Namrata Goswami Week 3

In Uma Chakraborty's book "Gendering Caste Through A feminist Lens" the first chapter talks about the Brahminical view on caste that was prevalent in India, and how it was problematic in the sense that there was an unsaid hierarchy created which was not only oppressive upon lower caste, but also lower caste women in specific. There were a specific set of rules that were meant to be abided by the women as prescribed strictly in Hinduism texts like the Manismriti, without which they would be subjected to punishments of severe scales. There were clear distinctions in the society in terms of upper and lower castes- and so were their economic priviledges and societal positions linked to it likewise.

The author further goes on to explain the way women, as an entire gender was tied by the strings of the marriage system where she would not be allowed to marry someone below or above her caste. Thus, in the process of remaining within the boundaries of their own castes even in the process of marriage, the concept of class differentiation on the basis of caste became stronger. Class and caste became a interlinked concept, and in the process, the assertion of dominance on women as a gender, and the power played upon women by the other stronger gender became severely prominent.