Circle of Light, An Autobiography by Kiranjit Ahluwalia

The first book I read after finishing my thesis was one I borrowed from my landlord called Circle of Light- the autobiography of Kiranjit Ahluwalia. After writing my thesis on domestic violence in Afghanistan, this was a great follow-up to the subject- this one dealing with domestic violence within the Indian culture (of Kiranjit, an Indian woman living in the UK).

Kiran describes the story of her life- how she met her husband and moved with him to the UK from India. From the very first night of their marriage he was abusive towards her and she felt she had to deal with it because it was her honor as his wife. Basically she blames Indian culture's portrayal of how a woman should act in life and marraige as the reason she could not escape her abusive husband. She kills her husband accidentally by burning down their house and is charged with murder. The book continues with her story of life in prison and then the campaign began by the Southall Black Sisters to free her.

I liked the book a lot; it was a very easy read. The descriptions were great- especially the descriptions of prison and the comraderie of the women in prison. It took a few weeks to read (I read it somewhat distractedly, getting back into the swing of reading for pleasure as was). Definitely recommended reading by myself for anyone interested in feminism and struggles against domestic violence and cultures that ignore domestic violence as a rights violation.
3.2/ 4 stars.