On the Outside Looking In(dian) analyzes works over the past century translated into or written
in English by feminist Indian women writers such as Krupabai Satthianadhan Rokeya Sakhewat
Hossein Maitreyi Devi Kamala Das Anita Desai Bharati Mukherjee and others. These writers
condemn patriarchal customs and laws for depriving Indian women - of all castes and classes as
well as women of other cultures - of their basic human rights by sanctioning child marriage
sati purdah and the wearing of the burqa while prohibiting widow remarriage the expression
of sexuality and the pursuit of an education to promote self-sufficiency and equal economic
political and social status with men.
