A modern visionary and one of the newest authors of British-Indian heritage, Shaheen Chishti has written a deeply emotional and raw story, poignantly telling the shared experience of three, very different women, who collectively use their voices to improve societal attitudes for their granddaughters.
The men around these women, who play prominent roles in their lives, put them into desperate situations. Young and alone, they fight to overcome their experiences. The result is a masterful original fiction novel, as profound as it is awe-inspiring.
“The Granddaughter Project” grips the reader, as the complex past lives of the women are revealed and their connection to one another deepens.
Touching upon a vast range of themes, including gender inequality, racial oppression, wartime trauma and female emancipation, “The Granddaughter Project” also examines some of history’s greatest tragedies, including The Holocaust which saw the systemic murder of six million European Jews during World War II, the 1958 Notting Hill race riots – a series of racially motivated riots that took place in the United Kingdom from August to September 1958 – as well as the devastating Bengal famine of 1943, which claimed the lives of an estimated three million people due to widespread starvation, malaria and other deadly diseases.
Helga is a holocaust survivor, who grew up as the cherub of her family until the Anschluss of Austria.
Separated from her family in Auschwitz, she survived the horrors alone and tried to begin a new life in Israel. In complete contrast, Kamla was born as a poor peasant girl and grew up during the Bengali Famine. With an alcoholic father, who abuses her mother, the family find themselves homeless and hungry. She survives and finds work in a women’s shelter, eventually marrying Rajeev, who abandons her and their young daughter.
Lynette leaves the Caribbean shores with her mother Pam,
arriving in 1950s London. Living in appalling conditions, the pair struggle to make ends meet and contend with constant discrimination.When her mother dies, Lynette is left alone and at the mercy of the people around her. During the Notting Hill riots, she is beaten and left for dead, but she still survives.
These warrior women tell their stories for the first time to their granddaughters, hoping that they can succeed where they failed and that they feel empowered, inspired and supported to do what is best for themselves.
Shaheen Chishti, author of the “Granddaughter Project”, said: “I am deeply humbled to be launching my debut novel, The Granddaughter Project. This is a work of love, which I hope will raise awareness of the importance of female empowerment and racial equality.
I was fortunate to have been raised with so many inspiring women around me in my life – all of whom have shaped me into
the person I am today. And so, I wanted this book to be a tribute to them and women around the world more generally – especially when it is saddening to know that many women are still being oppressed in so many communities around the world.This needs to change. I sincerely hope that my book contributes to that change. The empowerment of women is at the very heart of my religious beliefs and I want to make sure that my daughters know that they are just as important to society as
men.“Ultimately, I wanted to create a piece of work that unites people of regardless of their colour, nationality, religion or creed. Helga, Kamla and Lynette may be from totally different worlds, yet they
share one experience: misery at the hands of men in their lives.“I truly believe that this book demonstrates just how much of a melting pot the world is, but one in which we have more in common than is often assumed.”
“The Granddaughter Project” is to be made available across several major international markets in June 2021, including the United States, United Kingdom, India, Pakistan, Israel, South Africa, Brazil, Ghana and Singapore.
Some questions with Shaheen Chishti
Q – Exploring the themes of gender suppression, racial oppression, economic disadvantage and empowerment can be emotionally triggering as a writer. What was the process like?
It was helpful to draw from past experiences of my friends and family. I had to go through quite a lot in my mind about previous incidents and the ones that I witnessed. It was not easy at times as it triggered bad memories. But overall, it was a positive experience as I feel that the book highlights society’s mistakes and weaknesses with the view to improve it for the better. I also wanted to help young women find their voices and power, and to make the most for themselves – not for their society. So many young women now are the living legacies of strong women who came before them, able to live their lives and enjoy their freedoms and identities because of the sacrifices made by their grandmothers. So many grandmothers went to their graves without telling their stories, for fear of the repercussion and consequences upon their families. Some understandably lacked courage, others lacked opportunity. But now they can be unburdened.
Q – How did you come up with this heart-warming title for the novel?
I feel that “The Granddaughter Project” allows for more cross generation interest and connection. The title makes me think of all these grandmothers together and deciding to do something important for their granddaughters. It is a simple of way of conveying that these women set out to make something positive happen and put in hard work, planning and effort. They had a vision and they were going to make it succeed.
Q – In general, ethnic communities from across religions have placed immense trust and faith in your ancestors. Does that put you under any kind of pressure as a writer because people expect a certain level of spiritual touch from you?
Yes, my ancestors have been the unifying force between all communities (Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jews – all faiths). I wanted to be fair and honest about my account of the issues that women face. I did feel the pressure in the sense that I must come up with a good product and I think that the readers will enjoy the end product. The Chishti Motto has always been: “Love towards all, malice towards none.”
Q – How will South Asian women be able to relate to your novel?
The first character in the book relates to Goddess Durga and someone from which women in India can take inspiration. The same would be applied to the first Muslim lady Khadija RA as she was a successful merchant. Other smaller South Asian communities can draw from this to their benefit. I really think that this book will go a long way in helping, resolving and changing many minds.
Q – How can more women come forward to tell untold and important stories of women?
We should encourage small women centres where these stories can be shared, confidential telephone lines to report any issues and education for men in issues where we are struggling are just some of my suggestions. I learnt so much about how women and girls bear the brunt of suffering and abuse – especially in times of war, famine and poverty. It was a real eye-opener in many ways. It is something that we know but until you read the extent of it, you don’t really believe it. Furthermore, we always associate this type of abuse with soldiers or the enemy, but in many cases, it was fathers, brothers and friends inflicting this mistreatment. It makes it so easy to dismiss these women as casualties of war, but they are preyed upon by men who want to make themselves feel better about their bad situations.