Why we must read more women writers

Every August, Women in Translation Month promotes the idea of celebrating the works of women writers in languages other than English.

Writers, especially those from different backgrounds, experiences, and cultural contexts, must be given a voice that would enable readers to experience the world through someone else’s eyes. | Photo Credit: Aaron Burden/Unsplash

As someone who began reviewing books online at the age of 11, research biologist and book blogger Meytal Radzinski realised over time that when it came to literature in translation, the books she enjoyed were less likely to be written by women. By late 2013, a series of independent observations began appearing online about the dearth of women writing in translation, most notably by the translator Alison Anderson.

The quote about nothing being as powerful as “an idea whose time has come” stands true for Women in Translation Month (or WIT Month), a global effort that Radzinski launched in August 2014 to promote the idea of celebrating the works of women writers in languages other than English. Ten years on, the initiative has become a global movement with both the online reading community and independent bookstores participating with enthusiasm every August.

Some readers might ask: why does this even matter? The WIT website provides an insightful answer: as readers, we deserve stories, narratives, and perspectives that truly reflect the enormity and diversity of the world out there. And that can happen when writers, especially those from different backgrounds, experiences, and cultural contexts, are given a voice that would enable us to experience the world through someone else’s eyes.

Frontline has curated a set of pieces from its Books and Literature sections, wherein one can discover short stories by women writers translated from different Indian languages, reviews of books that bring out the diverse narratives that exist in languages other than English, an insightful essay about the culture of translation in India, and a unique perspective by an acclaimed writer on why translation is a necessary service.