“Woman is a burning ember which wind can turn into a firestorm,” was how Jesme, who shot into fame through her biography “Amen – The Biography of a Nun,” described femininity here on Wednesday.
Talking at a debate on the “Many layers of femininity” organised at Marine Drive as part of the 14th DC International Book Fest, Ms. Jesme said that men are constantly making efforts to reduce women into “ashes”.
She strongly opposed the view of the fellow panel member and writer Khadeeja Mumtaz's view that it was the biological ability to give birth to children that made women complete while leaving men incomplete.
Writer Unnikrishnan Avala said that his book on a tribal youth with womb remain testimony to the fact that the mere ability to bear children is not a mark of completeness. For him, it's more of a burden, he said.
Rosy Thampy, another author, felt that the womb was symbolic of women's ability to protect life and her ability to overcome grief.
Writer Thanuja Bhattathiri said that the concept of femininity should not be restricted to gender but should be seen in the wider spectrum of creativity.
Noted Media personality Pramod Raman was the moderator. Mathrukam by Khadeeja Mumtaz, Vipareetham by Unnikrishnan Avala and Sahajeevanam by Rosy Thomas were released on the occasion. The authors then spoke about their works.
