Promises for Tomorrow

Rekha is a 12-year-old girl growing up as the eldest daughter of Indian immigrants in South Africa during the 1940s and 1950s. Despite her strong and determined nature, she is innocent in many ways and struggles with her life as the cook, cleaner, and caregiver for her family, all while enduring emotional and physical abuse from her mother. As an Indian female, she is controlled, abused, and marginalized, and is expected to fulfill the patriarchal role of a “suitable wife.” When she discovers she is promised to a boy from a “good family,” Rekha dreams of a life filled with love, financial stability, and freedom, in an effort to escape her current life of hardship. Through Rekha’s story, we gain insight into the unique South African Indian experience, including customs and traditions surrounding marriage, childbirth, and death, as well as the struggles of newly arrived merchant immigrants trying to survive and succeed in a colonial, racist, and apartheid society.