Self-Discovery Journeys of Assata Shakur and Urmila Pawar: A Comparative Study

This paper presents a comparative analysis of the self-discovery narratives of Assata Shakur and Urmila Pawar, as portrayed in their autobiographies, "Assata: An Autobiography" and "Aaidan (The Weave of My Life)," respectively. Despite their distinct socio-political contexts – Shakur within the American Black Liberation Movement and Pawar within the Indian Dalit feminist movement – both women navigate intersecting systems of oppression based on race, caste, and gender. The paper explores how these systems catalyse their journeys of self-realization, examining the role of collective struggle, cultural reclamation, and narrative construction in their processes of self-discovery. It argues that their narratives offer valuable insights into the complexities of intersectional oppression and the power of resistance in shaping individual and collective identities.