The White Woman's Other Burden: Western Women and South Asia During British Rule

by Kumari Jayawardena

In The White Woman's Other Burden , Kumari Jayawardena re-evaluates the Western women who lived and worked in South Asia during the period of British rule. She tells the stories of many well-known women, including Katherine Mayo, Helena Blavatsky, Annie Besant, Madeleine Slade, and Mirra Richard and highlights the stories of dozens of women whose names have been forgotten today. In the course of this telling, Jayawardena raises the issues of race, class, and gender which are part of current debates among feminists throughout the world.

Genres: Politics, History, Nonfiction, Womens

322 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Kumari Jayawardena is a leading feminist scholar, active in the women’s and men’s civil rights movements in Sri Lanka. A graduate of the London School of Economics and Sciences Po in Paris, she taught in the Political Science and Women’s Studies programs at Colombo University.

Reviews

[Madeline]

While The White Woman's Other Burden was not quite what I expected (the title have misled me slightly - I should have paid more attention to the "other"), I was very glad that I read it. Jayawardena examines Western women who made (or attempted to make) positive contributions to South Asia, especially on behalf of women and girls. There is understandably a great deal about education and child marriage. I thought it was interesting that Jayawardena focuses mostly on Hindu and Buddhist groups, but I assume that was where most of the material was for whatever reason.

The topic is a sensitive and complex one, which Jayawardena acknowledges throughout. She writes clearly and concisely, and the book is divided up into biographical sketches or articles. This allows her to cover a lot of ground.