The Rape of Sita

Sita is a strong woman, inspiration to the weak, a living legend in Mauritian society. Yet Sita has buried a secret that threatens to overwhelm her: she was raped by a 'friend' eight years before. Sita's painful and angry search to come to terms with her past extends beyond her physical violation to encompass other forms of powerlessness and oppression. Echoing ancient myths, folk tales and religious prophecies, Sita's struggle to remember her own history and her own rape comes to symbolise all rapes, all violations, all colonisations. Winner of the Commonwealth Writers' Prize