From Homebreakers to Jailbreakers
Southall Black Sisters

Against the odds, Southall Black Sisters, a poorly funded, radical Asian women's group, has become synonymous with black British feminism and activism. This anthology makes the connections between race, gender and class and aims to ensure that this area of debate is not lost to history.

Against all the odds, Southall Black Sisters, a poorly funded, radical Asian women's group, has become synonymous with black British feminism and activism. Active in Southall near London since early 1979, the Black Sisters have developed both a national and an international reputation. They have not merely offered welfare advice, but spearheaded many high profile campaigns on domestic violence, abused women who kill - such as the celebrated case of Kiranjit Ahluwalia - immigration rights, and the dangers posed to women by the rise of religious fundamentalism. This anthology makes the connections between race, gender and class and aims to ensure that a neglected area of current feminist debate is not lost to history through a failure to record insights gained in the heat of activism. A provocatively argued book, it should be of interest to anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of the relationship between the disempowered margins of society and the state and the power balance between men and women.

Foreword - Helena Kennedy

Timeline

1. Some recurring themes: Southall Black Sisters, 1979 - and still going strong - Rahila Gupta

2. Struggle not submission: Domestic violence in the nineties - Anita Johal

3. Taking or giving refuge? - Muneeza Inam

4. It was written in her kismet: Forced marriage - Hannana Siddiqui

5. Silent witnesses: Domestic violence and black children - Meena Patel

6. Sad, mad or angry? Mental illness and domestic violence - Meena Patel and Hannana Siddiqui

7. Jumping through hoops: Immigration and asylum - Poonam Joshi

8. The tricky blue line: Black women and policing - Pragna Patel

9. Orange is not the only colour: Young women, religious identity, youth and the Southall community - Sukhwant Dhaliwal

10. Ram or Rambo? The rise of Hindu fundamentalism - Pragna Patel

11. Shifting terrains - Old struggles for new? - Pragna Patel

12. Walls into bridges: The losses and gains of making alliances - Rahila Gupta

13. Black feminism in the 21st century: The Age of Women? - Hannana Siddiqui