[The book] gives us a richly detailed and insightful understanding of the lives of young women in a deeply religious community, of the complexities of and challenges involved in both ‘becoming a woman and becoming religious’ within this tradition and this neighborhood and school. This book is not only a fine piece of academic work, but it deserves a wide public readership as well. — Michael W. Apple, John Bascom Professor of Education, University of Wisconsin, MadisonThis is a closely researched and closely argued work, which makes an original contribution to the sociology of education. I was particularly impressed by the lucidity of the presentation. The author never lapses into jargon — analysis and evidence are integrated into a seamless whole. — Ramachandra Guha, historian and biographer This book is an important contribution, not only because of the subject of study, but also because it seeks to use a mix of methods — Meenakshi Thapan Delhi School of Economics