Abstract
Jasbir Jain was inspired to write this book while giving lectures in several colleges and universities in the United States. It was the month of March, the month of International Women’s Day, during which members of civil society and other relevant actors actively participate in demonstrations decrying the oppressive social practices against women. The book locates and explains issues related to violence against women in their cultural and historical contexts in the Global South, with a specific focus on India.
The book is spread across seven chapters, which draw conclusions on women’s rights in India from the history of and resistance to women’s movements. It spotlights both “cultural myths” and “cultural differences” in India through a matrix of exceptional cases that make for an interesting read from a cross-cultural perspective. Dwelling on myths, Jain notes how patriarchy begins with the creation myths, and the likely source of this nexus, that woman is seen as a secondary creation, born out of the male body.
Culture shapes the path of society in which each person is born into a social and cultural setting—family, community, religion, language, social class—and eventually develops many social connections (Rutherford & Andrew, 1991). Culture tells us how to behave, how to live, how to understand, and how to be a man or a woman. Culture is related to gender, as it shapes the way in which we conduct ourselves in families, communities, and societies. Culture eventually develops social connections, for example, as seen in the division of labor. Jain argues that since Indian women have different cultures and different views about their bodies, roles, and social structures, the impact/origin of feminism in these two cultures (Western, Indian) cannot be identical.
Jain points out that a woman’s image in India is that of a “sacrificing mother, the supportive wife and the young virgin” (p. 3). But of late, there has been an opening up of new identities among Indian women through the negotiation of women’s rights, including the shift to personal space and rights of the body. These encompass the right to choose, the right to think, the right to stay unmarried, and the right to resist exploitation of the body. These are important issues, not only for women in India but also for their sisters in the rest of the world as well.
The book traces the roots of patriarchal system to religion. As an outsider to Indian society, it is difficult to determine whether culture creates religion or religion creates culture. It appears that the two overlap, coexist, and interact. Religion influences culture, while concomitantly culture affects religion, especially the religious ceremonies. Religion is likewise a cause of bias and discrimination against women. Some of the religious ordinances are almost draconian, and can even doom a woman to death, as in the case of sati, a now banned religious practice mentioned by Jain.
The book cites various glaring cases of “violations against women” in India. These include the Roop Kanwar Sati case and Bhanwari Devi rape, which have already been discussed widely in many academic works. These cases demonstrate elements of oppressive social practices against women, such as sati, a Hindu custom in which the widow is burnt to death on her husband’s pyre. People who follow this custom believe that the act of self-immolation by a widow facilitates the spiritual salvation of her dead husband.
The book also explores the idea of romantic love, and the difference between sex and romance through the issue of rape within marriage, specifically early and forced marriages in the Indian context. Grounded in the vision of equality, the book supports an emphasis on “change” in the “movements from below,” such as the Bhakti movement in India. In the Bhakti movement, women take on the qualities traditionally bestowed on men. There have been several Bhakti movements, taking new forms from region to region, century to century, and across boundaries.
Jain admits that changes have taken place. But then, it is not easy to typecast the multilayered feminisms that exist in India. Jain makes the point that there is not one but several feminisms in the country, with their roots in social conditions, religious traditions, and caste. The changes in Indian society and the advent of nuclear families are only adding new shades to the existing multiple hues of Indian feminism. Add to this the slow demise of traditional hierarchy, due to the onset of urbanization and employment, and the picture gets more muddled. Jain notes how divorce and widow marriage are increasingly becoming acceptable. With women becoming more educated, economically independent, and conscious of their rights, divorce rates are almost mirroring those in Western societies. But Indian society needs to make a huge change in the mass mindset before it begins to accord these women their rightful place.
The book frequently touches upon the issue of body and identity, marking an important stride in “the right to body” argument. Jain looks at the differences between the “female” and “male” body through the lens of biological reproduction to come up with a very rosy and conceptually dynamic view. As she puts it: “I’m a woman. I can create many from one” (p. 36).
Jain next turns to biology, a woman’s nature and body, or how women’s bodies provide for reproductive acts, such as pregnancy, nursing, and infant care. It is interesting that she presents the reproductive qualities of women as superior, and a cause for rejoicing. This argument is at stark variance with the traditional knowledge and popular understanding of the female body in India: “The exclusionary rituals are related to the female body, which because of its beauty is seductive as well as vulnerable; its flow of menstrual blood and the act of giving birth are seen as impure” (p. 16).
Obviously, the nature of reproductive power is one area in which men cannot compete with women. And this, I agree with Jain, can be seen as granting of a superior status, and a symbol of empowerment.
The book places women’s rights at the center of all the laws related to an entire gamut of issues related to women, be it the prevention of sati, the age of consent, widow remarriage, or the restoration of conjugal rights or inheritance laws, as well as laws against other oppressive social practices against women in India.
This is an impressive assemblage, bringing together important issues related to violence against women, many of which will find a resonance in other cultures as well. It is for this reason that this volume is essential reading for those with scholarly or activist interests in gender equality or in South Asian studies.