Shout Out: Women of Color Respond to Violence

This distressing anthology—equal parts manifesto, testimony and manual—gathers over 40 scholarly essays, spoken word pieces, poems and short memoirs about “war, rape, murder, atrocities, slavery, sex trade, domestic violence, poverty, and other forms of oppression” faced by women of color around the globe. The first section of this neatly structured collection addresses domestic violence in the United States; the second shifts to the international sphere, while the third focuses on state-sanctioned and military violence against women. The heavily personal fourth section segues to an action-oriented concluding chapter. Particularly noteworthy is the original research of Hosai Ehsan’s “The Prevalence of Domestic Violence in Afghan Households” and of Nandini Gunewardena’s “Hidden Transcripts: Women’s Suicide as Resistance in Sri Lanka.” Sharmila Lodhia offers a fresh perspective in “Selective Storytelling: A Critique of U.S. Media Coverage Regarding Violence Against Indian Women,” as does Dai Sil Kim-Gibson in “'Comfort Women Want Justice, Not Comfort.” Activists provide useful, practical advice (e.g., Nalini Shekar and Mukta Sharangpani’s “Culture and Truth: Learning from a Transatlantic Trafficking Case.” This highly personal and political anthology will unsettle, inform and inspire feminists in particular. Artwork not seen by PW . (Jan.)