In her autobiographical Karukku, Bama through her own experiences as a Dalit Chirstian woman in Tamil Nadu gives voice to the threefold marginalization suffered by thousands of women of her community because of their being Dalits, poor and women. Though the act of writing the novel serves as a sort of catharsis for the author and helps her to get rid of the psychological turmoil that she has experienced since childhood, it also makes her the spokesperson of the women of her community as she depicts how Dalit women are oppressed in almost every field of their life. Instead of a linear chronological narrative, she uses the stream of consciousness technique (which leads us into her psyche/consciousness) to give voice to her experiences as a Dalit …show more content…
Thus, Bama through her writing not only attempts to negotiate a separate identity for herself as a single Tamil Dalit woman, writer and activist as she gives vent to her experiences of suffering and humiliation and offers resistance to the rigid caste, class and patriarchal norms that prevail in the society but also attempts to negotiate an identity for thousands of Dalit women that was different from both Dalit men and upper class women. Also, as Anshu Sailpar suggests, the novel is divided into nine chapters which can be interpreted to represent the nine months of “gestation, pregnancy and labor” (Sailpar, 478), which in turn represents the whole process of the narrator forging a different/fresh identity by sketching a new vision (through her writing and activism), thereby combining the rhetoric of caste within a gynocentric model. Thus, Bama as a ‘subaltern’ subject by attempting to give voice to her own experiences and oppression as a Paraiyar Dalit woman in Tamil Nadu, brings to the centre the experiences of pain and humiliation of thousands of women of her community and establish an identity, agency and rightful place in society for herself as well as for …show more content…
She narrates how the everyday of these women are full of marginalization and oppression that they experience from both within and outside their communities. She depicts how gender bias along with the caste based atrocities and poverty makes women the worst victims in the society. They are discriminated right from the time of their birth. She cites examples like women marginalization is not just limited to the preference for the male child but even when women have multiple children “a boy is breast-fed longer, with girls, they wean them off, making them forget the breast” (Bama, 7). She through the character of Subbamma in the novel, Bama demonstrates that almost half of the Dalit population remained uneducated not only because they were denied education by the upper castes or because of the discrimination they experienced while studying along upper caste children by teachers who also practiced caste based discrimination, because of their limited means, but also because men were the ones who were usually given preference over women when the provision of education was concerned. Subbamma laments and blames women’s illiteracy for reducing them to the status of “slaves” who were bound to bear the burden of slavery all their lives “As if we are blind even though we have eyes” (Bama, 118). The reference to
Her realization that she is not alone in her oppression brings her a sense of freedom. It validates her emerging thoughts of wanting to rise up and shine a light on injustice. Her worries about not wanting to grow up because of the harsh life that awaits her is a common thought among others besides the people in her community. As she makes friends with other Indians in other communities she realizes the common bonds they share, even down to the most basic such as what they eat, which comforts her and allows her to empathize with them.
In the book entitled Abina and the Important Men, by Trevor R. Getz and Liz Clarke is about a woman named Abina, who wakes up one morning and decides that she wants to change the way that women are portrayed in society. Although slaves in the 19th century were considered free, women had a more difficult time achieving freedom due to, how the culture was shaped, inequality between men and women and negative effects on society as a whole. Western and African cultures believe that all women should be silent, they are not allowed to say what is on their mind. Women’s opinions didn’t matter; they were considered useless. They were accepted to be housegirls, where females had to cook, clean and nurture their children if they had any.
Women had no choice but to follow whatever society told them to because there was no other option for them. Change was very hard for these women due to unexpected demands required from them. They held back every time change came their way, they had to put up with their oppressors because they didn’t have a mind of their own. Both authors described how their society affected them during this historical period.
Throughout The Lesson Toni Cade Bambara illustrated how education is the means by which one can escape out of poverty. This was not done in a classroom structured environment it took place on a sunny afternoon field trip in which the children on the trip was confronted with their own deficiency. There was resistance but as each individual longed for a toy in the store the apparent realism displayed itself. The extremely high price for the toys was an amount that their families could live on for a while. Each child was put in a place where he/ she had to examine themselves, their social conditions and their future. Bambara used race through social status, economic inequality, and literary epiphany to identify the hidden realities in each child life.
To conclude, I can continue to go on about the caste system, racism, and war on drugs. The point is that racism continues to exist and the rebirth of the caste, continues to exist it never went away. People just did not do as much, but now is more obvious than ever. The clear examples she introduce and statistic show and support the statement of the “rebirth of the caste”. In my opinion, I found the book interesting; and statistic surprising from class and the book. Things continue to go bad in the United States. When are we going to do something about it! This book shows the effects of the
In Beowulf, the role of women is greatly different then that of old Greek literature and epic. Women in Beowulf are presented as peace-makers and they are respected, compared to the Greek view that women are on the same level as spoils of war and livestock; something you own and show as a trophy. Hygd is one of the generous, gracious, and wise woman portrayed in Beowulf. But even the wild, cruel, and ruthless women can be civilized and grow to be good, such as Modthrytho. Once she got married, she changed and became virtuous and kind.
and has faced issues of discrimination in connection in being apart of a minority group. Nitya also shares the same views as Rima in the fact that she doesn’t feel any particular discrimination against her ethnicity, but feels being a female faces more discrimination in her life personally. This issue matters because women in today’s world still feel as though race and ethnicity is not an issue, but gender still is and the role of women in the world is still negative. Even though Rima has a high power and leadership role in her job, a strong education and brilliant mind, gender is still a main issue. This further concludes the issue of being apart of a minority group because even
The theme of gender oppression is greatly shown throughout the story. Making it easier for the reader to comprehend the roles that were expect of women in Egypt. This theme is greatly shown when Abboud Bey and Samia’s father are discussing wedding arrangements. Abboud asks Samia’s father “And the beautiful little girl’s still at second school? She lowered her head modestly and her father had answered:” This shows the lack of respect males have for women in their society. Viewing women merely as a pretty face, incapable of answering simple questions. This also shows that Abboud views Samia as naïve and innocent by referring to her as “little girl”. He seems to be taken by her
The oppression of women commonly occurs in Patricia McCormick’s novel Sold. Lakshmi, the protagonist, and many other women are impacted by the cultural beliefs in India. Lakshmi is a thirteen-year- old girl from Nepal who loses everything she knows because of her stepfather’s greed. She lived in a small village with her mother who does housework and takes care of her little brother while her stepfather gambles at the tea shop. Desperate for money, Lakshmi is sold into prostitution by her stepfather with her believing she is going to work as a maid. Lakshmi moves to India and reaches the prostitution house, known as “Happiness House”. There are many women and young girls close to her age at the house who got trapped like Lakshmi. Mumtaz is the head of the Happiness House and the one who paid for the girls, so their debt to her is the price that they got bought for. They earn their money as sex slaves and some girls spend years trying to pay off the debt. Lakshmi does the same for months and realizes that it is a common practice in India and because it is a norm, many women and young girls are affected by this. In “Sold”, the Indian culture discriminates against women when looking at gender roles,
In this book, the people are subject to thousands of different ways to condition them to society. Whether this is based off of there standing in the society, or even the jobs that they are performing. Every single person is conditioned, and they are all expected to think exactly like their fellow caste members.
Whereas the relationship between Maha and Harb is one of passion and love, Ihsan and Nadia are the complete opposite. Nadia hates how Ihsan looks at her as a woman always and never a person. She struggles to prove her capability of being an individual and forming an identity of her own that is separate and goes beyond Mrs. Natour. She proves that she can ‘think and feel’ for herself and by herself. In the West where we have women out on the streets rallying for equality between men and women, fighting in the armies, present in the workforce, these victories may seem minute. However if one pays close attention to social structures and social norms in different cultures one can realize that this challenging and questioning is as important and holds as much weight as getting equal wages for women in America.
... She argues that while some situations may appear quite similar, they should not be treated as identical, as they have been, because they have very different, historically specifically explanations (64). It creates a false sense of commonality through oppression and overlooks that “beyond sisterhood there is still racism colonialism and imperialism” (64). Mohanty is not arguing that people of different identities and different backgrounds cannot join together to organize against a particular injustice; for example, she uses Indian women uniting against police brutality (65). However, she is arguing, “the analysis of these group identities cannot be based on universalistic, ahistorical categories” (65). So, while these women of different background can unite, it is always important that remember analyze the differences and not attempt to lump the women into “Women.”
Mahasweta Devi, always writes for deprived section of people. She is a loving daughter, a clerk, a lecturer, a journalist, an editor, a novelist, a dramatist and above all an ardent social activist. Her stories bring to the surface not only the misery of the completely ignored tribal people, but also articulate the oppression of w...
...es based on their desires instead of the desires of their male counterparts. As the women age, they take on new names to represent their physical and emotional changes. Naseem gains power as a married woman and becomes Reverend Mother while Mumtaz acquires power through the realization of her reproductive abilities. These women have varying degrees of power over their lives but it is limited to the value Indian society places on the domestic sphere and the importance of a woman’s place in this sphere. A married woman will garner more respect and have more of a voice than an unwed daughter living within her father’s household, while motherhood is regarded as one of the most important roles for a woman and given special considerations. Rushdie portrays ascension to power within the realm of the home and family by to show how power is passed between social boundaries.
The men have internally colonized the minds of women, often making them aware of the limitations. Women are illtreated and tortured for various reasons and are considered a debit to the family though they bear and bring up children; do all the house work and some of them do jobs additionally. Ambedkar points out, “A woman under the laws of Manu is subject to corporal punishment and Manu allows the husband the right to beat his wife”.2 There is another problem which affects almost all women is the problem of gender inequality. Since the women are given the subordinate status, they never feel that they are at the driver seat of their lives. Their role in the family or society is considered inferior than their male counterparts. Even the modern women who are educated and who have economic independence remain unchanged in this aspect that is their subordinate status remains intact. The Indian society which has accepted the laws of Manu denies education to women and thus mental growth. Manu says, “Women have no right to study the Vedas”.3 In modern India, though women are allowed to study, there is a danger of becoming sophisticated slaves in the patriarchal system as ‘Saritha’ in Vijay Tendulkar’s play,