Colonialism and patriarchy have
been closely entwined historically, and the fall of colonial empires does not
mean the internal colonization of women, the oppression and discrimination
against them have come to an end. Postcolonialism and feminism are united in the sense that both
have acted as a powerful bulwark against suppression, subjugation and
subversion of the marginalized classes of society. Postcolonialism and feminism
tend to throw off the yoke of oppression. The ultimate goal of postcolonialism
is accounting for and combating the residual effects of colonialism on
cultures. It is not simply concerned with salvaging past worlds, but learning
how the world can move beyond this period together, towards a place of mutual
respect. Similarly, feminism is also concerned with freeing women from the
internal colonization of men who holds power and sway over them and tends to
make the world a place where both men and women can live together as equal
partners. In this sense, both feminism and postcolonialism are challenging
forms of oppression. The former is concerned with freeing the world from the
legacy of patriarchy, while the latter aims to fight the legacy of colonialism.
Both are a form of resistance trying to give voice to the voiceless.
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Postcolonial theory as an academic
movement consists of reactions to, and analysis of, the cultural legacy of
colonialism. It is an intellectual discourse that focuses on the direct
aftermath of colonialism. Postcolonialism is an intellectual movement that
takes into account the political, economic, and cultural impact of the colonial
rule of the Western Empires around the world. It claims that it is impossible
to understand the world as it is, without paying heed to the colonial past. It
also suggests that the colonization and cultural subjugation have not ended
after the formal decolonization process; it still exists and lingers on. It
denounces the new forms of the economic and cultural oppression that are at
play after the end of the formal empire called 'neo-colonialism or imperialism.
Modernization is equated with Westernization, and it is being viewed as an
attempt by the Westerners to export their culture and values across the oceans
to the formerly colonised countries.
A key goal of postcolonial
theorists is to clear the path for multiple voices especially those who had
been historically silenced. Edward Said in his book has given us the picture of
how the colonial masters refused to hear the voices of those who they claimed
to be civilizing and instead relied on their intellectualism in forging
opinions about them. They were aware of the cultural and literary movements in
the colonies, but they were disregarded. However, Postcolonialism not just
analyses the legacy of European colonialism but also dreams of a world free of
the remnants of colonialism. It imagines a world that is not only free of the Western
shackles but in which all people belonging to different ethnicities, races and
genders get their due share of representation. It is a hopeful subject.
Postcolonialism and postcolonial
feminism fight against the homogenization of previously colonized nations in
western academic discourse. Postcolonialism emphasizes the uneven impact of
Western colonialism on different people and their cultures. It also
acknowledges that there was and still is, resistance to Western colonization
and neo-colonization. Thus postcolonialism challenges forms of oppression:
cultural subjugation, economic domination and political subversion. It believes
in a world free from European cuffs in which diversity is celebrated and
East-West relationship is based on mutual understanding and respect.
Just as postcolonialism
represents a struggle against oppression, similarly feminism represents a
political, cultural and economic struggle against patriarchy and male
domination. It aims at establishing equal rights and legal protection for women
within male-centric societies. Feminism is an 'umbrella term" that
includes political and sociological theories concerned with issues of gender
difference, gender equality and campaigns for women's rights and interests.
Feminist theory emerged from various feminist movements popularly known as
'waves of feminism'. Feminism since the 19th century has worked for the rights
of women such as contract rights, voting rights and right to acquire property,
right to abortion and good parental care. They have also worked against the
accesses of men such as sexual harassment, domestic violence, rape, equal
wages, and other gender-based discriminations. Feminism as a movement emerged
in Europe, was exported to the United States and has been at play around the world
today. However, after the European decolonisation of Africa and Asia, a new
form of feminism emerged in the former colonies popularly known as
'postcolonial feminism'.
Postcolonial feminism or ‘third
world feminism’ emerged in response to Western mainstream feminism. It
criticises Western feminism on the ground of being eurocentric. As Western
feminism failed in taking into account differences pertaining to class, race,
and settings of women in the former colonies, third world feminism emerged to
address these concerns. Third-world feminism is the initiative of those
academics and intellectuals who belong to the former colonies, and who have a
better understanding of the ground realities of the former colonies, unlike the
western mainstream feminists.
Postcolonial feminists draw
attention to the plethora of ways in which women continue to be oppressed,
subjugated, stereotyped and marginalised by people in the former colonies. For
postcolonial feminists, western feminism is not a struggle to liberate women in
the global south, as their stereotypical discourse continue to strengthen
patriarchy in the third world. Postcolonial feminists reject earlier feminist
approaches that view the experiences of women with oppression and
male-domination in the global south as the same as in the global north. For
them, the idea of 'universal sisterhood' is a myth.
Western mainstream feminism
advocates the idea that equality is fixed, and is the same throughout the
world. Postcolonial feminism reminds us that the issues of primary importance
for Western women may not be of immense importance for the once colonised
women. The issue of equal pay may hold importance to white women but the issue
of domestic violence is more important for women in the under-developed world.
Western feminism has set a benchmark for achieving gender equality, and they
hold a white-middle-class woman is an ideal. If a woman is unable to do for
some reason as their ideal woman can do, she is thought to be oppressed.
Various western feminists justified American intervention in Afghanistan on the
ground that since women can now listen to music and go to school, they have
been liberated. For Postcolonial feminists the use of such rhetorics to justify
oppression is detestable.
For third world feminists, the idea
of shared experience with oppression is based on faulty arguments and is
nothing more than an outright outrageous fallacy. In In Asia and Africa, women
were not only subdued by society but also by their colonial masters. Women in
the former colonies have faced the wrath of colonialism and patriarchy
together. The process of double-colonization affected women of the third world
far more than what patriarchy alone did to women in the developed countries.
It should be noted that whether it
is Western feminism or postcolonial feminism, their goal is the same; which is
to fight against oppression and challenge the long-established patriarchal
social norms. The long history of prejudices, biases, discrimination and
oppression against women around the globe in different countries and cultures
ultimately led to the emergence of feminism in the late 60s and early 70s of
the 20th century in the West. Since then, feminists have been waging a crusade
against their oppressors. They are re-examining their roles in society, in
politics and the economy. They are also trying to make languages
gender-neutral.
Feminists around the globe are no
longer satisfied with their inferior status and have been waging a Jihad
against male domination and patriarchy. It calls for equal justice and equal
opportunities for women.
Where postcolonialism is a struggle against the legacy of colonialism, feminism has proved to be a useful movement against the oppression of patriarchal society. They try to give voices to those previously unheard.
This article is written by Asif Abbas, one of the contributors at the School of Literature.
