Abstract This paper examines the ways historians have characterised the nationalist women's movements in colonial India between 1850 and 1900. The author has also looked at three different schools of thought as separate chapters, in order to look at the notions of practices such as sati and Purdah that were prevalent in colonial India during the time in question.
Outline:
Introduction
The Cambridge School
The Feminist School
The Subaltern Approach
Conclusion
From the Paper "Most of the government reports were written by men, either by British colonial officials, people appointed by the Raj or people associated with the nationalist parties like the Congress Party. They help to provide the public context of the anti-colonial movement and the British response to it, however this was the public context viewed through male only eyes and so cannot provide the entire picture.
"Furthermore, there is not much information concerning women's contributions in the domestic domain, which is central to women's experiences and so consequently is the main concern of women's writings. I will try to illuminate the work of historians who have looked at the role of women's agency both 'hidden' and 'seen', inside and outside of the domestic sphere.
"There are some perspectives that have not produced a sufficient amount of research to look at on the topic in question with one such perspective being Marxism, whereby there have been no major historical writings on the issue of Indian women."
Abstract In this article, the writer looks at the Women's Movement in the United States. The writer discusses the history of the Movement. The mobilizing structure of the Movement is also examined in this paper. The writer looks at the related political opportunities and the ideology of the Women's Movement. Further, the writer discusses the future of the Movement.
From the Paper "The research topic selected for this report focuses on the American Women's Liberation movement, specifically the Second Wave of the movement. The goal of the study is to determine the extent to which the Movement succeeded in mobilizing a broad coalition of women and to which it continues to play a role in American society. The study is approached via qualitative narrative historical analysis using a literature review to answer the research questions below. Research ... "
Abstract This paper briefly discusses the rise and growth of feministmovements in Latin America. It shows how these movements were linked to other socialist movements of the 1960's and how they gain strength. It explains how the feministmovements argued for rights for women just as other socialist movements were demanding equal and civil rights for many population groups.
From the Paper "--------------------
The women's movement of Latin America is a comparatively young one. It's seeds were planted in the 1950s and 1960s when socialist revolutionary fervor swept through much of the world. In the face of poverty, inequality and oppression, people's movements rose up in every corner of the Latin world. And in much the same fashion as Civil Rights, Women's Rights and anti-Vietnam sentiments in the United States coalesced into a unified counter-culture movement by the 1960s, broad social revolution proved to be opportune for politically inclined women in Latin America. In these early days of women's liberation, female guerilla combatants and revolutionaries had to contend with all the same concerns as their male counterparts (i.e. dictatorial central governments, unequal distribution of wealth, federal corruption, etc.). But this was compounded by the threat of sexually motivated violence, social subjugation and the general gamut of gender oriented prejudices. (Winn, 397). As such, women's struggles to gain freedom from oppression extended beyond simple political discontent."
Abstract This paper reviews the book "In the Company of Women: Voices from the Women's Movement," and its discussion of women's feelings, beliefs, and convictions toward feminism. Included in this paper is a discussion of Gloria Steinam's foreword to the book, the women profiled in the book, and the author's purpose for writing the book.
From the Paper "This section of the book looks at some of the most powerful women in the women's movement, and shows what they have done with that power. It also shows how these women have banded together and tried to make things different in the professional world, where women were not any more welcome than they were in the blue-collar world. Ellen Dresselhuis, a lawyer, sums up this section perfectly when she says; "It makes a tremendous difference now to have women on the bench. It means that when we go into the courtroom, when my partners and I go into the courtroom, we're not in a foreign world" (Watkins and Rothchild 1996, 273)."
Tags: feminism, women's, movement, feminist, ideal, movement, of, individual, women
Abstract The experience of Korean women through the 20th century is discussed in the light of the women's movement elsewhere. It is explained how often very current ideas reached Korea shortly after their appearance in the West, so as to encourage early attention to women's issues and female education in Korea.
This paper discusses the exploitation of East Indianwomen that migrated to the Caribbean in the 19th century and also looks at how these women adapted to their new life.
2,250 words (approx. 9 pages), 7 sources, 2005, $ 89.95
Abstract This essay examines the migration to Guyana of East Indianwomen in the context of indentured servitude, racism and early capitalistic exploitation. Particular attention is paid not only to why they arrived in Guyana but also how their culture changed and adapted in order to survive in its new environment. As is argued, the culture of East Indianwomen in the Caribbean was historically as a consequence of indentured servitude separated from the culture of Afro Caribbean women and the broader tradition of struggle against oppression in the colony.
From the Paper "While most Canadians' views of Caribbean islands such as Guyana are that they are populated by people of African descent whose ancestors were brought as slaves to work on plantations during the colonial era, this view ignores the significant population of East Indian descent in islands such as Guyana. These Indians were brought to Guyana in a process known as "indentured servitude" which was one of the most "successful" programs of the British imperial state of the 19th century."
Abstract This paper discusses the pragmatism of the women's feministmovements in Indian history by presenting the points of view expressed in articles written by four different authors, namely: Suruchi Thapar-Bjorkert's "The Domestic Sphere as a Political Site: A Study of Women in the Indian Nationalist Movement", Carol Hills' "Nationalism and feminism in Late Colonial India: The Rani of the Jhansi regiment 1943-1945", Basu Apama's "Feminism and Nationalism in India, 1917-1947", and Stephen Legg's Gendered Politics and Nationalized Homes: Women and the Anti-Colonial Struggle in India: 1930-47". The analysis and discussion of these articles represents a critical view on the nature of feminism in India during the rise of Indian nationalism during the early and middle parts of the 20th century.
Outline:
Introduction
Analysis and Discussion
Conclusion
From the Paper "Basu Apama's article "Feminism and Nationalism in India, 1917-1947" dictates the state of feminist movements during a wide range of history, but provides the tenets of the feminist movement that was seen through the rise of Indian nationalism. Apama's argument for feminist liberation resides on the power of Mahatma Gandhi who actively supported the various feminist movements that sought to derail the traditional patriarchal constructs of violence as a form of opposition:
[Gandhi] claimed that women were better than men in waging nonviolent passive resistance because they had greater capacity for self-sacrifice and endurance, were less self seeking, and had moral courage.
This aspect of the women's movement helped to bring many women into the nationalist movement in India, but certainly, the pragmatic aspect of this foundation for feminist involvement only supports a patriarchal construct. One critical view of this feminist" ideology is that women were actively still performing a submissive role that could still deemed submissive to the male roles of aggression and "violence." The basis of a feminist movement in India appears to be validating the aggressive and submissive roles of women, especially when Apama defines women through Gandhi's ideology for being "less self seeking" in their agenda as a women seeking liberation. This begs the question: Were women merely being used as human shields through their typically submissive female roles in Indian nationalism? The pragmatism of Apama's article surely does not answer crucial questions as to how women were being liberated due to the often powerful men that still controlled political and traditional male roles in Indian society. Although feminist movements began to become more organized, the issue of its effectiveness is highly questionable under the policies of Gandhi in this period of history. In this manner, Apama promotes the freedom of women from the bonds of patriarchal institutions, yet there is little evidence that they made advances in reducing the often submissive stereotypes and generalizations made about them by the male donated nationalist movements in Indian history."
Abstract This paper analyzes the relationship between religion and the feministmovement. It focuses on Christianity as an example of a religion that promoted the subordinate roles of women in society and encouraged the persistence of patriarchy as the dominant social system. It analyzes two cases of how Christianity has affected female sexuality's role in society and concludes that feminist interpretation of religion, particularly Christianity, has always been criticized for being too radical and irrelevant in the lives of women followers.
From the Paper "This analysis of the relationship between feminism and religion (specifically Catholicism/Christianity) remains a gray area for sociologists and researchers alike, for religions, as political and social forces in the society, can be interpreted as one or the other, or maybe both (as a social and political force). These distinctions would have an impact on the manner in which religion and its practices are interpreted vis-a-vis the feminist framework and discourse. The discussion and analysis provided here, in effect, offers a consolidated analysis of the extant views about the state of feminism as far as its goals towards religion is concerned. The two cases presented showed that though feminism has achieved its goal in some societies, wherein women play significant roles in their religious communities, there are societies that remain fixed and cling to the patriarchal order originally prescribed by the Western branch of Christianity (Catholicism)."
Abstract This paper uses maternalism as a theoretical lens and discusses the women's movement in Japan since 1945. The author examine the Japanese construction of the woman's role as an idealized mother. It explores Japanese feminism and feminist practices. The paper includes research on issues involved in the feministmovement and the empowerment of women.
From the Paper "According to Khor, to fully understand, Japanese feminism requires an extensive collaborative and coordinated research and active engagement with the myriad and at times contradictory voices and activities in the various sites of ..."
Abstract In this essay, the writer notes that less than 100 years ago, American women enjoyed relatively few freedoms: they could not vote, they could not control money, and they were frequently treated like chattel or other property, owned by their male relatives. However, the last 100 years have seen tremendous advances in women's rights. The writer points out that, first, women have obtained significant legal advances in the past 100 years, which have led to the legal recognition of women as equals. Although women have not achieved absolute equality, these legal changes have led to significant equitable equality. The writer discusses that while these changes have impacted women of different races in different manners, the feministmovement has resulted in positive changes for all women. The writer concludes that, as a result of these changes, all American women have achieved substantial gender equality, and the changes have benefited women regardless of class or gender.
Outline:
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
From the Paper " Although women did not traditionally enjoy legal or real freedoms in America, there has been a tremendous change in women's rights in the last 100 years, and those changes have positively impacted women of all races and classes. Women have gone from being considered the property of husbands or the absolute property of slave-owners to autonomous individuals with the full range of legal rights and responsibilities. In addition, the law officially prohibits sex-based discrimination. These legal changes have led to increases in substantive equality. For example, women make up almost half of the American labor force and, though the wage gap still exists, it is slowly shrinking. In addition, American women have access to reliable contraceptives, giving them an unprecedented level of personal freedom. These changes have benefited women from all walks of life; though the feminist movement has not accomplished its goals of eliminating racism and classism, it has successfully benefited women of all races and classes. Such tremendous changes in such a relatively short period of time make total equality seem inevitable."
Abstract This paper analyzes the poetry of Muriel Ruckeyser, as found in her book "The Book of the Dead", and that of Adrienne Rich, using her work entitled "Twenty-one Love Poems". The paper gives a biographical background on each of the poets, stressing their importance to the contemporary women's movement and to American poetry. Rich's poems are explored for their ideas on the relationships between women, and Ruckeyser's are studied in terms of their comparison to a documentary and in relation to her strong political view.
From the Paper "To many, Poetry is the voice of women. It is the way in which women can express their inner thoughts and feelings, to write the things that they can not say. Poetry is more than words on paper but someone's feelings and life poured into the readers mind. Poets let the readers climb inside their heads and taste what the poet feels, sees, and thinks.
Two major women poets that are in the inner ring of American feminist poets are Muriel Ruckeyser and Adrienne Rich. Though their poetry may be different in content, many of their messages are the same: we need to be heard. Ruckeyser's "The Book of the Dead" describes conditions and feelings of the Gauley Bridge tragedy through actual courtroom testimonies to words from actual citizens of the town. Adrienne Rich's "Twenty-one Love Poems" describes in many ways, her love of her companion as well as their struggles and times together."
Abstract This essay examines Ethel Snowden's reasons for giving women the vote as are presented in her work, "The FeministMovement." This book was first published in 1913 and Snowden's views might be considered controversial in a modern sense, although they were progressive at the time of publication.
Abstract In this paper, the writer discusses that although there is a concerted effort to realize the inequalities of the workload that women now partake in the new liberated feminism of the 21st century, there is still a greater lack of care or response by males to father their children. The writer claims that in this manner, the need for a religious and economic reformation of mother's roles, should be constructed to help integrate family ideals into the male milieu.
From the Paper "The theme of feminist group marginalization is the basis of the articles written by Gloria Steinem and Audre Lorde. In both cases the modernity of feminist principles that give women greater freedoms is becoming a 'pass' style of counter culture values within the patriarchal milieu of society. In this manner, women in society, especially as young students on campuses, are prone to be at school for reasons other than education or liberating principles for their sex or gender role. Steinem reflects this stage in feminist ideology."
Abstract Nearly a decade ago, academic attention was being given to understanding the central role that women have played in the economic and political changes occurring in Latin America. The books currently under review demonstrate the broadening scope of literature on women in the region. Scholars continue to analyze the roles women play in political change, but an increasing number of academics are studying how women are affected by those changes in political and economic regimes and by state institutions. The paper shows that, in a sense, the causal arrow now moves in two directions rather than one. A predominant research question in the late 1980s and early 1990s was, how do women's movements influence democratization processes? The works reviewed in this paper demonstrate that scholars have now adapted their query to reflect the changing political systems of Latin America: how does a transition toward democracy affect women and women's organizations? Or, how can these democracies be altered or fine-tuned to be more hospitable to women?
From the Paper "This subordination inhibited women from becoming political and being viewed as such by others. Diane Mitsch Bush and Jean Franco Mumme's contribution to the Nazzari volume, "Gender and the Mexican Revolution," echoes this idea. Their case study confirms the hypothesis that gender issues become subordinated to broader objectives within revolutionary movements. Movimiento de mujeres en Centroamerica offers further insights into the tensions between a woman as an individual political actor and the collective women's movement in Central America. This book is a must for anyone planning to do research on women in Central America."
Abstract This paper analyzes the lives of Puritan and Native American women. It contends their lives were some what similar, but they were fundamentally different from each other. The paper explains that Puritan women were far lower in the hierarchy of their society than were American Indianwomen and had no expectations that their status would improve throughout their lives.
From the Paper "Despite the fact that there were a number of important differences between Puritan women and women among the native peoples that Puritan settlers first encountered there were also at least some key similarities. This paper examines the ways in which the lives ..."
