Hosted & Edited by: Sneha Visakha
Intro Music: Wehrmut by Godmode
Outro Music: Ophelia's Blues by Audionautix
Assisted by: Ranu Tiwari
TW – References to male violence against women, hijab ban, hindu supremacist politics
In part 1 of the first episode of Season 2 of the Feminist City podcast series, Sneha Visakha is in conversation with Kavita Krishnan, noted feminist activist and author of Fearless Freedom. They discuss the question of women’s freedom, a decade after the 2012 Delhi gangrape and murder that saw massive country-wide protests, which Kavita was a part of. They talk about women’s autonomy, in the backdrop of the recent hijab ban in Karnataka’s educational institutions, situating it in the context of far-right Hindu supremacist politics and anti-Muslim bigotry. In the first part of the conversation, they explore topics such as feminist negotiations with the politics of dress, Hindu majoritaritarianism, links between social conservatism and neoliberalism, and the importance of safeguarding constitutional values of secularism in India’s heterogenous, multicultural and pluralistic society.
Kavita Krishnan is a communist feminist activist and author. She is the Secretary of All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA) and politburo member of The Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation. She completed her B.A. from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai and M. Phil in English Literature from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi (JNU). Her first book, Fearless Freedom, was published by Penguin in 2020. You can follow her on twitter @kavita_krishnan.
For background reading, we recommend perusing the literature provided below.
On Women’s Freedom:
Fearless Freedom, Kavita Krishnan, Penguin India
https://penguin.co.in/book/fearless-freedom-2/
Kavita Krishnan argues in her new book that more autonomy means more safety for women in India, Kavita Krishnan, Scroll.in
https://scroll.in/article/953499/kavita-krishnan-argues-in-her-new-book-that-more-autonomy-means-more-safety-for-women-in-india
Making a Feminist City – Planning Safety and Autonomy in the City, Sneha Visakha
https://vidhilegalpolicy.in/research/making-a-feminist-city-planning-safety-and-autonomy-for-women/
Hijab Ban: Majoritarianism is wearing the veil of debate, Kavita Krishnan, The Hindu
https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/majoritarianism-is-wearing-the-veil-of-debate/article38393478.ece
Hijab issue: BJP’s motive is to otherise Muslims, establish Hindu supremacy, Kavita Krishnan, The Leaflet
https://theleaflet.in/hijab-issue-bjps-motive-is-to-otherise-muslims-establish-hindu-supremacy/
What Does International Human Rights Law Say About the Hijab Ban?, Rashmi Venkatesan, The Wire
https://thewire.in/rights/hijab-ban-karnataka-international-human-rights-law
The Instigator: How MS Golwalkar’s virulent ideology underpins Modi’s India, Hartosh Singh Bal, The Caravan
https://caravanmagazine.in/reportage/golwalkar-ideology-underpins-modi-india
Rethinking Pluralism, Secularism and Tolerance – Anxieties of Coexistence’ review: The principle of justice, Uma Mahadevan Dasgupta, The Hindu
https://www.thehindu.com/books/books-reviews/rethinking-pluralism-secularism-and-tolerance-anxieties-of-coexistence-review-the-principle-of-justice/article28785634.ece
The Two Husbands of Vera Tiscenko: Apostasy, Conversion, and Divorce in Late Colonial India, Rohit De, Cambridge University Press
https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/law-and-history-review/article/two-husbands-of-vera-tiscenko-apostasy-conversion-and-divorce-in-late-colonial-india/155F099E59012CB08514B2B5A2740E61
Want to get in touch? Email [email protected] or reach out to her on Twitter, @magicanarchist.
