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.

Rekha este o fetita de 12 ani care a crescut ca fiica cea mare a imigrantilor indieni din Africa de Sud in anii 1940 si 1950. In ciuda naturii ei puternice si hotarate, ea este nevinovata in multe feluri si se lupta cu viata ei ca bucatar, curatenie si ingrijitoare pentru familia ei, toate in timp ce suporta abuzul emotional si fizic din partea mamei ei.