Book Review: "A Silent Voice Speaks" by Trishna Singh OBE

Finished this in less than 24 hours. 

I knew of Trishna as she’s done a lot of work at my former workplace, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, including meeting Prince William and Kate on the same day that I saw them for the first time! Thus, I have long admired her work and when I saw on insta that she had written a book I thought I’d buy it to support the cause, not expecting it to be one of the favourite books I’ve read this year, if not ever! I’ve long been on a campaign for more education about Sikhism – including at my own uni where we have never been taught about it my three Religious Studies degrees, despite the fact that we’ve learnt about other new age religions with only a couple of hundred followers. The little I knew about Sikhism comes from my experiences with Sikh friends, and from my own research in my spare time.  Trishna included a chapter on Sikhism, and in particular women in Sikhism, from which I learnt more than I have in 7 years at the school of divinity.

It opens with the following page...

'My name is Trishna Singh. I am a first generation Scottish Bhat Sikh woman and this is my story. This book is dedicated to the memories of the mothers and grandmothers of the Bhat Sikh community who lived and suffered in silence but survived against all odds. The hidden heroines who left everything in India, the land of their forefathers and mothers. They came to this strange and foreign land that they knew nothing of. To the generation of women of the Bhat community who stood up and made a life for themselves but remained true to their heritage and culture with pride. These are the voices of a community of women who have lived in two cultures for over half a century: unnoticed, invisible, always on the sidelines. Watching the world move on; always the observers, never the participants. Their hopes and dreams constantly stifled by internal cultural barriers that no one could see. 

The survivors of an invisible oppression that suffocated their thoughts, rendering them helpless. Only being allowed to do what everyone else demanded, never what they desired. These voices speak to you through this book. Hear them and know that they may have been your neighbours for over half a century, and you didn't get to know them.' 

This is what makes this book incredible, and touching, and inspiring, and brought me to tears more than once throughout the book. What I loved in particular though was that a constant theme throughout the book is the tension between religion and culture, and how often the oppressive and patriarchal practices of religions, especially in the South Asian context, come not from religion but from traditions (perpetuated and passed down by men). I also loved that she addressed the culpability of women in passing on these customs (many of which many couldn’t even explain why they were performed) and of fostering a culture where nothing could be challenged – something that I’ve studied a lot in my own PhD research (for example, rituals and taboos around menstruation in Nepal and India) but have also observed in many different contexts. It’s always difficult to address because it runs a risk of victim-blaming women for their own oppression, but Trishna does it in such a sensitive way that strikes the balance and encourages women to take control of their own lives and use their agency to carve their own paths, in accordance with the Sikh faith that stresses total equality of the genders in all areas of life. The strength that it takes to stand up to one’s community cannot be underestimated, and I admire Trishna so much for all that she’s done for women in her community and beyond.

I found the memoir particularly interesting because of all the local references – her children grew up on the same street where my grandparents lived, she’s related to a boy who was in my class at school, and several of my former colleagues are mentioned by name so it really hammered home her point that Scottish communities often live parallel lives with no idea what their neighbours from other religions or cultures are facing which is really important and really touched me personally. I also cried at several times throughout the book, mainly when she was discussing grief and loss – in such a short book I really felt like I’d lost a member of my own family which is crazy (but maybe because it was so close to my own family).

I really recommend this book to everyone, but especially to my friends in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and my RS friends. This is one of those rare intersectional gems which provides a history of Sikhism/Sikh women, Scottish history, Indian history, Scottish identity, Sikh identity, racism, feminism, education faith, loss, grief, love, family, business and everything in-between.