The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Find expression in regional languages, women told

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Mar 10, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Find expression in regional languages, women told

Staff Reporter

Book released to mark International Women's Day celebrations

PENNING THOUGHTS: Mamata Sagar and Vasantha Kannabiran at the book launch of `Mahila Vishaya' in Hyderabad on Friday. — PHOTO: K. RAMESH BABU

HYDERABAD: At a time when women's writing is not regarded as mainstream writing and marginalised, it is essential to keep writing in regional languages to talk to our own people, says feminist poet and founder-member of Asmita Resource Centre for Women, Vasantha Kannabiran.

She launched the book `Mahila Vishaya' a collection of analytical, academic and popular articles on gender, language, literature in Kannada and English written by Mamta Sagar, at a function organised by Akshara Book Store and Goethe-Zentrum, Association for German Culture here on Friday to mark International Women's Day celebrations.

While writing in mother tongue was important to continue the cultural ethos, English was needed to bridge the gap and take it to readers of other regional languages. The book addressed a whole lot of issues women writers faced, she said.

Mamta said her intention in writing articles in Kannada was to reach large number of people through a simple style devoid of feminist jargon.

Later, reading the English translation of one of her popular Kannada articles `Dreaming of Equality' she set the tone for the poetry reading session by women poets. While Mamta's article pointed out the need for girls and women not to be bogged down by their sexuality and feel conscious of their feminity, Shajahana, through her poem `Parda Hatake Dekho' exhorts Muslim girls to break oppression and breathe freedom. Ashraf Rafi highlighted the plight of working women. Amita Desai, Executive Director of Goethe-Zentrum presided.

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