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Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies

Series

2016

India

Articles 1 - 2 of 2

Full-Text Articles in Religion

The Role Of Personal Laws In Creating A “Second Sex”, Rangita De Silva De Alwis, Indira Jaising Sep 2016

The Role Of Personal Laws In Creating A “Second Sex”, Rangita De Silva De Alwis, Indira Jaising

All Faculty Scholarship

The cultural construction of gender determines the role of women and girls within the family in many societies. Gendered notions of power in the family are often shrouded in religion and custom and find their deepest expression in Personal Laws. This essay examines the international law framework as it relates to personal laws and the commonality of narratives of litigators and plaintiffs in the cases from the three different personal law systems in India.


Indian Women’S Uplift Movements And The Dangers Of Cultural Imperialism, Hannah K. Griggs Jan 2016

Indian Women’S Uplift Movements And The Dangers Of Cultural Imperialism, Hannah K. Griggs

Audre Lorde Writing Prize

Because women encounter unique geographic, social, political, religious, economic, and temporal conditions, applying the particular agendas of traditional western feminism to countries like India can easily become a form of cultural imperialism or lead to Orientalism. Therefore, in this essay I argue that in order to support the agency of Indian women, western feminists must step back; Indian women and men who seek women's uplift must claim post-patriarchal expressions of traditional Indian culture. Tradition does and should inform modern culture. However, Indian women's uplift movements and western feminism alike must utilize both ancient and modern wisdom in our quest for …