The following is a comment on the reading : Gendering caste through a feminist lens
Uma Chakravarty draws an extremely important relationship in
the intersection of caste with gender by focussing on the ideology of Brahmanical
patriarchy and the specific way in which it creates the discourse which then
becomes a tool for oppression of Dalits. Ambedker famously commented once that
Caste is not merely a division of labour but a division of labourers. By introducing
the dimension of gender, Chakravarty takes this analysis a step further in
order to give a new dimension to oppression and understanding its working. This
becomes especially apparent in the social sphere of marriage. Marriage becomes
a mechanism for maintaining caste hierarchies, endogamy and create a sense of
caste purity. Knowledge also plays a significant role in creating discourses of
subordination. Marriage as a social institution, then seeks to extenuate sexual
violence and women bearing the larger
brunt of this oppression. Any attempts to resist the restrictions imposed or
any form of deviation from the norm results in brutal suppression and violence.
Thus, the author’s analysis assumes immense significance in the role of
intersectionality as a discourse for understanding oppression, made apparent by
the gendered violence perpetuated by the caste system.
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