Playing with fire : feminist thought and activism through seven lives in India / Sangtin Writers, Anupamlata ... [and others], and Richa Nagar ; foreword by Chandra Talpade Mohanty.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nagar, Richa.

Contributor:

Saṅgatina (Organization)

Language:

English

Hindi

Subjects (All):

Women's rights--India--Uttar Pradesh.

Women's rights.

Marginality, Social--India--Uttar Pradesh.

Marginality, Social.

Women in rural development--India--Sītāpur (District)--Case studies.

Women in rural development.

Women volunteers in social service--India--Sītāpur (District)--Case studies.

Women volunteers in social service.

Non-governmental organizations--India--Sītāpur (District)--Case studies.

Non-governmental organizations.

Feminism--India--Sītāpur (District)--Case studies.

Feminism.

Saṅgatina (Organization).

India--Sītāpur (District).

India--Uttar Pradesh.

Genre:

Case studies.

Physical Description:

xlvii, 181 pages ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis, MN : University of Minnesota Press, [2006]

Summary:

Seven voices contribute to this rare glimpse of the work being done on the front lines of the fight for social change in India. Playing with Fire is written in the collective voice of women employed by a large NGO as activists in their communities and is based on diaries, interviews, and conversations among them. Together their personal stories reveal a startling picture of how NGOs both nourish and stifle local struggles for solidarity.

The Hindi edition of this book, Sangtin Yatra, published in 2004, created controversy that resulted in backlash against the authors by their employer. The publication also drew support for the women and instigated a public dialogue about the issues exposed in the book. Here, Richa Nagar addresses the dispute in the context of the politics of NGOs and feminist theory, articulating how development ideology employed by aid organizations serves to reinforce the domination of those it claims to help.

The Sangtin Writers, Anupamlata, Ramsheela, Reshma Ansari, Richa Singh, Shashibala, Shashi Vaish, Surbala, and Vibha Bajpayee, are grassroots activists and members of a small organization called Sangtin in Uttar Pradesh, India. Richa Nagar teaches women's studies at the University of Minnesota.

Contents:

The beginnings of a collective journey

A very short childhood

From the streets of Babul to the wetness of Aanchal

Prisons within prisons : battles stretching from the courtyard to the mind

Cracking cages, new skies

Challenges of NGOization and dreams of Sangtin.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 177-181).

Translated from the Hindi.

ISBN:

0816647690

0816647704

OCLC:

64486253

Publisher Number:

9780816647699

9780816647705