Booker Prize Winner Banu Mushtaq on Giving Voice to India’s Silent Sufferings

Banu Mushtaq, a longtime women’s rights advocate and Kannada writer, has won the 2025 International Booker Prize for her collection of short stories, ‘Heart Lamp.’ The work, which draws from decades of listening to the silences and struggles of Indian women, has earned her global recognition for highlighting the pervasive issues of gender-based violence and systemic oppression.

In this conversation with Jaya Bhattacharji Rose, Mushtaq discusses her motivations for writing, the transformation of personal pain into social protest, and the significance of her win for marginalized voices in India.

Why Did You Choose to Write?

When asked why she chose to write, Mushtaq explained that it was a necessity. As an activist and advocate, she has spent years working with women who face immense challenges. While she cannot always provide immediate relief, she feels a deep responsibility to document their struggles and raise awareness about the violence perpetuated by patriarchy.

She emphasized that writing allows her to give voice to the silent suffering of women and to demand that society address these issues. ‘I cannot simply forget their issues,’ she said. ‘It haunts me like anything and it never allows me to be at peace. I want to be a voice to their worries and I want to voice all their issues and say to the entire world that these women should be compensated, they should be liberated and they should be given their due place.’

The Universality of Violence in Women’s Lives

Mushtaq also discussed the universality of the violence depicted in her work. She noted that patriarchy is a global issue, affecting all communities and social strata. ‘Patriarchy is prevalent among all sections of society, all communities and it is universal in nature,’ she said. ‘I have addressed this patriarchy and I have challenged the power structure which is subjugating women and compelling them to stay within four walls and which is compelling them to adhere to their orders without questions.’

The collection explores various stages of a woman’s life, from childhood to motherhood, highlighting the multiple roles and pressures placed on women. ‘These were part of the many factors that I was looking into when I was making these choices,’ she said. ‘So one of the factors was to look into how women were treated in different situations and circumstances. And, the life cycle of a woman from childhood to girlhood to a new wife and so on.’

The Role of Translation in Preserving Voice

Deepa Bhasthi, the translator of ‘Heart Lamp,’ shared her process of selecting the stories for the collection. She emphasized the importance of personal connection and thematic diversity in the curation process. ‘I see translation as a very instinctive process,’ she said. ‘I’m not sure I am quite able to intellectualise the politics of choice at the moment, at least maybe it’s something that I need to think about for a long time.’

Bhasthi also highlighted the role of multilingualism in preserving the cultural and linguistic richness of the original text. ‘Multilinguality is not as rare as we like to think it is,’ she said. ‘We engage with a lot of different languages, at least three, and likely more. So, words or phrases from another language creep into our everyday conversations.’

She stressed the importance of retaining the musicality of the original language in the translation. ‘I wanted to completely reject that premise because we don’t speak like the British, we don’t speak like the Americans,’ she said. ‘And I think that is where the musicality is retained.’

The Cultural Fabric of Inclusivity

Mushtaq also spoke about the cultural fabric of inclusivity in Indian society. She described a tradition of mutual support among neighbors, regardless of religion or community. ‘Our culture teaches us, whether it be Hindu or Muslim or Christian or whether it may be Kannadiga or Tamil or Malayali, the culture of human beings, the culture of neighbourhood,’ she said. ‘We are Muslims, and if there was a feast the female elders of the family would bring a plate of sweets, coconut, prawn, flowers, everything to share with our neighbours, who were vegetarian. Though they won’t take non-veg food, we used to go to their home and we used to offer them sweets and all these types of things. And they would invite us for their feasts.’

She noted that while the fabric may have been tarnished, the spirit of inclusivity remains. ‘There is no question of othering. There is a question of only inclusiveness,’ she said.

Conclusion

Mushtaq’s work, ‘Heart Lamp,’ is a powerful testament to the resilience and struggles of Indian women. Through her writing, she has given voice to the silent sufferings of women and has challenged the structures of oppression that continue to silence them. Her win at the International Booker Prize is a recognition of her important contribution to literature and to the global conversation on gender justice.