
The Future That Was
A History of Third World Feminism Against Authoritarianism
Durba Mitra(Author)
Princeton University Press
Published on 17. March 2026
Book
Hardback
352 pages
978-0-691-23360-4 (ISBN)
Description
How Third World women seized the means of knowledge production to fight against rising authoritarianism and imagine a future freer than our present
Beginning in the 1970s, women of the decolonizing world offered new visions of liberation that centered the ideas and lives of women. Galvanized by International Women's Year in 1975 and the UN's Decade of Women, Third World women developed novel ideas of equality and self-determination, building a new internationalism in opposition to neocolonialism and postcolonial authoritarianism. In The Future That Was, feminist historian Durba Mitra offers a pathbreaking account of how these women wrote Third World feminism into being, catalyzing a momentous expansion of knowledge about women, gender, and sexuality that transformed emancipatory politics across the globe.
Mitra shows how women from former colonies in South Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and beyond envisioned a radically just world-and did so by insisting that research on the world's women lay at the heart of debates about global inequality, development, and human rights. Women gathered at international conferences, wrote reports on the dangers facing women, and took to the streets in protest, building a world of knowledge that contested the devastating effects of patriarchy and colonialism. Yet, despite hundreds of laws, institutions, and publications created through the efforts of these women, the future they imagined was never fully realized. The Future That Was transforms the story of decolonization and its aftermath through the history and ideas of women. By excavating these vital pasts, Mitra shows how we might envision a future of our own that is freer than the present.
Beginning in the 1970s, women of the decolonizing world offered new visions of liberation that centered the ideas and lives of women. Galvanized by International Women's Year in 1975 and the UN's Decade of Women, Third World women developed novel ideas of equality and self-determination, building a new internationalism in opposition to neocolonialism and postcolonial authoritarianism. In The Future That Was, feminist historian Durba Mitra offers a pathbreaking account of how these women wrote Third World feminism into being, catalyzing a momentous expansion of knowledge about women, gender, and sexuality that transformed emancipatory politics across the globe.
Mitra shows how women from former colonies in South Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, and beyond envisioned a radically just world-and did so by insisting that research on the world's women lay at the heart of debates about global inequality, development, and human rights. Women gathered at international conferences, wrote reports on the dangers facing women, and took to the streets in protest, building a world of knowledge that contested the devastating effects of patriarchy and colonialism. Yet, despite hundreds of laws, institutions, and publications created through the efforts of these women, the future they imagined was never fully realized. The Future That Was transforms the story of decolonization and its aftermath through the history and ideas of women. By excavating these vital pasts, Mitra shows how we might envision a future of our own that is freer than the present.
Reviews / Votes
"[A] rich and enlightening examination of Third World feminism, including its origins, hopes, challenges and visions for the future. Deeply researched, this is a valuable and engaging volume."---Karla J. Strand, Ms. MagazineMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
New Jersey
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Trade binding
Illustrations
20 b/w illus.
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 160 mm
Thickness: 33 mm
Weight
654 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-691-23360-4 (9780691233604)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
03/2026
1st Edition
Princeton University Press
€32.49
Available for download
Person
Durba Mitra is the author of Indian Sex Life: Sexuality and the Colonial Origins of Modern Social Thought (Princeton).