Huma Qureshi (centre) and Shinie Antony (right) in conversation with Nandini Krishnan (left) during a discussion Wonder Women: Powerful Women in Fiction at The Hindu Lit for Life held at The Hindu Pavillion in Chennai on January 19, 2025.
| Photo Credit: B. Velankanni Raj
Challenging gender stereotypes, actor Huma Qureshi who has turned author with her debut novel Zeba: The Accidental Superhero and author Shinie Antony with her book Eden Abandoned: The Story of Lilithoffered thought-provoking quotes in their session on Wonder Women: Powerful Women in Fiction on the second and last day of The Hindu Lit for Life.
Moderated by Nandini Krishnan, the panel explored the portrayal of women protagonists who are seen as misfits if they break boundaries and the accepted structure in society.
Ms. Qureshi said her book is a homage to every woman who breaks every rule. “I am obsessed with the idea of misfits saving the world. My version of reluctant superhero is nothing like the powdered and manicured well-behaved person but a girl like Zeba, a rich New Yorker who pot-smokes, has a therapist, and manages to defeat an evil king of a make-believe kingdom,” she said.
Huma’s book is set in an imaginary country in the Himalayas with its own socio-political twist. “For every woman, a big part of our lived experience is to be shamed. It is like Cerelac, you take one spoon before you step out of the house and another spoon after you return,” Ms. Qureshi reminded, though she comes from a nurturing and fairly progressive family that provided her the education and confidence she needed.
Ms. Antony, said her book is about Jewish mythology rediscovered by a Jewish feminist. The character Lilith is cast out of Eden to shatter myths such as a woman ends up distraught when she doesn’t find that one man meant to be waiting for her. “Lilith understands to to reduce the significance of that one man, she had to make many other men special,” she said.
The speakers talked about how in every religion and culture women are shamed for everything from their clothes to hair, even taught and told to laugh gently and for everything women are advertised while men are praised. An angry man could be seductive but an angry woman is an oxymoron. “Women can use their anger judiciously; an angry woman who articulates is a complete work of art,” she said.
Ms. Qureshi said it was important for women to create stories that their younger selves would like to read. I had no role model when I was growing up; I feel women often do not find support in each other or are not represented in the appropriate manner in the popular media, she observed.
The authors left the audience with food for thought. Ms. Qureshi quipped that acts of absolute sacrifice by women were recurring motifs across mythology. If God is everything for Adam in her book, Lilith is able to take God’s name but in vain while Zeba gets chastised by her father for not taking her own God’s name in Huma’s story. “For a woman, being single, childless and aging is a superpower.”
The Hindu Lit for Life event is presented by KIA India and is in association with Christ University. Associate Partners: LIC, RR Donnelley, Blue Star, Brigade Group, NITTE Deemed-to-be University, PROchure, Singer, Chennai Port Authority & Kamarajar Port Ltd, Uttarakhand Tourism, Vajiram and Ravi, Indian Bank, Akshayakalpa and ICFAI Group. Realty Partner: Casagrand. Bookstore Partner: Crossword. Food Partner: Wow Momo, Beverage Partner: Beachville, Radio Partner: Big FM, TV Partner: Puthiya Thalaimurai Gift Partner: Anand Prakash. Supported by: US Consulate, Chennai, Water Partner: Repute
Published – January 19, 2025 05:56 pm IST
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