, marginalized, and are navigating everyday in a world that’s brimming with challenges.
But even through all of it, they find their voice. It’s a powerful read that stands the test of time.
Click here to buy 5 Novellas About Women by Indira Goswami
7. Wild Embers by Nikita Gill
At an early age, I came to understand that I don’t particularly enjoy old school poetry. Please don’t come at me for it, it’s just my personal preference. 🙂
However, I didn’t want to shut the door on poetry just yet. In that process, I found a few writers whose poetry is in contemporary English and guess what? I absolutely fell in love with it!
A gem I discovered in this process is Nikita Gill’s Wild Embers. The poems in it are just as powerful as the title itself.
The book explores the fire that lies with us through various themes like femininity, revolution, rebellion, personal growth, etc. If you are in pursuit of a breezy poetry read that still leaves a deep impact, this is the book for you.
Click here to buy Wild Embers by Nikita Gill
8. Chup: Breaking the Silence About India’s Women by Deepa Narayan
600 women, men, and school children. That’s the number of people Deepa Narayan and her team interviewed to understand patterns.
Even today, there is a huge gap between what we actually believe as people and our everyday habits
and throughout the book, she highlights this with actual data and interviews.
If you want to understand India’s cultural systems and what we must do to change the dynamics of an unequal society, you should read Chup.
Click here to buy Chup: Breaking the Silence About India’s Women by Deepa Narayan
9. Shake the Bottle by Ashapurna Debi
Ashapurna Debi was born in a very conservative household in the year 1909 and was married off at a tender age of 15. She didn’t have the opportunity to go to school or have any formal education.
But, her mother’s love for literature exposed her to books. Once she started reading, she fell in love with storytelling.
Slowly, she started writing children’s stories and then moved to stories of women in their houses. She acknowledges that her circle of knowledge is limited, but she writes what she sees with absolute conviction.
She says, “It is my unarticulated protests that have taken form as the heroines of my stories, embodying the rebellion.” Shake the Bottle is a collection of stories of this rebellion.
What does rebellion look like in a woman who is confined by so many societal structures? Each story explores this aspect in an exciting way. You must read it, it is truly satisfying.
Click here to buy Shake the Bottle by Ashapurna Debi
10. Women Dreaming by Salma
Women Dreaming is set in a village in Tamil nadu, where the majority population is Muslim. As the name suggests, the book is about mothers, sisters, and daughters dreaming. Dreaming of a better future, of following their passion, and living their true purpose.
It is a beautifully heartbreaking and heartwarming story of camaraderie and sisterhood.
Click here to buy Women Dreaming by Salma
