Embodied Violence: Communalising Female Sexuality in South Asia by Kumari Jayawardena

This book is a major investigation into the myriad of ways in which societies play out the struggle for cultural identity on women's bodies. It explores the relationship between ideals of motherhood, tradition, community and racial purity and uncovers the ways in which women's bodies become the recording surface of repressive cultural practices and 'symbolic' humiliations. The distinguished cast of contributors explore a wide range of issues ranging from the status of women as bargaining counters of national identity in India after independence and partition to the presence of women as an empowered presence in Hindu nationalism, from the legal definition and legitimation of sexual violence to the relationship between an idealised nationalist femininity and the tourist trade in Sri Lanka. This is an essential book for anyone exploring contemporary debates around feminism and post-colonial theory in South Asia.