This collection of early writings by Malayalee women, translated for the first time into English, gives us, in the words of V. Geetha, ‘texts that dazzle’. Written between 1898-1938, they reveal the vigorous debate over modern gender relations that was taking place in this period. Women reflected on what was ‘Womanly’, on education, duties, vocation and civil roles, an ongoing discussion, first influenced by reformism and later by nationalist and communist ideas, which remain alive today.
The anthology also contains many spirited rejoinders to distinguished male intellectuals who opposed women’s employment or ‘intrusion’ into public space. J. Devika also discusses what is excluded from the Womanhood that is being talked about as well as a need to define what is non-Womanly.

J. Devika is a research associate, Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram. V. Geetha is an independent scholar and editorial director of Tara Publishing.