Shashi Deshpande was born in Karnataka, daughter of the renowned Kannada writer and Sanskrit scholar, Shriranga. She has degrees in Economics and Law as well as a postgraduate degree in English and a diploma in Journalism. Her writing career began after the birth of her two sons, with a collection of short stories, The Legacy which came out in 1978. Since then four more collections have been published.She is also the author of four children's books and six novels, the best known of which, That Long Silence, received the Sahitya Akademi award. Two of her other novels, The Dark Holds No Terror and Roots and Shadows have also received major awards. Her work has also been translated into a number of Indian and foreign languages.
In June 2004, Samina took the novel's message "to the streets" when she helped co-found a Muslim American feminist organization called Daughters of Hajar. Fellow cofounders are Asra Nomani and Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur. Together with a handful of other Muslim American women, the three founders walked peacefully into Asra Nomani's mosque in Morgantown, W. Virginia to reclaim women's rights to enter a mosque from the front door (and not, as was so often required of women in many mosques across the nation, through back entrances) and to pray in the main sanctuary. That small act created ripples across the world and was featured in every major newspaper and media outlet. There is a photo of the group in TIME Magazine walking toward the mosque. In it, Samina appears in a green parrot head scarf and black stiletto heels. One year after the event, the largest Muslim organization in America officially changed its policy, asserting that any woman could enter any mosque in the U.S. through the front door and pray in the main hall, if she so wanted. Since then, Samina has been involved with prominent Muslim organizations in the U.S. to help change the national dialogue about Islam and especially the perception of Muslim women.
Essays of hers have most recently been included in "Altared: bridezillas, big love, breakups, and what women really think about contemporary weddings", "The May Queen: Women on Life, Love & Career" and "Living Islam Out Loud" anthologies. She has also written for publications as diverse as Self and Child Magazines, The New York Times and The San Francisco Chronicle. She lives in California with her son.
In June 2004, Samina took the novel's message "to the streets" when she helped co-found a Muslim American feminist organization called Daughters of Hajar. Fellow cofounders are Asra Nomani and Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur. Together with a handful of other Muslim American women, the three founders walked peacefully into Asra Nomani's mosque in Morgantown, W. Virginia to reclaim women's rights to enter a mosque from the front door (and not, as was so often required of women in many mosques across the nation, through back entrances) and to pray in the main sanctuary. That small act created ripples across the world and was featured in every major newspaper and media outlet. There is a photo of the group in TIME Magazine walking toward the mosque. In it, Samina appears in a green parrot head scarf and black stiletto heels. One year after the event, the largest Muslim organization in America officially changed its policy, asserting that any woman could enter any mosque in the U.S. through the front door and pray in the main hall, if she so wanted. Since then, Samina has been involved with prominent Muslim organizations in the U.S. to help change the national dialogue about Islam and especially the perception of Muslim women.
Essays of hers have most recently been included in "Altared: bridezillas, big love, breakups, and what women really think about contemporary weddings", "The May Queen: Women on Life, Love & Career" and "Living Islam Out Loud" anthologies. She has also written for publications as diverse as Self and Child Magazines, The New York Times and The San Francisco Chronicle. She lives in California with her son.
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