Unbecoming Quotes

“They canceled the elections. They censored the newspapers. They locked up the journalists. Anyone who dared to speak the truth was tortured. Paychecks were suddenly halved, or they didn’t come at all. Abbu had to close his jewelry shop. Armed guards patrolled the streets to keep us in our place. We were no longer free in our own homes. Who did the government blame for this horror? Us, of course. They blamed “internal turmoil.” They blamed the ordinary people of India. They said we were causing “disturbances.” That we didn’t work hard enough and that’s why the economy was failing. They said it was because of us that they were forced to declare the Emergency, an endless period of martial law and dictatorship where even our own bodies were not under our control. It was all a lie. When they came for the men, I didn’t understand what was happening. Why were men being forced to have surgery? Sterilized against their will? Why? But then it all started to make sense. I began to understand how power really works. Start with policing what happens in the nation’s bedrooms. The personal is always political. Do you understand that? That’s why governments are obsessed with making laws about marriage, about sex, about contraception, about pleasure, because they want to have power over us in our most intimate spaces. If they can do that, if they can control our love, our desires, well then, they have control over every part of us.”
― Seema Yasmin, Unbecoming

“- They canceled the elections. They censored the newspapers. They locked up the journalists. Anyone who dared to speak the truth was tortured. Paychecks were suddenly halved, or they didn’t come at all. Abbu had to close his jewelry shop. Armed guards patrolled the streets to keep us in our place. We were no longer free in our own homes. Who did the government blame for this horror? Us, of course. They blamed “internal turmoil.” They blamed the ordinary people of India. They said we were causing “disturbances.” That we didn’t work hard enough and that’s why the economy was failing. They said it was because of us that they were forced to declare the Emergency, an endless period of martial law and dictatorship where even our own bodies were not under our control. It was all a lie. When they came for the men, I didn’t understand what was happening. Why were men being forced to have surgery? Sterilized against their will? Why? But then it all started to make sense. I began to understand how power really works. Start with policing what happens in the nation’s bedrooms. The personal is always political. Do you understand that? That’s why governments are obsessed with making laws about marriage, about sex, about contraception, about pleasure, because they want to have power over us in our most intimate spaces. If they can do that, if they can control our love, our desires, well then, they have control over every part of us.”
― Seema Yasmin, Unbecoming