Amnesty Reading for Action: Harvest by Manjula Padmanabhan

Join us for a discussion of Harvest by Manjula Padmanabhan, a dystopian play that critiques capitalism and colonialism and exposes how bodily autonomy is eroded under extreme inequality.

In India Today, Madhu Jain describes Harvest:
“The three-act play is set, like a few of Padmanabhan's earlier stories, in some grey, almost anaesthesised near-future. And the future is used as a magnifying lens to look at a greedy and dead-end present - a soulless world without exits… Harvest is about the sale of human organs: poor Indians selling various parts of their anatomy to rich Americans shopping for spare parts to replace theirs in a cannibalistic quest to hang on to youth. But Padmanabhan has taken it much further to look at our derailed society.”

Through dark satire, Harvest raises urgent human rights questions which we will discuss and reflect on during our gathering:
- How capitalism affects our most intimate relationships
- Which things all people should have and which things people should have to work for
- What it would be like to live under constant surveillance
- How are women’s and men’s bodies treated differently

• Date: Sunday, 18th January 2026
• Time: 2:30 – 4:30pm
• Location: 德佈Debut Cafe 台北店, No. 15, Section 1, Xinsheng N Rd, Zhongshan District, Taipei
• RSVP: Please drop us a message if you plan to attend so that we can ensure we have enough seats booked at the cafe for all attendees.

The book club meeting is free to attend, we just ask all participants to purchase an item from the venue's drink menu to support the space.

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About Amnesty Book Club:
Reading and discussing books broaden our world, and action improves it. Amnesty Book Club explores human rights stories from around the world through literature, creating space for reflection, discussion and action. By reading together and engaging in guided conversations, we aim to deepen our understanding of global injustices and strengthen our personal and collective responses.

Our meetings focus on:
- Finding personal lessons in texts
- Connecting with local activists
- Supporting each other to take action
- Joining our resources together
- Learning from each other

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