Book Talk

From Shah Bano to Sabarimala: The Battle for Women's Rights

Kaveree Bamzai

Are India's laws enough to guarantee equality for women? Or does the real battle begin when the courtroom doors close?

In this episode of Book Talk, we speak with Mihira Sood, author of Courting Equality: Landmark Cases in the Battle for Women's Rights, about the evolution of women's rights in India, landmark legal battles and the widening gap between progressive laws and ground realities.

From the Shah Bano judgment and the Sabarimala verdict to the Vishakha Guidelines, the POSH Act and the Nirbhaya movement, Mihira Sood examines how legal victories do not always translate into social change.

The conversation explores how feminism has evolved, why women are increasingly reclaiming public spaces, changing attitudes towards sexual assault survivors, intersectionality and the role of young women in carrying forward the fight for equality.

Courting Equality is more than a collection of landmark judgments.

It is a look at contemporary India through the lens of women's rights.

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