Kali for Women
Encyclopedia
Kali for Women was an important start-up feminist publisher in India
. Urvashi Butalia
and Ritu Menon set up Kali for Women in 1984, arguably the first Indian publishing house dedicated to publishing on and for women. When they decided to take this step, Butalia had worked with Oxford University Press
and Zed Books
in Delhi, while Ritu Menon was a well known scholar. They started with very little capital but with an urgent sense that they had to make Indian women’s voices heard, not just through academic publishing but also through activist works, translation and fiction. They were followed by other Indian presses concerned with gender and social issues such as Bhatkal and Sen
who publish the imprints Stree and Samya and Tulika Books.
Widely regarded as India’s answer to Virago Press
, Kali for Women published some pathbreaking books such as the Hindi reference book Shareer ki Jankari (‘About the Body’). Shareer ki Jankari was written by 75 village women and sold by the women themselves at a special price in the villages. Butalia and Menon were committed to social change through publishing and, almost as a byproduct, they also innovated in the ways they produced and sold their books. Shareer ki Jankari was also extremely frank about sex and women's bodies including issues such as menstrual taboo
s, leading to some commentators being shocked. Till then academic presses had largely ignored the markets for cheap, mass literature. Kali for Women also published The Other Side of Silence by Butalia (an account of Partition
through women’s oral histories), Radha Kumar’s The History of Doing, the ecofeminist Vandana Shiva
’s landmark work Staying Alive, and Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid’s landmark work Recasting Women: Essays in Colonial History.
In 2003, the founders decided to part ways, with Butalia setting up Zubaan Books in partnership with Penguin
, and Menon founding Women Unlimited. Both firms are still active.
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. Urvashi Butalia
Urvashi Butalia
Urvashi Butalia is an Indian feminist and historian. She is the Director and Co-founder of Kali for Women, India's first feminist publishing house....
and Ritu Menon set up Kali for Women in 1984, arguably the first Indian publishing house dedicated to publishing on and for women. When they decided to take this step, Butalia had worked with Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is the largest university press in the world. It is a department of the University of Oxford and is governed by a group of 15 academics appointed by the Vice-Chancellor known as the Delegates of the Press. They are headed by the Secretary to the Delegates, who serves as...
and Zed Books
Zed Books
Zed Books is an independent non-fiction book publishing company based in London.Founded in 1977 under the name Zed Press, Zed publishes academic books covering areas such as politics, economics, gender studies, development studies, and the environment....
in Delhi, while Ritu Menon was a well known scholar. They started with very little capital but with an urgent sense that they had to make Indian women’s voices heard, not just through academic publishing but also through activist works, translation and fiction. They were followed by other Indian presses concerned with gender and social issues such as Bhatkal and Sen
Bhatkal and Sen
Bhatkal & Sen is a publishing partnership between Mandira Sen and Popular Prakashan. The company is based in Calcutta and publishes the imprints Stree and Samya. It is noted for publishing authors such as Kancha Ilaiah, Om Prakash Valmiki, Tirumaavalavan, Gail Omvedt, Manikuntala Sen, Ashok Mitra, V...
who publish the imprints Stree and Samya and Tulika Books.
Widely regarded as India’s answer to Virago Press
Virago Press
Virago is a British publishing company founded in 1973 by Carmen Callil to publish books by women writers. Both new works and reissued books by neglected authors have featured on the imprint's list....
, Kali for Women published some pathbreaking books such as the Hindi reference book Shareer ki Jankari (‘About the Body’). Shareer ki Jankari was written by 75 village women and sold by the women themselves at a special price in the villages. Butalia and Menon were committed to social change through publishing and, almost as a byproduct, they also innovated in the ways they produced and sold their books. Shareer ki Jankari was also extremely frank about sex and women's bodies including issues such as menstrual taboo
Menstrual taboo
A Menstrual taboo is any social taboo concerned with menstruation. In some societies it involves menstruation being perceived as unclean or embarrassing, extending even to the mention of menstruation both in public and in private .Different cultures view menstruation differently...
s, leading to some commentators being shocked. Till then academic presses had largely ignored the markets for cheap, mass literature. Kali for Women also published The Other Side of Silence by Butalia (an account of Partition
Partition of India
The Partition of India was the partition of British India on the basis of religious demographics that led to the creation of the sovereign states of the Dominion of Pakistan and the Union of India on 14 and 15...
through women’s oral histories), Radha Kumar’s The History of Doing, the ecofeminist Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva
Vandana Shiva , is a philosopher, environmental activist, and eco feminist. Shiva, currently based in Delhi, has authored more than 20 books and over 500 papers in leading scientific and technical journals. She was trained as a physicist and received her Ph.D...
’s landmark work Staying Alive, and Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid’s landmark work Recasting Women: Essays in Colonial History.
In 2003, the founders decided to part ways, with Butalia setting up Zubaan Books in partnership with Penguin
Penguin
Penguins are a group of aquatic, flightless birds living almost exclusively in the southern hemisphere, especially in Antarctica. Highly adapted for life in the water, penguins have countershaded dark and white plumage, and their wings have become flippers...
, and Menon founding Women Unlimited. Both firms are still active.