Essay on Colonial Oppression of Women - 1123 Words

Colonial and Postcolonial debates along with the issues of Feminism have always been challenging discourses. The present day world with the constant cultural encounters and clashes as well as the ideas regarding pluralism and multiculturalism motivates a curiosity on the part of the onlooker to search the answer to the question who is who in todays world when there is a continuous struggle between different countries not only politically and militarily but also culturally. In this situation the division of the world to First, Second and Third World countries also provides the opportunity and justifies the movements of some countries against some others while encourages different definitions for words such as tradition, modernity and†¦show more content†¦The fact that the colonial oppression affects the lives of women both socially and economically has motivated sensitivity in the critics and sociologists to have a different look at women exploitation and open up a new column in postcolonial studies that includes feminist debates. In the 1980s a series of feminist critics including Chandra Talpade Mohanty and Gayatri Spivak began to sense that Western feminism was rooted in bourgeois, euro-centric prejudice which had to be remedied in order to avoid continued neglect of Third World Women. They were basically critical of regarding all women as a homogenous group without taking into account inevitable differences in ethnicity and circumstance. The undeniable reality that colonial oppression affected men and women in different ways should be recognized as females were often subjected to what has been called a double colonization, whereby they were oppressed not only for their position as colonized people but also as women. This same fact therefore necessitates opening up a new field in feminist studies to take into account the Third World Women and their positions and problems. Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak, among other critics in literary theory and postcolo nial studies, in an unsettling voice. She has described herself as practical deconstructionist feminist Marxist. Her earliest important work was her introduction to and translation of Jacque Derridas Of Grammatology (1977). Almost fromShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Poem My Mother Breed By Anita Desai1701 Words   |  7 Pagesin a cultural mosaic that recognizes the alliance between water and women. Post-colonial fiction, including Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children, Anita Desai’s Clear Light of Day, and Jamaica Kincaid’s The Autobiography of My Mother breed a current of drowning motifs that accentuate the necessity of universal women’s rights. The portrayals of women and drowning in the novels expose imperialistic, patriarchal systems of oppression by authenticating the marginalization of the female sex as a globalRead MoreColonialism and Oppression in the African Diaspora Essay938 Words   |  4 PagesColonialism and Oppression in the Afric an Diaspora The Kenyan feminist and environmental activist, Wangari Maathai, explores the legacy of colonialism and oppression in her native country through her moving 2006 memoir, Unbowed. Maathai explains that over the course of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Africa experienced a massive influx of white settlers. In an effort to solidify control over recently acquired colonies, many European powers had encouraged large numbers of their ethnicallyRead MoreAnalysis Of Anita Desai s Fasting Feasting1420 Words   |  6 PagesIn literature the image of women in fiction has undergone a change during the last four decades. Women writers have considerably moved away from traditional portrayals of enduring self-sacrificing women, towards conflicts, female characters searching for identity, no longer characterized simply in terms of their victimized status. One such prominent Indian author, whose writing addresses issues focusing on the condition of women in India, is Anita Desai. Desai’s novels chiefly center around the representationsRead MoreThe Core Themes Of Postcolonial Theory963 Words   |  4 Pagesassess the core themes of postcolonial feminist theory. We shall define and critically assess themes such as intersectionality and the use of standpoint theory as an epistemological position, as well as analysing the importance of sexuality to post colonial theory. In order to support our findings we shall reference key authors such as Gavatri Spivak, Patricia Hill Collins and Audre Lorde, as their work will aid in providing examples of key postcolonial themes.   Postcolonial feminism was born in partRead MoreAboriginal Children and Women are an Impediment to Development in Canada1359 Words   |  5 PagesResearch Topic: The ongoing targeting of Aboriginal Children and Women is a significant impediment to development in Canada. In my research essay I propose to engage the analytical concept of intersectionality to critically interpret government-led development initiatives in Canada and the wider world from a postcolonial/feminist perspective. Thesis Canada is often recognized as a developed society on the world stage, with elaborate institutions and treaties in place to ensure the needsRead MoreTextual Analysis Of Leila Ahmed s Women And Gender1451 Words   |  6 PagesLeila Ahmed’s â€Å"Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate† â€Å"Women and Gender in Islam† by Leila Ahmed was published in 1992, at a time when research on Arab women was a young, newly emerging field of study. Leila Ahmed is an Egyptian American writer and feminist. Her text â€Å"Women and Gender in Islam† targets proclaimed feminists, both western and non-western, as the intended audience. The text is involved with the discourse of gender, the discourses of women, the discoursesRead MoreSardines and Oranges: the Red Spot and Life on the Edge Comparison1540 Words   |  7 Pagesby Rachida El-Charni from the collection of short stories titled Sardines and Oranges. These stories are set in post-colonial North Africa in Morocco and Tunisia respectively to intended read by the members of the authors’ society. In the red spot, the protagonist is forced to marry a distant relative by the choice of her mother. During the story, the author’s opinions of oppression and lack of freedom is revealed. In contrast to Lif e on the edge, the father punishes his family members for losingRead MoreColonialism Of Film And Literature Essay1598 Words   |  7 PagesSenegalese war film. Both these films depict the struggle between the colonizers and the oppressed. Themes portrayed in the movies are women’s roles, the Islamic faith, and modernity in Tjoet Nja’ Dhien and racial identity, inequality, and cultural oppression in Camp de Thiaroye. Two works of literature that support the themes in these movies are Child of All Nations and God’s Bits of Wood. Tjoet Nja’ Dhien is a 1988 Indonesian film about a woman who led the Acehnese army against the Dutch after theRead MoreThe God Of Small Things By Amitabh Roy Essay1541 Words   |  7 Pagesfind one that would expand my knowledge in a variety of ways by the use of important key topics which were discussed in lectures. Furthermore, prior to reading The God of Small Things, I knew very little about how the caste system worked and the colonial legacy, therefore I knew that reading the novel would explain how both factors impacted India and the people that follow the Indian culture. The God of Small Things written by Amitabh Roy outlines three important themes which link to the lecturesRead MoreLanguage And Its Effects On The Individual And Society1527 Words   |  7 Pagespeople into following the dictator’s policies. There have been many incidents throughout history where a language can be used as a tool of oppression. Some of these events are early slavery in the wester n world, the treatment of women in early American society, and how the Caribbean civilization was treated by the French. According to Orwell, â€Å"The language of oppression is a universal phenomenon, it exist in every society and the society determines its nature and form† (2223). Since the beginning of the