[Please note that this Call for Papers is for Indian authors/authors in India ONLY as this is a India Country Issue]
An Invitation to contribute to the December 2016 Issue of “in God’s image” on the theme,”A World for All: Towards Just and Inclusive Spaces”: A woman’s search for a just and inclusive world is endless as she struggles to survive in a kyriarchal world. In India where gender insensitivity and violence are unfortunately part and parcel of everyday life, women have developed tremendous capacity to withstand the trauma that they are forced into. Women’s psyche constantly wears out due to the surpassing amount of fears and tears that the societal gender norms dictate. These oppressive gender norms intertwine with their sexualities, by which their yearning for emancipation often gets trapped in distorted perceptions of sexualised bodies through heterosexual normativity. To this we can add the economic paradigmIndia has opted for and pursues with relentless speed, that very intentionally excludes millions of women and others on the periphery of society, literally struggling to survive through each day. Further, the strong forms of cultural nationalism that are being imposed on the people by the dominant Hindutva minority, who pursue their agenda of exclusion of religious minorities with indifferent backing by the ruling party and government.
Scriptures, traditions, histories have forgotten to remember the surmounting contributions of women in the past. Their identities have been submerged in their ongoing longing to emerge anew as empowered entities amidst the vicious cycle of male chauvinism. Family, church and other religious spaces, society and world at large have raised borders and boundaries, which keep women in rigid compartments of narrow identities. In India, especially in the context of deep rooted nexus among caste, class, gender, age and sexuality, women’s aspirations to discover new avenues to find fullness of life have faced enormous obstacles both within family and society. However, women’s subjectivity plays a significant role in determining what they desire to achieve, and in channeling their positive energy and potential to aim for fuller affirmation of dignity and worth. Women have worked in solidarity with other women (and men)with similar understandings of liberation and have thus achieved a greater sense of empowerment. It is not utopian any longer for re-imagining an egalitarian world – a just and inclusive space – since a great amount of conscientizing efforts are in place. To the positive responses of women, particularly in resisting violence and exclusion can be added the powerful new theological voices of women in India particularly Dalit and Adivasi younger women. They explore with conviction theological meaning for the context in which they find themselves discovering liberating images from India’s past and often hidden histories and contexts. Eco-theological explorations, particularly from Indigenous women are signs of hope! It is against this backdrop that the December issue of in God’s image (iGi) is planned to draw together the life experiences, creative narratives, and critical theological reflections of Indian women, (and men) that would propose the possibility for a world for all embracing just and inclusive spaces. Thetheme of quadrennial assembly of the National Council of Churches in India for 2016-2020 is “Towards just and inclusive communities”, through which the member churches are invited to strive towards creating new ways of finding justice and inclusivity within human communities and with nature. The editors of the December 2016 issue of IGI invite Indian women and men to contribute articles on the theme “A World for all: Towards Just and Inclusive Spaces”. These could be in any literary (or artistic form) such as life stories, poems, essays, articles, creative narratives, plays or critical writings. Word limit of contributions may vary, but should not exceed 3000 words.
Dates to remember: Submission of title and abstract (250 words): 30th June 2016
Submission of contributions: 15th August 2016
Publication of iGi : 1st December 2016
Please send your articles to the Guest editors email ids: agnanadason@gmail.com, and to ljayachitra@gmail.com.
Hurry the deadlines are upon us soon!!
Warmly,
Aruna Gnanadason and Jayachitra Lalitha, Guest Editors (India issue)