Why this Book Matters
Kavita Arora curates dissenting opinions from courts across South Asia, framing them as queer pedagogies for litigators.
Key Takeaways for Feminist Litigators
- Dissents can seed future majority opinions when they include action-oriented remedies;
- Queer temporality challenges narrow limitation periods for relationship recognition; and
- Language lists (glossaries) make judgments accessible beyond elite legal circles.
Favorite Chapter: Madras HC and the Politics of Care
The chapter reconstructs S. Sushma v. Commissioner of Police by centering queer mothers who provided safe houses when state shelters refused entry. It offers annotated briefs that bring positionality statements into the record.
Reading this chapter felt like sitting in a litigation strategy meeting with queer organizers.
Research Methods to Borrow
| Tool | How to adapt |
|---|---|
| Litigation zines | Summarize interim orders in community languages |
| Archival timelines | Track executive responses to queer rights litigation |
| Audio glossaries | Explain legal doctrine via WhatsApp voice notes |
This book is an invitation to write judgments as pedagogy. Each dissent is a syllabus, and each syllabus is a roadmap for feminist legal imagination.
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#book review#queer jurisprudence#legal writing
Prerna Mittal
Feminist Scholar