48 | BOOK REVIEW
Quest for Freedom Social and religious structures systematically deny Indian women their rights and freedom, says activist Kavita Krishnan in her new book By Aekta Kapoor
H
as the dream of freedom been truly achieved by the female population of India? They may be free to vote but are they free to choose a partner, or when or not to have children, and do they have a say in their own education and earnings? Can a woman in India aspire to bekhauf azaadi (fearless freedom) – the freedom to roam public
spaces at will, at any time of the day or night, to live the way she wants? These questions – which are remarkable only because we are still asking them in the 21st century – are tackled by women’s rights activist Kavita Krishnan in her new book Fearless Freedom (Penguin Books, `299). It looks at the several systemic reasons that deny Indian women their basic human rights, beginning with the fundamental right to autonomy. Giving examples from laws, literature and religious texts, the author points out how social structures ensure that women are confined to the four walls of the home. Once a woman’s freedom to move has been restricted, other freedoms are easy to snatch away. The patriarchal argument that it is better for women to be ‘safe’ than be ‘free’ is used time and again even in the modern day as an excuse for gender discrimination at all levels. Instead of putting the onus on men to change behaviours, the threat of sexual violence is used to frighten women into submission and confinement within homes. Further, using case studies of recent MARCH 2020