Archive · 21 Aug 2026
Sameena Dalwai Reframes Love Jihad Through Women’s Agency
Sameena Dalwai wrote a book about how society controls women’s choices in love and marriage.
It looks at the idea called love jihad from a feminist point of view.
The book discusses Hindu, Muslim and Dalit women.
It uses personal stories and social analysis.
Dalwai says choosing a partner can sometimes be an act of courage and resistance.
She also says families, communities and the state can limit personal choice.
The book discusses issues such as caste, domestic violence and marital rape.
The reviewer praises the book’s ideas but says its many themes sometimes make the story feel less focused.
Sameena Dalwai’s 248-page book examines love jihad through a feminist framework.
The book explores Hindu, Muslim and Dalit women’s experiences of love, marriage, caste and religion.
Dalwai presents jihad as a struggle for self-determination rather than an act of violence.
She argues that love-jihad discourse enables moral policing and restricts women’s autonomy.
The review praises the book’s contribution but says its discussion can feel fragmented by its broad focus.
- Who
- Author Sameena Dalwai and the Hindu, Muslim and Dalit women whose experiences the book examines.
- What
- A review of Love Jihad: A Feminist Retelling, a book examining love, marriage, caste, religion and women’s agency.
- When
- The article discusses the book as a contemporary work; no specific publication date is stated.
- Where
- The case analyses are mainly set in Mumbai and address social realities in contemporary India.
- Why
- Dalwai aims to challenge stereotypes and examine how social, community and state controls restrict women’s choices.
- Book
- Love Jihad: A Feminist Retelling
- Author
- Sameena Dalwai
- Publisher
- Penguin
- Length
- 248 pages
- Price
- Rs 599
- Main focus
- Women’s agency in relationships shaped by love, marriage, caste and religion
- Analytical groups
- Hindu, Muslim and Dalit women