[Reader-list] Writing the Feminist Future

[shweta tewari]

*Zubaan and HIVOS cordially invite you to*

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*Cultures of Peace:*

*25 Years of Women’s Publishing*

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* **WRITING THE FEMINIST FUTURE*



*Location:* Jaaga, Bangalore

               No 68, Lalbagh KH Road

               Opp. Vijaya Bank & Next to HDFC Bank

               Bangalore - 56002


*Date:* Saturday 20th August 2011

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*Time:* 4:00–8:00pm


In the early 1980s, opportunities for women writers in India were few and
far between. After 25 years of publishing, struggle, protest and celebration
by the women’s movement, the scene is very different today.



How has this affected the way we view feminism? Have all the battles been
won? Are new forms of protest divorced from their political predecessors or
are they building on what has gone before? What is the role of the media in
today’s campaigns? How does the women’s movement deal with issues of the
ever-widening gap between classes, and between rural and urban concerns?
Have we gone beyond the need for positive discrimination and reservations?
What are the ‘key issues’ facing the new generation of young women growing
up in India?



It is often said that the ‘second wave’ of feminism began in the seventies
and that what we are now witnessing is a third wave – or perhaps not a wave
at all but what is sometimes described as a backlash. For the new generation
of young women, traditional modes of activism and protest such as the morcha
or the street play seem outdated – even irrelevant. Instead, the internet is
the new site of resistance. While this may be the case in urban areas, there
are also other forms of activism ‘elsewhere’ – the use of rural media, the
deployment of extra legal methods, the tactic of using shame as a weapon –
that are common among young women. It is interesting to note how certain
protests/campaigns get covered by the media while the other kind of
interventions do not garner the same attention. The mainstream imagination
of Indian feminism is conveniently synonymous to the urban middle-class
feminist questions, and modes of protest. At the same time it is important
to recognize other rural initiatives such as Khabar Lahariya, weekly rural
newspaper written, edited, illustrated, produced and marketed by a group of
women – most of them from marginalized Dalit, Kol and Muslim communities –
in Chitrakoot andBanda districts of Uttar Pradesh in north India. The recent
debate vis-à-vis the Slut Walk again raised the questions of class and
context.



We plan to have an open and lively discussion about the shape and future of
the ‘third’ wave or of the ‘new’ feminism. As well as poetry, songs,
readings, and the launch of Annie Zaidi and Smriti Ravindra’s latest book:*The
Bad Boy’s Guide to the Good Indian Girl*. There will also be a special
display of Zubaan titles for sale at the venue. Refreshments will be served.



All are welcome!