Whistle

About the book

The phrase "the personal is political," coined by Carol Hanisch in 1969, became a foundational concept in second-wave feminism by challenging the traditional separation between private and public life. The concept remains influential today, informing contemporary feminist discussions around bodily autonomy, workplace discrimination, domestic violence, and the ways personal choices are constrained or enabled by systemic forces. This auto-fiction novel follows the life of a young girl who has a passion for numbers, hailing from a lower-middle-class background enters a public sector job as a paltry clerk. It talks in detail about how the work environment discriminates against the young, bubbly woman, leading her to the workers' union, where she becomes strong along the way. Yet, when she uncovers a huge scam and turns whistleblower, her identity is exposed. As a result, she is subject to innumerable hardships. How it ends is explained in detail in this novel. This work is a detailed sketch of the history of trade union activities, the rampant misogyny in the public sphere, and work-life balance struggles, and will be an eye-opener for many about the untold lives of thousands of women working with the biggest employer of India, the Indian Railways.

About the author

Nivedita Louis writes about social and feminist history, archaeology, anthropology and ethnography. She resigned from her Central Government job and chose writing as an alternate career. She conducts heritage walks, lectures on history, and coordinates lec-dems on subaltern music and literature. She co-founded the Her Stories Foundation, a publishing house that has published over 300 books on gender.

More of Nivedita Louis’s work and rights: niveditalouis.in