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Feminist Freedom Warriors: Genealogies, Justice, Politics, and Hope
Started as a digital archive project, Feminist Freedom Warriors tells the stories of women of color from the Global South, weaving together cross-generational histories of feminist activism across national borders. These engaging interviews with sister comrades such as Angela Davis, Margo Okazawa-Rey, Himani Bannerji, and more will inform, inspire, and activate the imagination to explore what a just world might look like. Each woman’s story illustrates their lifelong commitment to challenging oppressive practices and forming solidarities across borders to transform unjust structures around the globe. The book features interviews with activists from movements spanning the last seven decades in the United States, India, Mexico, Palestine, Nigeria, South Africa, and beyond.
240 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2018
10 people are currently reading
475 people want to read
About the author
Chandra Talpade Mohanty
17 books207 followersChandra Talpade Mohanty (born 1955) is a prominent postcolonial and transnational feminist theorist.
She became well-known after the publication of her influential essay, "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses" in 1986. In this essay, Mohanty critiques the political project of Western feminism in its discursive construction of the category of the "Third World woman" as a hegemonic entity. Mohanty states that Western feminisms have tended to gloss over the differences between Southern women, but that the experience of oppression is incredibly diverse, and contingent on geography, history, and culture.
In 2003, Chandra Mohanty released her book, "Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity". In this work, she argues for a bridging of theory and praxis, and the personal and the political. Major themes addressed include the politics of difference, transnational solidarity building, and anticapitalist struggle against globalization.
Mohanty is originally from Mumbai, India. She holds a Ph.D. and Master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as a Master's degree and a bachelor's degree from the University of Delhi in India. Originally a professor of women's studies at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, she is currently the women's studies department chair at Syracuse University.
She became well-known after the publication of her influential essay, "Under Western Eyes: Feminist Scholarship and Colonial Discourses" in 1986. In this essay, Mohanty critiques the political project of Western feminism in its discursive construction of the category of the "Third World woman" as a hegemonic entity. Mohanty states that Western feminisms have tended to gloss over the differences between Southern women, but that the experience of oppression is incredibly diverse, and contingent on geography, history, and culture.
In 2003, Chandra Mohanty released her book, "Feminism Without Borders: Decolonizing Theory, Practicing Solidarity". In this work, she argues for a bridging of theory and praxis, and the personal and the political. Major themes addressed include the politics of difference, transnational solidarity building, and anticapitalist struggle against globalization.
Mohanty is originally from Mumbai, India. She holds a Ph.D. and Master’s degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as a Master's degree and a bachelor's degree from the University of Delhi in India. Originally a professor of women's studies at Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, she is currently the women's studies department chair at Syracuse University.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
April 15, 2023
Great collection of interviews! I love the variety of interviewees. It was great reading about feminist movements in countries like Mexico, India, Palestine and Nigeria. I also liked that they focus on an anti racist, anti capitalist feminist framework. It was nice to read the struggles that many of them faced while organizing around feminist issues.
July 6, 2018
In the introduction, Monhanty and Carty quote Sara Ahmed, "It should not be possible to do feminist theory without being a feminist, which requires an active ongoing commitment to live one's life in a feminist way." What better way to learn how to live a feminist life than from a collection of conversations with women of color from the Global South? "Feminist Freedom Warriors" is a chocolate-covered feminist theory book. "Feminist Freedom Warriors" is engaging and you also get some solid feminist theory that will push you to question where you stand and if your brand of feminism is what the world needs right now.
Through these conversations we learn from praxis - how these women's feminisms performed in the world and why we need to adjust in order to try again. Some of the women featured have been feminist activists longer than most of you reading this. But instead of tossing their views in a battle of generations, we are given the gift of their perspective.
Margo Okazawa-Rey states that her "own birth signifies...something that was not supposed to exist" as her African-American father was part of the occupying force in Japan and her mother was part of middle-class Japanese family. Her shares how her existence and fight for liberation is the definition of intersectionality.
Aída Hernández-Castillo documents the challenges that occur when one's activism lacks intersectionality. Her conversation documents an attempt to address domestic violence in a small Mayan village solely through Guatemalan state law. She learns a lot from this misstep and by sharing it we do as well.
As feminists look towards the future and how to solve the multitude of problems we face from a global economy, toxic masculinity, and rampant xenophobia, we need to look to our past to understand how we got here and gain lessons we missed along the way. This is an excellent and thoughtful read. You won't agree with everything in this book, but you will walk away with a new view on the issues we grapple with every day.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Through these conversations we learn from praxis - how these women's feminisms performed in the world and why we need to adjust in order to try again. Some of the women featured have been feminist activists longer than most of you reading this. But instead of tossing their views in a battle of generations, we are given the gift of their perspective.
Margo Okazawa-Rey states that her "own birth signifies...something that was not supposed to exist" as her African-American father was part of the occupying force in Japan and her mother was part of middle-class Japanese family. Her shares how her existence and fight for liberation is the definition of intersectionality.
Aída Hernández-Castillo documents the challenges that occur when one's activism lacks intersectionality. Her conversation documents an attempt to address domestic violence in a small Mayan village solely through Guatemalan state law. She learns a lot from this misstep and by sharing it we do as well.
As feminists look towards the future and how to solve the multitude of problems we face from a global economy, toxic masculinity, and rampant xenophobia, we need to look to our past to understand how we got here and gain lessons we missed along the way. This is an excellent and thoughtful read. You won't agree with everything in this book, but you will walk away with a new view on the issues we grapple with every day.
Disclaimer: I received a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
December 30, 2021
This book is a nice collection of interview style narratives with a strong cast of antiracist feminist scholar-activists. Definitely worth a read if you like short segmented dialogues that touch on movement history a lot! Does not really explain in too much detail the theoretical stances discussed within
January 29, 2019
A wonderful series of dialogues amongst some of the most brilliant scholar activists who have been at the Van guard of leftist anti racist, anti capitalist, anti imperialist movements for the past 40 years in a myriad of fields. It brings a great deal of hope, and advocates for personal, familial, societal, institutional, and global transformation predicated on restorative justice. A remarkable read
November 19, 2018
A clear and powerful set of interviews with a diverse set of feminist activists/scholars. A fantastic, inspiring collection. My global feminism students really loved it. Accessible and challenging in all the right ways.
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January 16, 2022This volume took me a while to complete (two and a half years!), in part due to the pandemic and being physically separated from my copy in another country for two years.
I picked up this book at the Harvard Bookstore, with the hope of easing into more Theory, rather than just allowing social media posts to determine my politics. The feminists interviewed had a lot of really interesting things to say, and have lived very interesting lives, but I'm just not there yet in terms of comprehension.
Through all of this though, there was one section in particular that I highlighted because it had a strong impact on me. In the interview of Amina Mama, a Nigerian/British feminist-activist-scholar, she says:
"...Nationalism and nationhood were central in the context of twentieth-century imperialism. However, with our imperfect nation-states now severely weakened, we need to really reassess that focus. We used to see the state as the vehicle for getting out from under colonial domination, and then as a bulwark that was supposed to protect us against Western corporate interests...
...[We need to as ourselves] who benefits from the displacement of sociality by individualism, consumerism, or from the privatization of public assets, and the seizures of public land by private interests?..."
It was also interesting to be reading these interviews after the Trump presidency and during the Coronavirus Pandemic, having seen how Western state structures respond/don't respond to the prospect of millions of their citizens dying.
I picked up this book at the Harvard Bookstore, with the hope of easing into more Theory, rather than just allowing social media posts to determine my politics. The feminists interviewed had a lot of really interesting things to say, and have lived very interesting lives, but I'm just not there yet in terms of comprehension.
Through all of this though, there was one section in particular that I highlighted because it had a strong impact on me. In the interview of Amina Mama, a Nigerian/British feminist-activist-scholar, she says:
"...Nationalism and nationhood were central in the context of twentieth-century imperialism. However, with our imperfect nation-states now severely weakened, we need to really reassess that focus. We used to see the state as the vehicle for getting out from under colonial domination, and then as a bulwark that was supposed to protect us against Western corporate interests...
...[We need to as ourselves] who benefits from the displacement of sociality by individualism, consumerism, or from the privatization of public assets, and the seizures of public land by private interests?..."
It was also interesting to be reading these interviews after the Trump presidency and during the Coronavirus Pandemic, having seen how Western state structures respond/don't respond to the prospect of millions of their citizens dying.
July 11, 2021
An excellent introduction to the ideas and work of seven feminist warriors who are pioneers of our time. I struggled through parts of the book that had more top-level, theoretical discussions, most likely due to my ignorance and lack of familiarity with the topics at hand. I found, at times (particularly in the M.O.R. and Z.E. chapters) that the editors didn't leave enough space for the interviewee to express their ideas, and instead allowed their own ideas to feature prominently in the chapter. This was likely a product of the format being more a discussion than an essay; as I write this, I realize the strength of the book may be lost without it. Overall, a great addition to anyone's TBR and a wonderful springboard for those looking to learn and grow.
August 1, 2024
This book is a collection of interviews with feminists from various parts of the world who have been involved in activism for many years. Their information is valuable particularly at this time when fascism is threatening to take over several parts of the world. Their collective experiences exemplify the need for feminism to be part of any political analysis because of the significance of women's oppression and the skills they bring to the table. The interviewees stress the importance of coalition building and understanding of the interconnectivity of race, class and gender oppression. We must work together if we're ever going to create the world we want.
February 22, 2022
Overviews and interviews with a number of feminists who feature on a related website.
Enjoyed this and hope to read through a number of books listed in the bibliography/notes.
& the books by those interviewed that I haven't already.
Pretty quick read in itself but will hopefully lead to a lot more reading.
Enjoyed this and hope to read through a number of books listed in the bibliography/notes.
& the books by those interviewed that I haven't already.
Pretty quick read in itself but will hopefully lead to a lot more reading.
October 19, 2025
Written as conversations between the editors and the featured women, this book was a wonderful highlight of the digital project Feminist Freedom Warriors. I am definitely excited to learn more about the project after being introduced to it in this book.
February 8, 2019
Lo tuve que leer para un seminario con Mohanty y debo decir que fue una experiencia preciosa y de una potencia tremenda. Son una serie de entrevistas y conversaciones entre activistas y académicas/activistas con trayectorias impresionantes que dan muchísimo para pensar y para remover.
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March 22, 2019305.40922 F3295 2018
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews