Title: Beyond #Metoo: Ushering Women’s era or just noise?
Author: Tanushree Ghosh
Publisher: Sage Publication
Genre: Non-Fiction
Pages: 290
Buy Online
Tanushree Ghosh’s Beyond #MeToo is an essential read. It brings a new perspective and outlook, how we see rape, inequity and injustice in our society.
It is unique document, painstakingly researched that makes it a great reference for MeToo Movement. The core of this book is a statement, ‘Sexual harassment is rooted in cultural practices and exacerbated by power relations at the work place.’ ‘No social change can come about if laws and society both don’t change.’
It is literally terrifying to read that how sexual violence is a part of women’s lives and in our communities. ‘When we look into our homes and our lives, how unique is it for many of such abusers to be ‘uniquely positioned’ to be able to perpetuate and get away with abuse, from family members in a high position of trust and influence to trusted community members (teachers, gurus, godmen)?
Everyone can be an opportune abuser, especially in countries with high-value attachment to shame, honour and purity. Opportunities are farther hardened through hardening of the culture of silence.’
Through this book, Ghosh dissects dozens of subjects around MeToo movement, such cold hard facts but it will definitely take this force and conversation forward, which started as a viral hashtag in 2017. Ghosh shared some personal notes, and am a taking a piece out of it, ‘It is impossible to identify the exact moment when MeToo unfolded for me. Burke’s MeToo and that of most of us, is about acknowledging that we all have experience, violation at some point in our lives and have yet stayed silent. We all know someone who is being assaulted or has been assaulted, or of institutions and individuals who perpetuate abuse. And we all have been silent — for ourselves and others.’
How an unfair incident changes our lives and behaviour. It invades into girl’s psyche and left a void. Tanushree Ghosh states, ‘We all lose when brilliant women go away? The cost of sexual harassment, to the economy is high. Harassment or lack of safety at work place is the key factor in woman leaving the workforce. However, how replaceable are the women who leave?’
The heart of the book is where Ghosh quoted Sana Munir: Misogyny and Patriarchy cannot function and survive, unless there are women to support it. women must support other women, unconditionally. It's cliché and didactic maybe, but we desperately need sisterhood. A woman being battered at home cannot be beaten up if the other women in the house or the neighbourhood interfere. One knock, one report or one phone call to the police is all it takes. A woman in the office cannot be harassed if every woman working there stand by her. A man cannot touch, squeeze or grapple a woman on the road if she knows in her heart that when she screams and holds the man by the collar, she will be supported by other women on the road. We need to work on ourselves, and the men will learn to behave all on their own.
It is an eye-opening read, a well-researched book that includes personal stories as well. Dr. Pritam Pal who had associated with Women’s development programme, writes — Issues of rape and sexual assault, especially at the work place, go beyond social justice. It eliminates the roots to economic justice women and creates a perpetual cycle of oppression, discrimination and further violation. Decades prior to the dust storm of the MeToo moment, Bhanwari Devi’s fight in India itself started the fight for a woman’s safety while she did her job. And the struggle — the question of a woman’s right to safety and for her to have equal rights — continues.’
Beyond #Metoo is a notable piece of work. It might disturb you in many ways but time to face reality. Also, it is a courageous act to document this movement. Educate yourself. Read the book.
Synopsis
#MeToo, since its inception, has been a sensation. But did the movement die an inconsequential death?
Contrary to popular belief, India has strong legal protections in place for women. However, gender is consistently secondary to class, caste and survival. Therefore, India can’t afford―neither socially nor economically―a non-existent future of #MeToo.
Beyond #MeToo: Ushering Women’s Era or Just Noise? brings together accounts and analyses from around the world, exploring the movement against the broader backdrop of feminism and gender. With its in-depth research, case studies, survivor accounts and expert opinions, this book sheds light on the implication of the movement in the post #MeToo era. Does it truly usher in ‘women’s era’ or do they merely create noise? What are these backlashes against #MeToo and should we be prepared for it? The book proves that gender post #MeToo is a matter of life and death.
About author
Tanushree Ghosh works in the technology sector in the USA and is also a social activist and a writer. She has a Doctorate in Chemistry from Cornell University and has worked at the Brookhaven National Laboratories and is an alumnus of IIT Kanpur and Presidency College Calcutta.
As a contributor to the Huffington Post US, she has published several posts on topics that affect the under-represented and the lesser privileged, whether that’s a population, a nation, or an individual. Her first article for the Huffington Post went viral and was picked up by the Yahoo news. She has since written on the Syria war and its children, open borders, the unfair coverage in the Western media of the Brazil Olympics, societal differences in outlook on issues like gun control in the US, and off-course – women. She has written on postpartum depression, acid attack and its state globally, #MeToo and a myriad of related topics and was interviewed for Reddit and the Indian Express. She is a regular contributor to several popular publications (incl. The Tribune (Sunday Diaspora segment), Thrive Global, The Logical Indian, Youth Ki Awaaz, Café Dissensus, and The Women’s Web). Her literary resume also includes poems and stories featured in national and international magazines, including Words Pauses and Noises, UK; TUCK, Glimmer Train honorable mention, and inclusion in seven anthologies (through winning national and international contests), including Defiant Dreams (Oprah 2016 reading list placeholder) and The Best Asian Short Stories 2017 (published out of Singapore by Kitaab). She has served in coordinator and chapter head roles of ASHA and AID India and has affiliations with several women’s organizations and non-profits. She is also the founder and director of Her Rights (www.herrights.website), a 501(3) c non-profit committed to furthering the cause of gender equality and supporting victims of gender violence.
P.S. This review is powered by Blogchatter Book Review Program.