LAHORE: Sexual violence against women is perpetrated in the process of creation of nations because women are seen as property of men and a way to destroy their psychological strength as has been seen in Bosnia, Rwanda, Bangladesh and the Partition of the sub-continent, said feminist writer and publisher Urvashi Butalia.

The author of the Other Side of Silence, a book based on real life stories of women who suffered violence during the Partition, was giving replies during a talk at the Last Word, moderated by Anam Zakaria.

Ms Butalia said it was easier for men to talk about the men who did the violence but there were stories where many of the people she tall(ed to were complicit in killing their own women in the name of honour.

Talking about the Other Side of Silence, she said that through the book she had looked at the human side of the history of the Partition as against the political history taught on both sides of the border.

`The story of grief and loss that followed the Partition was neveraddressed due to the euphoria of independence. However, there were many things that lay under that euphoria like the people`s narrative and the stories of gender, untouchables, Dalits, children and transgenders that were never looked at.

She mentioned the story of a transgender couple, Sona and Chaman, who were separated by the Partition. Sona had to move to Pakistan as male members of her family had been killed and she was the only surviving `male` member of the family while Chama remained in India.

She said there were also narratives of friendship and the stories of hatred and enmity, like those of minority communities that helped the survivors.

Ms Butalia, who also runs Zubaan, a feminist publishing house in India, said the biggest challenge in running a publishing house was convincing women that their voices had a value.

`When I started talking to women, it was rare that I was alone with them as they were always with their men and children whose interruptions made them started saying what the men wanted them to say. You have to listen to all thesilence, reading the body language when you talk to such women.

Ms Butalia said many women who faced violence were frightened to make their stories public.

Their children did not know about them and they themselves did not want to revisit that experience.

`I had to face the moral dilemma whether I had the right to rip apart their life. My book is a lot about silences including the silences in history. There were some silences that you (the writer) have to maintain,` she added.

Ms Butalia said she came across a thick book which had district-bydistrict data of the abducted women and children and their profiles like where a woman was abducted and who were possible abductors, exposing the point of view that rioters came from far-off places to kidnap women.

She said she did not have the courage yet to put this book online despite demands.

She said many women after the Partition did exercise a choice not to return to their families. In 1954, India was forced to repeal the legislation that allowed forcible return of the abducted women because there were women protests whosaid their choice of not to reunite with their families was being violated. They said so because the families were reluctant to take back the `impure women`.

Talking about the need of a feminist publishing house, Ms Butalia said women in India were no longer standing out of the scene, waiting to be heard. Women and other marginalised groups had a major role in questioning the dominant role which was patriarchal and male-dominated.

`When we started publishing, there was hardly any literature written by women that reflected on women. I talked to my bosses but they were unimpressed, thinking women did not have anything worthwhile to say. After we started publishing, other publishers realised that there was market for feminist writings. Now all the mainstream publishers are publishing women.

Ms Butalia said international publishers had expanded only the English language writing in India though publishing was done in 26 languages because it`s the language of power.

`Even Hindi and Malayalam languages are finding it hard to compete,` she deplored.said their choice of not to reunite with their families was being violated. They said so because the families were reluctant to take back the `impure women`.

Talking about the need of a feminist publishing house, Ms Butalia said women in India were no longer standing out of the scene, waiting to be heard. Women and other marginalised groups had a major role in questioning the dominant role which was patriarchal and male-dominated.

`When we started publishing, there was hardly any literature written by women that reflected on women. I talked to my bosses but they were unimpressed, thinking women did not have anything worthwhile to say. After we started publishing, other publishers realised that there was market for feminist writings. Now all the mainstream publishers are publishing women.

Ms Butalia said international publishers had expanded only the English language writing in India though publishing was done in 26 languages because it`s the language of power.

`Even Hindi and Malayalam languages are finding it hard to compete,` she deplored.