Monsoon Woman

Wouldn't Take No for an Answer

by Laxmi Lall


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Softcover
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Book Details

Language : English
Publication Date : 16/07/2019

Format : Softcover
Dimensions : 6x9
Page Count : 278
ISBN : 9781504318419
Format : E-Book
Dimensions : N/A
Page Count : 278
ISBN : 9781504318426

About the Book

Monsoon Woman tells the story of Laxmi Lall, a self-made woman who escaped domestic violence and religious control to carve a new life. She educated herself and ascended the corporate ladder; her struggles with domestic and religious control were replaced by the triple whammy of sexism, racism, and ultimately, ageism. Lall recounts her story starting as a child of privilege, living in mansions with a retinue of household staff, with her father, a high-ranking army officer and her mother, a society lady. She persisted through two unhappy marriages and the cruel and unusual punishments they brought. She tells how she earned her experiences the hard way in corporate life. Lall won despite the systemic obstacles placed in her path directly and indirectly by an unreflective patriarchy and the deep-rooted ethnocentrism of the mid- to late twentieth century and early twenty-first century. This memoir chronicles how Lall reinvented herself. She has found her passion working for women’s rights as well while gaining the freedom to follow her dreams. While first, second, and third waves of feminism have blunted the voices of migrant women, she remains a feminist and is an advocate for diversity and equity for women and a campaigner to end domestic violence.


About the Author

Laxmi Lall immigrated to Australia in the early 1970s as a young, married mother. Soon after, she left an abusive husband, taking her four-year-old daughter with her and experienced poverty, racist abuse, and sexism. She later earned two master’s degrees and worked for ASX100 and international organizations developing cultural change and diversity programs. Through her counselling practice and advocacy work, Lall supports, empowers, and challenges women to take control of their futures.