My mother never left a chance to remind me how safe I am compared to other women. She never left a chance to remind me that I have 'given' a lot of freedom to do things and I must not abuse my freedom. And this concept of freedom has always been used as a reward. Like training a dog with treats for good behaviour, I was 'provided freedom' to do things when I was mute and unquestioning. And the moment I started questioning, the freedom was taken away.


My school had this habit of awarding 'best student of the year' to one student across all grades every year. It's a great honour for us to receive that award. I used to work hard to score good marks to be at the top of my class. I even did sports, which I loathed, for this stupid award. At the end of the year, I was pretty hopeful that I would get the prize. I mean, I have worked hard. But, no surprises here, I didn't get it. When I asked my teacher about it later, she told me that I was boisterous and stubborn and I talk back which shows that I am yet to develop discipline. I was 10. I still nurse the wound of not getting that prize when I worked so hard for it.


It is after that episode that I officially gave up being nice. And wherever I go, it has always caused me problems with the authorities. My professor was once kind enough to let me know that I will achieve nothing with my mouth running loose. While he has no problems with boys talking back, he schooled me how to be a good Hindu girl. I have always asserted my right to choose. I have always asserted my voice. I am loud and boisterous. Even if it led to beating me or hating me, I have never deterred. Because, my voice, my rights, and my freedom are worth more than whatever fight I had to put up with. I had this notion from a very young age but I was distracted by my own hypocrisy and biases.


Reading Fearless Freedom has been exhilarating. I have read so many things that are happening in our home and the outside as well that are disguised as 'normal.' I realized that the things which are done to us because I care about you are not about care at all. It is about the control they can exert over me. And I finally understood why all the authority figures in my life have been angry with me. When I assert my rights and voice my opinions, they lose the control they can exert which makes their veins throb with rage. The violence and threats are a result of this loss of control and never for my own good.


We are taught this stereotypical image of how a woman should be and how she should respond. We see it everywhere. There's no denying that. From custodial confinement to love jihad to military rape to femicides, we see violence and crimes against women as a form of upholding patriarchal honour. Using women as a ploy to satisfy the need to commit violence and perpetrate violence. The author shows us examples from all over the country and draws parallels to many international movements. The results are hopeful in some cases but most devastating. We are shown how women are just a shell of their former selves. We are shown how these caste hierarchies help in the exploitation of a woman's dignity. We are shown about the various propaganda that spews hate towards women, LGBTQIA folks and other minorities.


The author connects the political agenda and feminism and how these political agendas inflict a lifetime of trauma on the affected people. Catherine Malabou, a French philosopher, says, "We must all of us recognize that we might, one day, become someone else, an absolute other, someone who will never be reconciled with them-selves again, someone who will be this form of us without redemption or atonement, without last wishes, this damned form, outside of time." We all talk about the trauma of war. Trauma, caused by catastrophes or even a loss of a person close to us. But are we talking enough about the trauma of losing one's self? The trauma of being oppressed in our own home, by our own parents, siblings, husband, and eventually our children. The trauma inflicted by patriarchy.


Read Fearless Freedom not because it's about feminism but because it teaches how to be a feminist. It teaches us how to look at the bigger picture. It teaches us how to look past the bullshit of patriarchy. The only thing I felt lacking in this book is that there are very few instances of how men get affected by the same patriarchy. Other than that, this book is the perfect gem you were looking for to learn about Indian Feminism with a universal view.