In one instance, when a Kashmir-based politician had to declare his properties and file assets and labilities. At that moment, he chose to add his daughter’s marriage too in the liabilities column.
While the news gained a lot of popularity and went viral online, Ratna Vira, author of the best selling novel ‘Daughter by Court Order’, feels that this is exactly the reason why women in the country need to be empowered to fight for their rights.
“Women of today have their own identity and cannot be written off anymore. If not now then when? It is the time for society to start looking at women equally,” she stated.
Ratna was in the city recently to participate in a discussion organised by FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) on the theme ‘Empowering Women in the Circle of Influence,’ where she shared her experiences in writing the best selling novel, ‘Daughter by Court Order’.
In her book released last May--a gripping tale of protagonist Aranya, a woman fighting against power, money, deceit and treachery for her right to be recognised as a daughter--Ratna explored the serious issues of discrimination against women, especially when to comes to property rights.
The book delves into the prevailing hypocrisy in society, the gender perspective, how upper echelons of the society deal with their kind of problems. “It is often seen the very icons of the society do not practice what they propagate. Their personal lives are governed by different set of rules, contradicting the values they stand for publicly,” she expressed.
The bestseller has received appreciation from prime minister Narendra Modi, who congratulated Ratna for raising some of the pertinent issues plaguing the society. In an attempt to take the fight for her cause a little further, the author has announced an establishment titled Daughter By Court Order (DBCO ) Forum for Women. “The forum will contribute time and skills to support women facing inequality and discrimination and aims to work with one woman at a time,” Ratna explained, further adding, ‘we will be collaborating with the individuals and organisations who want to make the world into a better place by supporting women.’
While discussing her debut novel Ratna said, “As someone who grew up in India, I have witnessed patriarchy first hand. Many women experience different degrees of domestic violence between the four walls. Although the Indian laws protect women, they are often ignored in the society. That is what motivated me write a novel.”
Despite her noble intentions, getting a book on women empowerment written by a first-time author was no cakewalk. “A lot people have warned me that the first time writers hardly ever get published and getting a novel published in English is almost impossible. That is when I took J K Rowling, the author of Harry Potter as an inspiration. She had to go through 12 rejections before becoming what she is today. After undergoing a series of rejections myself, I finally got it published,” she shared.
Ratna also adds that the reason why the book was a runaway hit was because almost everyone could connect with at least one character from the story. “During the initial days of the release, I was at the market when a women came to me and told me, ‘your book made me look at my daughter differently’. That was when I felt the purpose of writing the book was served,” she recalls