Outside Women

Would you risk your own life to pursue justice for a stranger? Two migrant women—separated by geographies and generations—face this same devastating choice.

Lured away from her home in 1890s India, Sita is brought to South Africa as an indentured servant—one among millions funneled by the British to replace the recently abolished slave trade. One hundred years later, Hajra, a Pakistani scholar, is forced to flee her home in Peshawar after witnessing a violent act meant to target her. In New York City, she loses herself in academic research until she comes face-to-face with a photo of a laughing, defiant young woman brandishing a banner in protest. Inexorably drawn to this woman, Hajra travels to South Africa to learn more and unknowingly traces Sita's path.

With raw imagery and rich sensory detail, Roohi Choudhry's incandescent debut novel Outside Women intertwines the narratives of two women painfully yet valiantly carving their existences outside of patriarchal and colonial spaces as they search for kinship and strength in solidarity.

Praise for Outside Women

MOST ANTICIPATED FEMINIST BOOKS OF 2025 - MS. MAGAZINE

"...a riveting dual narrative of two South Asian women faced with similar moral dilemmas a century apart... the novel keenly portrays the power of female solidarity. The result is an incisive story of how change happens."

— Publishers' Weekly

"...a gripping historical novel that contrasts the abuses of patriarchy and misogyny with the power of women to stand for freedom, truth, and justice. Notable for its emotional depth, lively pace, and smooth transitions as it moves across time and continents, this complex, nuanced story.. celebrates the strength of women and the warmth of human friendship and loyalty."

— Foreword Reviews (Starred)

"With themes of feminism, colonialism, migration and autonomy, Outside Women is fierce and fresh."

— Ms. Magazine

“In her lyrical and luminous debut novel, Outside Women, Roohi Choudhry conjures a visceral yet dreamlike atmosphere. From South Africa to New York to Pakistan, this novel pulsates with the strength of its women, a narrative caught between centuries and oceans, obsessions, and an undying pursuit of justice.”

—Kali Fajardo-Anstine, bestselling author of Woman of Light and Sabrina & Corina

“Combining the reach of a historical saga with the propulsion of a mystery, Roohi Choudhry’s tightly woven debut illustrates the power of sisterhood, legacy, and solidarity through the unforgettable stories of two defiant women living a century apart.”

—Lisa Ko, author of The Leavers and Memory Piece

Roohi Choudhry has written such a powerful debut novel that I found myself holding my breath through the tenderness and tension of these pages. For those of us from what the West deems "the third world," masterpieces like this one are so precious. But the complexity, nuance, depth, texture, and artistry puts it in a league of its own. Choudhry is not afraid to get into every layer of these migrant female identities, but she does it with such sensitivity and diligence one forgets this book isn't real. No matter the continent or even the century, Outside Women's many universes defy expectation and establish Choudhry as one of our greatest new voices.

—Porochista Khakpour, author of Tehrangeles and Brown Album: Essays on Exile and Identity

“Outside Women is a powerful and beautifully braided novel of personal and political history. Choudhry traverses continents and centuries with conviction and subtlety in this striking debut.”

—Peter Ho Davies, author of The Fortunes and The Welsh Girl

“Outside Women takes you back and forth through time, examining the true cost, weight, and meaning of bearing witness. It is also beautifully written. This is one you’ll be thinking about for a long while.”—

—Rion Amilcar Scott, author of The World Doesn't Require You: Stories and Insurrections: Stories

Press & Interviews

Literary Prospects (podcast interview)
Picture Books are for Grown-Ups, Too! (podcast interview)
Foreword Reviews (interview)
Ms. Magazine (Most Anticipated list)
The Johannesburg Review of Books (excerpt)
Publishers' Weekly (review)
The Millions (interview)