This book is a search. For a position, a community, a perspective. Led by the memories of what she experienced as the daughter of a patriarchal Indian family, Priya Basil describes the oppression of women, as well as their incredible resourcefulness, and discusses the questions that need to be answered on the way to justice and equality. In Us and Now is at once a self-discovery of elegant beauty and brilliant analysis.

Priya Basil grows up in Nairobi as the daughter of Indian immigrants. There, as in much of the world, a conservative, patriarchal value system determines what to do and what not. Women find different ways of arranging themselves. Priya’s grandmother is loud, flamboyant, assertive, while her daughter, Priya’s mother, is quiet, obedient, accommodating. Priya herself is sent to study at the best schools in England. She begins to search for another way, moves to Berlin, takes on the role of author and human rights activist, eschews motherhood and seeks new forms of kinship, of belonging. Yet, she finds, whatever you do, it's hard to slip the heavy heritage of gender expectations and her questions are getting louder: what can be done against misogyny and the deeply entrenched devaluation of women in our language, economy, history and society? With the help of many disciplines, with the help of many allies, Priya Basil formulates an answer: Becoming Feminist, In Us and Now.