| |
______________________________________________________________________________
 |
Sarojini
Sahoo
Advocating
Women’s Rights Through Literature
BY
MENKA WALIA
*
“In
politics, recently all political parties have promised to reserve
33% of legislative seats for women in their manifesto, but this
has not been passed into law as the male-dominated parties oppose
the bill.”
|
Feminism,
politics, terrorism, and sexuality are just some of the topics Sarojini
Sahoo explores in her beautifully written short stories. Many individuals
might think that these topics are quite taboo for a female Indian author
to write about, especially when they are targeted towards an Indian
audience as they are originally written in Oriya. In my opinion, writing
about such controversial issues through the female perspective is
important as it gives Indian women the chance to learn from and relate to
the stories.
In
some parts of India, there aren’t many resources for women to turn to
when it comes to dealing with traumatizing incidents such as rape,
pregnancy, or abortion. However, with short stories like the ones Sahoo
has written, I imagine that it can be a little easier. By reading the
short stories, women who have gone through similar experiences can feel
comforted by the fact that it they’re not the only ones. Sahoo’s story
titled “The Rape” allows rape victims to relate to Suparna, the female
protagonist, and link their experiences with similar ones she has gone
through.
Born
in a small town of Dhenkanal in Orissa (India), Sarojini has an MA and PhD
degrees in Oriya Literature and a Bachelor of Law from Utkal University.
She teaches at a Degree College in Belpahar, Jharsuguda, of Orissa. A
feminist and well-known author, she has won many awards for her literary
works. She has been conferred with the Orissa Sahitya Academy Award, 1993,
the Jhankar Award, 1992, the Bhubaneswar Book Fair Award and the
Prajatantra Award.
Delhi
Doordarshan, the National Channel of India has featured her life style and
creations in its special tele-serial “Literary Postcard.”
Sahoo
has written both short stories and novels. She has published eight
anthologies of short stories and five novels. Recently an English
anthology of her translated stories is published by ‘Grassroots’ of
Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar. Her other anthologies are: Sukhara Muhanmuh (1981),
NijaGahirareNije (1989), Amrutara Pratikshare (1992), Chowkath (1994),
Tarali Jauthiba Durga (1995), Deshantari (1999), and Dukha Apramita
(2006). The novels are: Upanibesh (1998), Pratibandi (1999), Swapna
Khojali Mane (2000) Mahajatra (2001) and Gambhiri Ghara (2006). She has
been widely translated and published in different Indian languages. Her
stories have been included in anthologies published by Harper Collins,
National Book Trust ,Gnanapith and Sahitya Akademi. Once she was also the
editor of Oriya Literary Magazine the Pallaba and fiction oriented English
timely journal the Breakthrough.
Sahoo
typically evolves her stories around Indian women and sexuality, which is
something not commonly written about, but is rather discouraged in a
traditionalist society. As a feminist, she advocates women’s rights and
usually gives light to the injustices Eastern women face. In her
interviews, she usually talks about the fact that women are second-class
citizens in India, backing up these facts with examples of how love
marriages are forbidden, the rejection of divorces, the unfairness of
dowries, and the rejection of female politicians.
In
a quote from a recent interview, Sahoo states, “In politics, recently
all political parties have promised to reserve 33% of legislative seats
for women in their manifesto, but this has not been passed into law as the
male-dominated parties oppose the bill.” She also goes on to say, “If
she [a girl] becomes pregnant, the male partner is not blamed for his
role. It is the girl who has to suffer. If she accepts the child, she
suffers a great deal socially and if she has an abortion, she suffers
emotionally for the rest of her life.”
Sahoo
is the second daughter of Mr. Ishwar Chandra Sahoo and Mrs.(Late) Nalini
Devi and has married to Mr.Jagadish Mohanty, a veteran writer of Orissa,
and has a son and a daughter.
The
full interview is available
@ http://womensissues.about.com/od/feminismequalrights/a/FeminisminIndia.htm.
Please
visit http://www.sarojinisahoo.com/shortstories.htm
to read some of Sahoo’s short stories.
[Menka
Walia is an average 19 year old university student at the Schulich
School of Business. She was born in Bahrain of Indian-origin parents and
moved to Canada when she was 6 years old. Growing up here, she lives in
Mississauga she considers herself a South Asian Canadian. She plans
to major in Marketing and either wants to pursue a career in
Advertising/Public Relations or attend Law School. She enjoys writing as
it has always been one of her passions. Her other hobbies include
celebrity gossip, watching movies and tv shows, playing tennis
occasionally, and spending time with her family and friends.]
|
