Speaking the unspeakable : marital violence among South Asian immigrants in the United States /

Using in-depth interviews, Abraham presents a detailed analysis of abused South Asian immigrant women in the US. She delineates the nature of the cultural and structural processes that influence the immigrant experience and the emergence and role of South Asian community service organizations in addressing marital violence. The author shows how abused immigrant women of color experience great difficulty as they face multiple issues of ethnicity, gender, class, and legal status (lack of citizenship). Abraham demonstrates that a "model minority" concept is problematic because it places South Asians hierarchically apart from other minorities and glosses over women's problems. She discusses the role and impact of three factors in exacerbating violence against these women: South Asian culture, forms of marriage and family, and the racist-sexist and capitalist-oriented US immigration policy. This study also focuses on immigrant women's isolation, forms of abuse, barriers they encounter, strategies of resistance they adopt, help provided both by informal networks and by South Asian women's organizations, and the politics of empowerment of women. Abraham argues for a more holistic approach to domestic violence by scholars, activists, and policy makers. The compelling narratives and meticulous analysis highly recommend this book. Upper-division undergraduates and above. D. A. Chekki; University of Winnipeg