{{short description|Indian novelist and short story writer in Malayalam}} {{For|the British journalist|Sarah Joseph (editor)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2021}} {{Use Indian English|date=October 2021}} {{Infobox writer | name = Sarah Joseph | image = Sara Joseph - Malayalam Writer and Activist.jpg | caption = Sarah Joseph | pseudonym = | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1946}} | birth_place = Thrissur, Kingdom of Cochin, British India<br>(present day Kerala, India) | death_date = | death_place = | occupation = Writer | nationality = | period = Feminism | genre = Novel, short story, essay | subject = | movement = Feminist literature | debutworks = | influences = | influenced = | signature = | website = | footnotes = | notableworks = {{Bulleted_list|''Aalahayude Penmakkal''|''Puthuramayanam''|''Oduvilathe Suryakanthi''}}
}}
'''Sarah Joseph''' (born 1946) is an Indian novelist and short story writer in Malayalam. She won the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award and the Vayalar Award for her novel ''Aalahayude Penmakkal'' (Daughters of God the Father). She is a leader of the feminist movement in Kerala and is the founder of the activist organization Manushi. She joined the Aam Aadmi Party in 2014 and contested the 2014 parliament elections from Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency.
==Biography== Sarah Joseph was born into a conservative Christian family<ref name="ie_jul09" /> at Kuriachira in Thrissur city in 1946 to Louis and Kochumariam.<ref name="Mathrubhumi">{{cite news |title=സാറാ ജോസഫ് |url=https://archives.mathrubhumi.com/books/special/mbifl2019/speakers/sarah-joseph-mbifl-2019-1.3489591 |work=Mathrubhumi |language=en}}</ref> She was married at the age of 15<ref name="Santhosh 2011"/> when she was in class IX. She attended the teacher's training course and began her professional career as a school teacher.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> Later, she received her B.A. and M.A. in Malayalam as a private candidate and joined the collegiate service in Kerala.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> She served as a Professor of Malayalam at Sanskrit College, Pattambi.<ref name="Mathrubhumi"/> She has since retired from government service and lives at Mulamkunnathukavu in Thrissur district. Her daughter Sangeetha Sreenivasan is also a writer.<ref>{{cite web |title=എഴുത്തുകാര് ആക്രമിക്കപ്പെടുന്നു ; നാം ജീവിക്കുന്നത് ഭീതി ഒരു അനുഭവമായി നിലനില്ക്കുന്ന കാലത്ത് : സാറാ ജോസഫ് |url=https://azhimukham.com/archive/krithi-internationalbook-fair-keralas-renaissance-did-not/cid3364250.htm |website=azhimukham.com |language=ml |date=15 February 2019 |access-date=21 February 2022 |archive-date=20 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220920163345/https://azhimukham.com/archive/krithi-internationalbook-fair-keralas-renaissance-did-not/cid3364250.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref>
Sarah Joseph is also a well-known social activist and feminist movement leader.<ref name="Santhosh 2011">{{cite news |last1=Santhosh |first1=K. |title=A voice against violation |url=https://www.thehindu.com/features/metroplus/society/a-voice-against-violation/article2096088.ece |access-date=29 July 2021 |work=The Hindu |date=June 12, 2011}}</ref><ref name="Binduraj 2014">{{cite news |last1=Binduraj |first1=J |title=Kerala opens up to AAP, writer-activist Sara Joseph to join Arvind Kejriwal |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/south/story/kerala-opens-up-to-aap-writer-activist-sara-joseph-to-join-kejriwal-176414-2014-01-11 |access-date=29 July 2021 |work=India Today |date=January 11, 2014}}</ref> In the 1980s, she founded the women's group Manushi at Sanskrit College in Pattambi, where she also taught Malayalam and literature.<ref name="Santhosh 2011"/> With her group, she led protests over several decades in response to a wide range of crimes against women, including rape, dowry deaths, trafficking, and sexual slavery.<ref name="Santhosh 2011"/>
She joined the Aam Aadmi Party in January 2014,<ref name="Binduraj 2014"/><ref>{{cite news |last1=Special Correspondent |title=Sara Joseph joins AAP |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/sara-joseph-joins-aap/article5572972.ece |access-date=29 July 2021 |work=The Hindu |date=January 13, 2014 |quote=Updated May 13, 2016}}</ref> and was fielded by the party as a candidate from the Thrissur Lok Sabha constituency in the 2014 parliament elections,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Parsai |first1=Gargi |title=AAP fields author Sara Joseph against Chacko |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/aap-fields-author-sara-joseph-against-chacko/article5740307.ece |access-date=29 July 2021 |work=The Hindu |date=March 1, 2014 |quote=Updated May 19, 2016}}</ref> but lost to C. N. Jayadevan of Communist Party of India.
==Literary career== Her literary career began when she was in high school. Many of her poems appeared in Malayalam weeklies. She was also good at reciting her poems at poets' meets which was much appreciated by poets like Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon and Edasseri Govindan Nair.<ref name="keralagov">{{cite web|url=http://www.kerala.gov.in/keralacallfeb04/p30-31.pdf|title=Sarah Joseph – A writer of women, for women|last=Panjikaran|first=Mariamma|publisher=Government of Kerala|access-date=20 March 2010|archive-date=3 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200503164020/https://kerala.gov.in/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
She has published a trilogy of novels which includes ''Aalahayude Penmakkal'', ''Mattathi'', and ''Othappu''.<ref name="Satchidanandan 2015">{{cite news |last1=Satchidanandan |first1=K |title=Finding her voice |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/columns/K_Satchidanandan/finding-her-voice/article6993777.ece#! |access-date=29 July 2021 |work=Frontline |date=April 3, 2015}}</ref><ref name="ie_jul09">{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cross-examination/490684/0|title=Cross Examination|last=Babu Paul|first=D.|date=19 July 2009 |publisher=Indian Express|access-date=20 March 2010}}</ref> Othappu has been translated into English by Valson Thampu under the title ''Othappu: The Scent of the Other Side''.<ref name="hindu_sep09">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/lr/2009/09/06/stories/2009090650140400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121107160521/http://www.hindu.com/lr/2009/09/06/stories/2009090650140400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 November 2012|title=Wages of freedom |date=6 September 2009 |access-date=20 March 2010|work=The Hindu|location=Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.himalmag.com/Veiled-passions-Othappu-by-Sarah-Joseph-and-Amen-by-Sister-Jesme_nw3609.html|title=Veiled passions: 'Othappu' by Sarah Joseph and 'Amen' by Sister Jesme|publisher=himalmag.com|access-date=20 March 2010|archive-date=21 December 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091221054140/http://www.himalmag.com/Veiled-passions-Othappu-by-Sarah-Joseph-and-Amen-by-Sister-Jesme_nw3609.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> Her novel ''Aalahayude Penmakkal'' won her three major awards – the Kerala Sahitya Academy Award, the Kendra Sahitya Akademi Award, and the Vayalar Award.<ref name="Santhosh 2011" /><ref name="hindu_oct04">{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2004/10/10/stories/2004101009940400.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041104224853/http://www.hindu.com/2004/10/10/stories/2004101009940400.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=4 November 2004|title=Sarah Joseph bags Vayalar Award|date=10 October 2004|access-date=20 March 2010|work=The Hindu|location=Chennai, India}}</ref> It also received the Cherukad Award.<ref>[https://malayalam.oneindia.com/culture/2000/20001021sara.html "ചെറുകാട് അവാര്ഡ് സാറാജോസഫിന്"]. ''Oneindia'' (in Malayalam). 2 October 2000. Retrieved 28 February 2021.</ref>
She is known for ''Ramayana Kathakal'', a retelling of the Ramayana.<ref name="Nagpaul 2015">{{cite news |last1=Nagpaul |first1=Dipti |title=Our many Ramayanas: Feminist writer Sarah Joseph and her son Vinaykumar KJ retell the epic |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/our-many-ramayanas-feminist-writer-sarah-joseph-and-her-son-vinaykumar-kj-retell-the-epic/ |access-date=29 July 2021 |work=The Indian Express |date=November 10, 2015}}</ref> An English translation of this work has been published by the Oxford University Press.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/21/stories/2005082101820200.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070811132325/http://www.hindu.com/2005/08/21/stories/2005082101820200.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 August 2007|title=Retelling the Ramayana |date=21 August 2005|access-date=20 March 2010|work=The Hindu|location=Chennai, India}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Bonnie G.|title=The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History: Kaffka|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2008|volume=3|pages=570|isbn=9780195148909|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LgPYAAAAMAAJ&q=sarah+joseph+malayalam|access-date=20 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/03/14/stories/2006031400250600.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012055645/http://www.hindu.com/mp/2006/03/14/stories/2006031400250600.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=12 October 2008|title=Bridging cultures |date=14 March 2006 |access-date=20 March 2010|work=The Hindu|location=Chennai, India}}</ref>
In 2011, she won the Muttathu Varkey Award for her collection of short stories titled ''Papathara''.<ref name="Santhosh 2011" /><ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/contentView.do?tabId=0&programId=1080132912&contentId=9232597&contentType=EDITORIAL|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707232455/http://english.manoramaonline.com/cgi-bin/MMOnline.dll/portal/ep/contentView.do?tabId=0&programId=1080132912&contentId=9232597&contentType=EDITORIAL|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 July 2012|title=Sarah Joseph wins Muttathu Varkey Award|date=28 April 2011|publisher=Malayala Manorama|access-date=2 May 2011}}</ref> A collection of her short stories translated into English, ''The Masculine of ‘Virgin’'' was released in 2012, including her story ''Papathara'', from the collection that led K. Satchidanandan to create the word "Pennezhuthu," which was defined by ''The Hindu'' as "writing seen as a feminist concept, in which the author uses female constructions of identity."<ref name="Santhosh 2012">{{cite news |last1=Santhosh |first1=K. |title=Wider readership for Sarah Joseph's acclaimed stories |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/wider-readership-for-sarah-josephs-acclaimed-stories/article3670046.ece |access-date=29 July 2021 |work=The Hindu |date=July 23, 2012}}</ref>
She is also the recipient of the first O. V. Vijayan Sahitya Puraskaram in 2011 for her novel ''Ooru Kaval''. In 2012 she won the Padmaprabha Literary Award.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.keralawomen.gov.in/index.php/headlines/241-padmaprabha-award-for-sara-joseph|title=Padmaprabha award for Sara Joseph|date=20 November 2012|publisher=Kerala Women|access-date=22 November 2015}}</ref>
On 10 October 2015, Joseph joined a protest by writers when she returned her 2003 Sahitya Akademi Award, stating, "There is a growing fear and lack of freedom under the present government", and criticising silence by the Sahitya Akademi in response murders of writers and mob violence.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Koshy |first1=Sneha Mary |title=Another Writer Returns Award, Says, 'Not The Free India I Lived In' |url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/now-kerala-writer-sarah-joseph-to-return-sahitya-akademi-award-1230505 |access-date=6 August 2021 |work=NDTV |date=October 10, 2015}}</ref>
==Selected works== ===Short stories=== *''Raktachandran'' (The Blood-Moon)<ref name="Satchidanandan 2015" /> *''Dukhavelli'' (The Good Friday)<ref name="Satchidanandan 2015" /> *''Manassile Thee Matram'' (1973) *''Kadinte Sangeetham'' (1975, anthology of short stories) *''Pathalappadikal'' (Steps to the Netherworld)<ref name="Satchidanandan 2015" /> *''Papathara'' (The Ground of Sin)<ref name="Satchidanandan 2015" /> *''Prakasiniyude Makkal'' (Prakasini’s Children)<ref name="Satchidanandan 2015" /> *''Dampatyam'' (In Marriage)<ref name="Satchidanandan 2015" /> *''Oduvilathe Suryakanthi'' *''Nilavu Nirayunnu'' *''Puthuramayanam'' *''Kaadithu Kandaayo Kaanthaa'' *''Nanmathinmakalude Vriksham'' (anthology of short stories) (The Tree of Knowledge)<ref name="ie_jul09"/> *''Retelling the Ramayana: Voices from Kerala'', translated by Vasanthi Sankaranarayanan, OUP, 2005 *''The Masculine of the Virgin'', translated by J. Devika, OUP, 2013 *''Malayalathinte Suvarnakathakal'' - Sara Joseph (A collection of 24 Selected Stories of Sara Joseph, published by Green Books)
===Novels=== *''Thaikulam'' *''Aalahayude Penmakkal'' (The Daughters of Alaha)<ref name="Satchidanandan 2015" /><ref name="ie_jul09"/> *''Maattaathi'' (The Woman-Enemy)<ref name="Satchidanandan 2015" /> *''Othappu'' *''Othappu: The Scent of the Other Side'', translated by Valson Thampu, OUP, 2009<ref name="Satchidanandan 2015" /> *''Aathi''<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/article2157429.ece|date=4 July 2011|work=The Hindu|author=K. Santhosh|title=Water of love seeps through|access-date=12 July 2011}}</ref> *''Ooru Kaval''<ref name="Satchidanandan 2015" /> *''Aalohari Anandam'' *''Budhini'' *''Ati'' (''A Gift of Green'')<ref name="Satchidanandan 2015" /><ref name="Raju 2011">{{cite news |last1=Raju |first1=Abupama |title=More than propaganda |url=https://www.thehindu.com/books/more-than-propaganda/article2680990.ece |access-date=29 July 2021 |work=The Hindu |date=December 3, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Gift in Green: poem of land, beauty and pain |url=https://www.news18.com/news/books/book-review-27-409315.html |access-date=29 July 2021 |work=News18 |agency=CNN-IBN |date=October 13, 2011}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Sarah Joseph}}
{{Sahitya Akademi Award For Malayalam}} {{Kerala Sahitya Akademi Fellowship}} {{Malayalam Literature |state=collapsed}} {{Vayalar Awards}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Joseph, Sarah}} Category:Writers from Thrissur Category:Living people Category:1946 births Category:Indian women short story writers Category:Malayalam-language novelists Category:Malayalam short story writers Category:Indian women's rights activists Category:Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Malayalam Category:Recipients of the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award Category:Aam Aadmi Party candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Category:21st-century Indian short story writers Category:Aam Aadmi Party politicians Category:21st-century Indian novelists Category:20th-century Indian novelists Category:Women writers from Kerala Category:Activists from Kerala Category:Politicians from Thrissur Category:Novelists from Kerala Category:Indian feminist writers Category:20th-century Indian women novelists Category:21st-century Indian women novelists