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Drawing the Line: Indian Women Fight Back
December 2012: Tens of thousands of people - women, men, families, young, old, rich, poor - come out onto the streets of towns and cities in India to protest the brutal gang rape and murder of a young medical student in Delhi. For days and months, the protests refuse to die down. People demand change, action, commitment to the ideals of democracy and egalitarianism. And they refuse to be silenced. Soon, a new law is put in place. More and more people start to report incidents of sexual assault. New conversations, new debates begin: is violence increasing? Are we seeing more of it? Was it previously invisible? What do Indians really think about women? In this bold and brilliant collection of visual stories, fourteen young women respond to the activism and debates on the ground; they negotiate anger, fear, hope, resistance. Created in a week long workshop, these stories talk to each other as they powerfully describe the fierce determination of the writers/artists to continue the battle for change.
162 pages, Hardcover
First published November 1, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 18, 2016
This was an interesting anthology of stories by and about women. Although all of the various creators come from visual arts backgrounds, for many, this was their first comics work. Being an anthology, it's the usual mixed bag: some stories resonate strongly; others, not so much. Everyone is going to have their own favorites. Mine was probably the final story, "Someday," by Samida Gunjal, a wordless piece with an engaging style and a satisfying ending. Each story features an introduction by its creator, most of which do an excellent job of explaining any points of Indian culture that may be unfamiliar to western readers, or this particular western reader at least. The publisher, Ad Astra, is apparently on a mission to specialize in comics with social justice themes. I will definitely have to keep an eye out for more of their books.
December 30, 2015
I love these subtle and not-so-subtle stories of women who don’t play by the rules, who rewrite the rules or who find in the models of ‘tradition’ that are so often used to keep them down the weapons to resist the micro- and macro-aggressions of daily life. This is a great collection of visual narratives showing the need for and range of Indian feminist practice and action.
In the wake of the gang rape and murder of a young woman, Jyoti Singh (too often she was reduced to ‘Indian medical student’ in news coverage: objectified in her death as she was objectified and dehumanised in her killing), in Delhi in December 2012 it seemed as if international outrage might provide the boost of support to Indian activists pressing for changes to the law, to police practice and to a patriarchal cultural system that tolerates a particular set of violences against women (similar to but different from the violence we see elsewhere, in the UK including the under-reporting and derisory conviction rates for rape, the underfunding of women’s refuges and continuing tolerance of domestic violence). But as is so often the case, international outrage fades with the news cycle and the struggle is left to those on the ground and (hopefully) a slightly larger network of solidarity activists. This collection has emerged from this feminist politics that gained new profile as a result of these (continuing) struggles against sexual violence. In this project, the players are: on the ground in India Priya Kuriyan and Zubaan publishers; from Germany Larissa Bertonasco and Ludmilla Bartscht from the women’s publishing collective Spring, working here with the Goethe Institut Max Meuller Bahvan, and in Canada the publishers Ad Astra Comix – this is truly an internationalist project. At the heart of it, though, are 14 Indian women graphic artists who joined a week long workshop lead by Kuriyan, Bertonasco and Bartscht and supported by Zubaan and the Goethe Institut, and designed to bring about a collectivist approach to visual narrative, some of which is by artists for whom narrative drawing is new, to give voice to the struggles, the situation and lives of Indian women.
The 14 have very different stories, different styles, different tones, tropes and timbre telling stories of expectation, of alienation, of big and small moments of oppression and of quiet and of loud moments/days/weeks/years of resistance, of women who act to protect their children or who seek to overthrow unjust laws, of men and women who talk past each other and women who find solidarity in places they least expected. The stories evoke the modernity of Indian city and rural life and the traditions of myth and religion – Kali is an actual or sub-textual presence in some of the stories: the destroyer goddess is a powerful image and icon.
The politics of skin colour, the valorisation of lightness, is the theme for two of my favourites – Harini Kannan’s ‘That’s Not Fair’ and Bhavana Singh’s brilliant ‘Inner Beauty and Melanin’ – while I think the woman who watches and seems to save stories (and in my reading the town, its people and the world) in Deepani Seth’s sombre ‘The Walk’ (in a heavily shaded style I don’t usually like in narrative drawing) offers great hope despite its bleakness. The dominant themes, though, are first, sexual violence and personal space and second the expectations placed on women to be silent and subservient. Souyama Menon’s ‘An Ideal Girl’ is the most direct rebuttal of those expectations and Reshu Singh’s ‘The Photo’ the most complex. The standout piece on safety, for me, is Diti Mistry’s engaging ‘Mumbai Local’, about the cultures of support between women on commuter trains.
The point of this detail is that not only are the styles, forms and approaches distinct and different, but the stories themselves pose complex problems and even more solutions, or in some cases no solution – they just pose a problem. So, don’t expect in your face didacticism, but do expect to the enriched, entertained, edified and educated and to see modes of storytelling that given voice to the banal and quotidian as well as the conventionally political.
Ad Astra Comix from Toronto is responsible for the North American edition this is, and I presume to some degree the inclusion of the explanatory notes from the 14 illustrators as well as the four editors. These notes make accessible much of the collection either by providing a little background to each of the 14, or by providing background to the project and the workshop. As the blurb states: this is a feminism that is “inclusive, intersectional and … global”: may we have more of that in whatever medium works best.
In the wake of the gang rape and murder of a young woman, Jyoti Singh (too often she was reduced to ‘Indian medical student’ in news coverage: objectified in her death as she was objectified and dehumanised in her killing), in Delhi in December 2012 it seemed as if international outrage might provide the boost of support to Indian activists pressing for changes to the law, to police practice and to a patriarchal cultural system that tolerates a particular set of violences against women (similar to but different from the violence we see elsewhere, in the UK including the under-reporting and derisory conviction rates for rape, the underfunding of women’s refuges and continuing tolerance of domestic violence). But as is so often the case, international outrage fades with the news cycle and the struggle is left to those on the ground and (hopefully) a slightly larger network of solidarity activists. This collection has emerged from this feminist politics that gained new profile as a result of these (continuing) struggles against sexual violence. In this project, the players are: on the ground in India Priya Kuriyan and Zubaan publishers; from Germany Larissa Bertonasco and Ludmilla Bartscht from the women’s publishing collective Spring, working here with the Goethe Institut Max Meuller Bahvan, and in Canada the publishers Ad Astra Comix – this is truly an internationalist project. At the heart of it, though, are 14 Indian women graphic artists who joined a week long workshop lead by Kuriyan, Bertonasco and Bartscht and supported by Zubaan and the Goethe Institut, and designed to bring about a collectivist approach to visual narrative, some of which is by artists for whom narrative drawing is new, to give voice to the struggles, the situation and lives of Indian women.
The 14 have very different stories, different styles, different tones, tropes and timbre telling stories of expectation, of alienation, of big and small moments of oppression and of quiet and of loud moments/days/weeks/years of resistance, of women who act to protect their children or who seek to overthrow unjust laws, of men and women who talk past each other and women who find solidarity in places they least expected. The stories evoke the modernity of Indian city and rural life and the traditions of myth and religion – Kali is an actual or sub-textual presence in some of the stories: the destroyer goddess is a powerful image and icon.
The politics of skin colour, the valorisation of lightness, is the theme for two of my favourites – Harini Kannan’s ‘That’s Not Fair’ and Bhavana Singh’s brilliant ‘Inner Beauty and Melanin’ – while I think the woman who watches and seems to save stories (and in my reading the town, its people and the world) in Deepani Seth’s sombre ‘The Walk’ (in a heavily shaded style I don’t usually like in narrative drawing) offers great hope despite its bleakness. The dominant themes, though, are first, sexual violence and personal space and second the expectations placed on women to be silent and subservient. Souyama Menon’s ‘An Ideal Girl’ is the most direct rebuttal of those expectations and Reshu Singh’s ‘The Photo’ the most complex. The standout piece on safety, for me, is Diti Mistry’s engaging ‘Mumbai Local’, about the cultures of support between women on commuter trains.
The point of this detail is that not only are the styles, forms and approaches distinct and different, but the stories themselves pose complex problems and even more solutions, or in some cases no solution – they just pose a problem. So, don’t expect in your face didacticism, but do expect to the enriched, entertained, edified and educated and to see modes of storytelling that given voice to the banal and quotidian as well as the conventionally political.
Ad Astra Comix from Toronto is responsible for the North American edition this is, and I presume to some degree the inclusion of the explanatory notes from the 14 illustrators as well as the four editors. These notes make accessible much of the collection either by providing a little background to each of the 14, or by providing background to the project and the workshop. As the blurb states: this is a feminism that is “inclusive, intersectional and … global”: may we have more of that in whatever medium works best.
January 10, 2016
It is a compilation of short graphic novel stories with a central theme around feminism and gender issues.
December 22, 2016
She doesn’t want to get married.
She wants her darker skin to be celebrated, not medicated.
She wants to escape the memories of abuse at the hands of her uncle and break the cycle for her own daughter.
She wants a job and doesn’t understand why it’s so hard for the men who might hire her to look her in the eye instead of her breasts.
None of these stories are my stories. My story is one of comfort and privilege, ensconced in my male, white, Canadian body. These are the stories of 14 ordinary women from India, women who had the courage to show up at a comic-drawing workshop put on by an Indian artist, Priya Kuriyan, and two German artists, Ludmilla Bartscht and Larissa Bertonasco. Drawing the Line: Indian Women Fight Back! is the product of this creative awakening. As these three explain in their afterword, no one knew quite what to expect. Bartscht and Bertonasco went to India with all these pre-conceptions about what the women would and would not be comfortable drawing and telling. Kuriyan had no idea if she would get along with two foreign artists. No one knew if the women, most of whom had never drawn in their life, would open up enough to share themselves.
Well, spoiler alert: it turned out fantastically.
I backed Ad Astra’s Kickstarter for this North American edition. I don’t really know why; I think someone shared it on Twitter, and it seemed like a nice idea, and I could back at a level appropriate for my budget and get a copy of the book—win-win. This is not the type of book I usually read.
And that is exactly why it’s so important that I read it.
I think a lot about the idea of “reading widely”, both what it means and why it is important.
Even when we try not to judge others for what they read, we are often judgmental through how we profess our own reading tastes. “Oh, science fiction? I don’t touch the stuff” is not really much better than just coming out and telling me you think my sci-fi habit is juvenile or silly. And I’m just as guilty of looking down my nose at romance-readers, Western enthusiasts, or hardcore thriller tasters. We’re a judgy species; we like to label and categorize ourselves and others.
I don’t often read graphic novels. Visual storytelling does not fill the space in my soul the same way a page packed with words does.
And I don’t often read the types of stories contained in Drawing the Line—though this, I feel, is more because I have not sought out such stories, nor are they as ubiquitous, rather than a preference on my part.
So it’s important for me, every once in a while, to stretch myself. To read outside of that comfort zone. Sometimes that means trying on a romance or a thriller for size. Sometimes that means picking up an anthology of comics created by women who want to share their voices with the world.
I didn’t understand every nuance of these stories, of course, but in general they are eye-opening glimpses at incidents and ideas I wouldn’t otherwise consider. The whole thing about skin-lightening, for instance. Several women link the lightness of their skin to marriage prospects and family attitudes. Also, I really enjoyed “An Ideal Girl” by Soumya Menon, both in its artistic execution and in the story it tells. Menon’s positive depiction of how the eponymous girl breaks out of the mould of expectations set for her to take agency is quite compelling.
The variety of art styles might be distracting to some, but I kind of like it. I like the idea that in the future I can take this down from the shelf, open it to a story at random, and get something a little different every time.
I don’t know if I would recommend Drawing the Line specifically to everyone, though I’d encourage you to check it out if you get an opportunity. But this is the type of book I’d recommend to everyone, in so far as I think everyone should read more, and read widely.
She wants her darker skin to be celebrated, not medicated.
She wants to escape the memories of abuse at the hands of her uncle and break the cycle for her own daughter.
She wants a job and doesn’t understand why it’s so hard for the men who might hire her to look her in the eye instead of her breasts.
None of these stories are my stories. My story is one of comfort and privilege, ensconced in my male, white, Canadian body. These are the stories of 14 ordinary women from India, women who had the courage to show up at a comic-drawing workshop put on by an Indian artist, Priya Kuriyan, and two German artists, Ludmilla Bartscht and Larissa Bertonasco. Drawing the Line: Indian Women Fight Back! is the product of this creative awakening. As these three explain in their afterword, no one knew quite what to expect. Bartscht and Bertonasco went to India with all these pre-conceptions about what the women would and would not be comfortable drawing and telling. Kuriyan had no idea if she would get along with two foreign artists. No one knew if the women, most of whom had never drawn in their life, would open up enough to share themselves.
Well, spoiler alert: it turned out fantastically.
I backed Ad Astra’s Kickstarter for this North American edition. I don’t really know why; I think someone shared it on Twitter, and it seemed like a nice idea, and I could back at a level appropriate for my budget and get a copy of the book—win-win. This is not the type of book I usually read.
And that is exactly why it’s so important that I read it.
I think a lot about the idea of “reading widely”, both what it means and why it is important.
Even when we try not to judge others for what they read, we are often judgmental through how we profess our own reading tastes. “Oh, science fiction? I don’t touch the stuff” is not really much better than just coming out and telling me you think my sci-fi habit is juvenile or silly. And I’m just as guilty of looking down my nose at romance-readers, Western enthusiasts, or hardcore thriller tasters. We’re a judgy species; we like to label and categorize ourselves and others.
I don’t often read graphic novels. Visual storytelling does not fill the space in my soul the same way a page packed with words does.
And I don’t often read the types of stories contained in Drawing the Line—though this, I feel, is more because I have not sought out such stories, nor are they as ubiquitous, rather than a preference on my part.
So it’s important for me, every once in a while, to stretch myself. To read outside of that comfort zone. Sometimes that means trying on a romance or a thriller for size. Sometimes that means picking up an anthology of comics created by women who want to share their voices with the world.
I didn’t understand every nuance of these stories, of course, but in general they are eye-opening glimpses at incidents and ideas I wouldn’t otherwise consider. The whole thing about skin-lightening, for instance. Several women link the lightness of their skin to marriage prospects and family attitudes. Also, I really enjoyed “An Ideal Girl” by Soumya Menon, both in its artistic execution and in the story it tells. Menon’s positive depiction of how the eponymous girl breaks out of the mould of expectations set for her to take agency is quite compelling.
The variety of art styles might be distracting to some, but I kind of like it. I like the idea that in the future I can take this down from the shelf, open it to a story at random, and get something a little different every time.
I don’t know if I would recommend Drawing the Line specifically to everyone, though I’d encourage you to check it out if you get an opportunity. But this is the type of book I’d recommend to everyone, in so far as I think everyone should read more, and read widely.
March 27, 2016
This is a good collection of different Indian (as in from India) women artists writing about sexual harassment, discrimination, and all the things that make life being a woman hard.
Fourteen different artists either tell their own story or the stories of those they have interviewed or known.
Most of the issues explored in these stories, women of the Western, European world would be quite familiar with, except for the issue of having to be white. In India, people are all shades of light to dark, and unfortunately the cosmetic industry, and patent medicine industry makes it a point to tell women that they need to be lighter, paler, and that if they only used their products they would be too. Although the Western world looks down on people of color, there is no industry trying to make them lighter skinned, that I am aware of.
Sad that sexual harassment and assault is pretty much a world wide problem. This book is being distrbuted in North America by a comic book company out of Ontario, Canada, called Ad Astra Comix. They were touring locally, and said when they saw this collection that they had to publish it. I'm glad they did. Ad Astra slogan is "The Panel is Political".
Fourteen different artists either tell their own story or the stories of those they have interviewed or known.
Most of the issues explored in these stories, women of the Western, European world would be quite familiar with, except for the issue of having to be white. In India, people are all shades of light to dark, and unfortunately the cosmetic industry, and patent medicine industry makes it a point to tell women that they need to be lighter, paler, and that if they only used their products they would be too. Although the Western world looks down on people of color, there is no industry trying to make them lighter skinned, that I am aware of.
Sad that sexual harassment and assault is pretty much a world wide problem. This book is being distrbuted in North America by a comic book company out of Ontario, Canada, called Ad Astra Comix. They were touring locally, and said when they saw this collection that they had to publish it. I'm glad they did. Ad Astra slogan is "The Panel is Political".
October 8, 2018
A really great collection of short comics, Drawing the Line is infused with the strength of the women who created it. These stories are each as unique as the women who created them, facing the worldwide problems of sexism and sexual harassment each in their own way. Giving voice to people and cultures we rarely (if ever) hear from over here in North America.
March 9, 2016
This book came to me as an unexpected gift from a dear friend. A comical sneak peeks at 'some' of the issues of women in modern Indian society. Amid many amusing articles that are published on the issues that women face in modern society in the Western media, this book was a refreshing read because of its Indian context. It is a book that doesn't offer any solutions to any sensitive issues, it just requests the reader to draw his/her attention towards the sensitivity and reality of these matters.
I must congratulate the illustrators who put in so much thought in writing about 'just ordinary things' that matter. We need many more illustrations on the issues of gender and sexuality. Some suggestions are:
1) a comic strip showing how a couple and their family reacts when they have a hermaphrodite child, 2) an illustration of women and men exploring their sexualities
3) stories of women who are raped by their husbands
4) stories of urban men who continuously struggle to maintain the delicate balance of chivalry and to prove the point of gender equality
5) stories about the women in rural India who spend most of their days on farms, kitchens, homes but still somehow loses all their endurance and strength when beaten up by their drunk husbands
6) lives of women who don't want kids, don't want to get married
7) the stream of consciousness of a woman trying to convince her modern liberal boyfriend that she won't be able to have the sexist rituals in a Hindu wedding and won't be able to change her surname post-marriage - just because that would ask her to be something that she doesn't believe in. While the boyfriend agrees to each point that she is making but just don't want to create too much mental stress by opposing social norms, thus for mental peace, he is making a simple request - compromise on your beliefs and live peacefully.
8) confessions of a woman who decides to stop waxing and shaving
9) the internal monologs of a teen from a middle-class family when she decides to buy a fancy and trendy dress (you know, something more exposing than just a jeans and a t-shirt), and the sources she musters the courage
10) stories of the girls in rural India where they don't remember their birthdates or period dates or the implications of being pregnant within the first year of giving birth.
Not even one story seemed unfamiliar or work of fiction ( a piece of my life or my sister's life or my mother's life or my friends' lives). Each and every one of them is my favorite depiction, but the gave me instant goosebumps were the Mumbai Local and The Poet, Sharmila.
"As Sharmila spoke of dreams, food, family and the struggle of peace in Manipur I realized that she was a young woman first and an activist second. Her choices had indeed made her life different and yet the longing to experience, love and grow was the same.
And even now, years later, when empty Delhi roads are uneasy ways to walk by night, I think of Sharmila's expanding universe within that one locked room: as Manipur is hers, Delhi is mine!"
I must congratulate the illustrators who put in so much thought in writing about 'just ordinary things' that matter. We need many more illustrations on the issues of gender and sexuality. Some suggestions are:
1) a comic strip showing how a couple and their family reacts when they have a hermaphrodite child, 2) an illustration of women and men exploring their sexualities
3) stories of women who are raped by their husbands
4) stories of urban men who continuously struggle to maintain the delicate balance of chivalry and to prove the point of gender equality
5) stories about the women in rural India who spend most of their days on farms, kitchens, homes but still somehow loses all their endurance and strength when beaten up by their drunk husbands
6) lives of women who don't want kids, don't want to get married
7) the stream of consciousness of a woman trying to convince her modern liberal boyfriend that she won't be able to have the sexist rituals in a Hindu wedding and won't be able to change her surname post-marriage - just because that would ask her to be something that she doesn't believe in. While the boyfriend agrees to each point that she is making but just don't want to create too much mental stress by opposing social norms, thus for mental peace, he is making a simple request - compromise on your beliefs and live peacefully.
8) confessions of a woman who decides to stop waxing and shaving
9) the internal monologs of a teen from a middle-class family when she decides to buy a fancy and trendy dress (you know, something more exposing than just a jeans and a t-shirt), and the sources she musters the courage
10) stories of the girls in rural India where they don't remember their birthdates or period dates or the implications of being pregnant within the first year of giving birth.
Not even one story seemed unfamiliar or work of fiction ( a piece of my life or my sister's life or my mother's life or my friends' lives). Each and every one of them is my favorite depiction, but the gave me instant goosebumps were the Mumbai Local and The Poet, Sharmila.
"As Sharmila spoke of dreams, food, family and the struggle of peace in Manipur I realized that she was a young woman first and an activist second. Her choices had indeed made her life different and yet the longing to experience, love and grow was the same.
And even now, years later, when empty Delhi roads are uneasy ways to walk by night, I think of Sharmila's expanding universe within that one locked room: as Manipur is hers, Delhi is mine!"
August 8, 2016
A powerful story that needed to be told. This is the story that is written by a wonderful feminist to bring to light the issue of sexual discrimination, rape, even brutal gang rapes and other horrifying things that are all too often happening in India. This book is a part of larger conversation happening around the country.
This is a collection of 14 different Indian artists, who tell their story or the stories of others. These stories are heartbreakingly honest. The invoke emotions, fear and explain what is making being women so hard. They are all wonderful graphic artist. The are finally, drawing the line.
The issues explored in this book are ones we are all to familiar with. This isn't just an India issue, this is a global issue that gets worse every single day. It is disgusting that sexual abuse and harassment is such a normal thing. We hear about new assault every single day. This book is cracking the silence and getting the word out there.
Graphic novels about political issues, or hard topics tend to get a lot of hate. People want to read fun stuff, the want an escape from the hardness of the world. This issue is something that we can't avoid. Every single human being on this earth needs to go out and get this book right now. We can't stay silent anymore.
To give you a better idea of the types of stories included I decided to include a list of topics discussed. Here are five of those topics.
1. Women who are raped by their husbands
2. Stories from a women who stopped shaving and waxing
3. A woman who is desperately trying to convince her boyfriend that she won't stand for a sexist ritual in a Hindu wedding.
4.Stories about the women in rural India
5. A teen from a middle-class family who decides to buy a fancy dress.
Check out this book. It is very important. I picked this book out at the library but I will be buying it very soon.
This is a collection of 14 different Indian artists, who tell their story or the stories of others. These stories are heartbreakingly honest. The invoke emotions, fear and explain what is making being women so hard. They are all wonderful graphic artist. The are finally, drawing the line.
The issues explored in this book are ones we are all to familiar with. This isn't just an India issue, this is a global issue that gets worse every single day. It is disgusting that sexual abuse and harassment is such a normal thing. We hear about new assault every single day. This book is cracking the silence and getting the word out there.
Graphic novels about political issues, or hard topics tend to get a lot of hate. People want to read fun stuff, the want an escape from the hardness of the world. This issue is something that we can't avoid. Every single human being on this earth needs to go out and get this book right now. We can't stay silent anymore.
To give you a better idea of the types of stories included I decided to include a list of topics discussed. Here are five of those topics.
1. Women who are raped by their husbands
2. Stories from a women who stopped shaving and waxing
3. A woman who is desperately trying to convince her boyfriend that she won't stand for a sexist ritual in a Hindu wedding.
4.Stories about the women in rural India
5. A teen from a middle-class family who decides to buy a fancy dress.
Check out this book. It is very important. I picked this book out at the library but I will be buying it very soon.
May 24, 2016
An interesting collection of amateur comic artists from Indian taking about gender politics in their country. Definitely worth a read, though readers should note that a lot of these folks are still developing as artists, and it's also important to remember that the stories are coming from a different cultural perspective. However, that's what makes the book so interesting and valuable! New voices from people just starting in their field, unhindered by any expectations of what they should be doing.
February 13, 2016
Series of short illustrated comics by Indian women about their lives and the challenges that they face. I really enjoyed this! A lot of the art is very good and the stories are very powerful. I even had a few stereotypes challenged along the way. Highly recommended!
December 26, 2015
Not as punchy as I expected.
September 11, 2016
Extra shout-out to Broken Lines by Vidyun Sabhaney, which stood out to me from this fantastic anthology as particularly poignant.
Got this one via Kickstarter, glad that it was published in Canada.
Got this one via Kickstarter, glad that it was published in Canada.
October 12, 2016
Fascinating collection of comics by Indian women.
April 13, 2018
3.5
My favorite pieces were The Photo by Reshnu Singh and Broken Lines by Vidyun Sabhaney!
My favorite pieces were The Photo by Reshnu Singh and Broken Lines by Vidyun Sabhaney!
April 16, 2018
Loved Broken Lines & The Photo. An Ideal Girl, Someday and all other pieces were also nice. Nicely produced, a pleasure to hold and that end paper! :-)
May 21, 2018
This is an outstanding collection, full of impactful comics showcasing creativity and thoughtfulness. Really impressed and so glad I read this.
September 25, 2023
Found this gem in a comic-book-themed cafe that has a library in the basement. This anthology brings together fourteen stories that strike a nerve, all with distinct art styles but the same passion and rigour. As it was an anthology, some stories stuck out, but the book as a whole is still a solid piece of work that offers versatility and intersectionality. Created in the aftermath of Delhi 2012; it still sadly poignantly touches on the experiences of women in India today.
August 11, 2020
The overall quality of the artwork is commendable. It's for those who are interested in knowing about the everyday contexts of gendered oppression in India. It does not raise any new questions or challenge the reader to look at inequality any differently, if they're already familiar with the subjects in the book whether through years of personal experience or prior reading.
April 24, 2023
Love all the distinct voices and stories. I just wish this was a colour graphic novel, and also hopes that this gets reproduced as a kids book too (or to bring together a love letter of sorts to young Indian girls).
July 13, 2025
very cool initiative with some interesting comics. some are difficult to digest (two: sexual abuse), so it took me a moment to finish. important stuff! reminds me of some statistics I read in Invisible Women.
not really something I would rank with stars since it's collaborative.
not really something I would rank with stars since it's collaborative.
March 17, 2025
A beautiful, much-needed and extremely thoughtful read.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews