Viewing ‘Gendering Caste: Through a Feminist lens’ in the context of History and Culture
1.
The first chapter focuses on the issue of caste and its effect on women who belong
to the lower caste of society. The lower castes in India have been always a
subject of oppression and the women that belong to this category face the
problem of intersectionality and dual set of problems. While explaining the concept of caste, the author goes
through the history of caste discrimination, the concept of 'untouchability'
and provides illustrations of how the lower castes had been ostracized in the
past. The beauty of the Author’s argument is the manner she connects class and
caste division and shows their sharp stance inflicting patriarchal power over
the class of women.
2.
In
the second chapter, the author discusses the role of marriage and sexuality
in the Indian society in the light of the prevalent patriarchy. The author
emphasizes on endogamy as the basic element in the marriage system of the
Indian subcontinent and how it has been the primary means by which the separation between "pure" and "impure" is achieved. The author also makes observations about how marriages are conceived in India along
with the concept of Brahmanical patriarchy as a mechanism to preserve land,
women and ritual quality and nothing to do with the women. Both these chapters
provide a fresh perspective of things that
we see on a daily basis through the feminist lens and the problems faced by
women in various forms ranging from caste, patriarchy to suppression because of
the Brahmanical society.
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