From Homebreakers to Jailbreakers

Against all the odds, Southall Black Sisters, a poorly funded, radical women‘s group has become synonymous with black British feminism over the last twenty-one years. They have not merely offered welfare advice from their West London base but have spearheaded campaigns on a range of issues from abused women who kill (such as the celebrated case of Kiranjit Ahluwalia) to the dangers posed to women by the rise of religious fundamentalism.This important anthology makes the connections between race, gender and class and ensures that a neglected area of current feminist debate is not lost to history through a failure to record insights gained in the heat of activism. A provocatively argued book, From Homebreakers to Jailbreakers is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the dynamics of the relationship between the disempowered margins of society and the state and the power balance between men and women.

Rahila Gupta is Editor and member of the Management Committee of Southall Black Sisters. A leading Asian women's group, active in Southall near London since early 1979, they have spearheaded many high profile campaigns on domestic violence, for example on abused women who kill, and on changes to immigration rules. Their reputation is national and international.