Speaking Up

Navigating the world as women, is as much a cultural and political experience, as physical.

Bodies, aspirations, behaviour continue to be moulded to fit into - mostly heteronormative - ideals, roles and expectations.

What do women’s experiences, then, look like in the eastern Himalaya, which is supposedly less patriarchal, and more egalitarian?

What shapes and forms do inequality, violence and prejudice take in the lives of ordinary women in these seemingly ‘safe’ places? How does society, culture and politics invisiblise women?

More importantly, how do women claim space, agency and voice within social, political and economic institutions and structures that are perhaps, not always compatible with ideas and ideals of gender equality?

This volume maps the contours of Himalayan women’s experiences & aims to give space to a version of feminism that is inclusive and representative of age, class, caste, ethnicity and sexual orientation.

By focusing on their everyday experiences, their quiet resilience, and the small but significant acts of resistance, this volume creates a platform for a diverse range of contributors — from home-makers, professionals, to gender activists.

We invite fiction, non-fiction contributions in English, Nepali, Lepcha, Limbu, Rai and other vernacular languages (short-stories, essays, poems, memoirs, photo-essays, interviews, illustrations) on women’s issues and experiences in the eastern Himalaya (Sikkim, Darjeeling, Kalimpong and Siliguri).

All entries in vernacular languages will be translated into English.

We are open to other genres or styles of expression, please get in touch to discuss.

Please send us your abstract (250 words)/ writing sample and CV to speakingup2024@gmail.com by March, 06, 2024.