Women have spent generations being told how to behave, what makes a good mother or wife, and even how to navigate major life changes. But what happens when they begin questioning those expectations and writing their own stories?
For Dubai-based author Avni Doshi, whose debut novel Burnt Sugar was shortlisted for the Booker Prize, challenging these deeply ingrained ideas has become central to her work.
Speaking at the inaugural Khaleej Times Women’s Power Summit in Dubai on Wednesday, Doshi explored the power of storytelling and personal reinvention during a fireside chat titled What Comes Next? Embracing Change and Finding Your Own Path, moderated by Tamreez Inam, Senior Programme Director and Cultural Strategist.
“For the majority of history, stories have been told by men, mediated by men. Often women told stories and they had to have pseudonyms,” she said. “And I still think to this day, for a woman to tell her story and to own her story and to be unapologetic and authentic in that telling is a radical act.”
Doshi encouraged women to resist the instinct to make their stories more palatable to others, particularly when discussing uncomfortable subjects. “Don’t worry about lessening the discomfort of others. When you’re telling your story, enter with your full self, reflect your full self, and that act gives other women permission to do the same.”
Why she writes ‘unlikable women’
Known for creating complex female characters who challenge conventional expectations, Doshi also spoke about why she is drawn to women who are often labelled difficult or unlikable. “I’m kind of known for writing about unlikable women. But I’ll tell you, I really like them,” she said. “I think they’re really fascinating.”
Writing these characters, she added, has also challenged her own assumptions. “The act of writing for me personally has been a discovery that has also opened up my own ways of thinking. It forced me as well to face my own prejudices, my own conditioning.”
Source: Khaleej Times