Have you read Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls? When the book was published a couple of years ago, it was all the rage. It was full of real-life stories of inspirational women who weren’t afraid to chase their dreams. However, only two Indian women, namely Rani Laxmi Bai and Mary Kom were featured in this book. I, with all my heart, really wished for a similar book featuring all the inspirational Indian women icons and the wait wasn’t for long.
I came across the Goodnight stories for Rebel girls when I was looking for a gift to my niece who was visiting India from the U.S. Needless to say, she absolutely loved it for it featured a hundred women who dared to break the glass ceiling.
Aparna Jain’s Like a Girl is a similar book focusing on 56 Indian women from all walks of life. What catches your eye at first is the hardcover and the beautiful illustrations. Some of those just took my breath away!
From Bhanwari Devi and Sultana Razia, to modern day icons like Burkha Dutt and P.V. Sindhu, Like a Girl covers pioneers from almost all the professions. As you can find in the above Instagram post, Kalpana Chawla is one Indian woman that I truly look up to.
Truly motivational and thought-provoking, Like a Girl is a must-read to young and old alike. It discusses their journey breaking taboos, fighting hardships and chasing dreams to reach where they are now. It also discusses the importance of gender equality, the importance of education for girls and also, caste and creed equity.
The book isn’t preachy and you can easily read about each icon like a short story. Like a Girl by Aparna Jain would make for a great gift to young girls and also as a personal copy for yourself. My only pet peeve being, the book doesn’t shy away from sensitive issues. So, I’d definitely recommend parental supervision to discuss topics like sexual assault.
That’s all for now!
Have you read Like a Girl? If not, you must!
I hope you’ll drop by tomorrow too.
My theme for the A to Z Challenge this year is ‘Celebrating the Bibliophile in me’, where I would share the books, authors and fictional characters that I love, loathe and tolerate.
Ah, there could be more!
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XOXO,
P. S: Do you want to treat yourself with a multitude of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes from the Spice Capital of the World? Check out my food blog for some tantalizing recipes from Kerala.
Noor Anand Chawla says
I haven’t read Good Night Stories yet though I do own a copy. You’re prompting to pick that and Like A Girl up. Nice review 🙂