admin Joopaka Subadra
This is an excerpt from her recent online talk organised by Bharata Nastika Samajam and Scientific Students Federation.
The topic I’m going to talk about today is ‘Patriarchy, feminism and Bahujan women’. Feminism, according to feminists themselves, is for equality, about equality between women and men. They say, all women are the same, that there are no differences between us, there are no walls between us. That all of us face patriarchy. That patriarchy is the same for all. Bahujan women, MBC women, Adivasi women, Dalit women disagree with this. Because their problems are not the same. Patriarchy is not the same in these castes and tribes. It is of different kinds. Their patriarchies are different from ours. They exist outside labour, we live inside labour.
If you talk about man-woman equality, how can it come about without the annihilation of caste? Man-woman equality, the disappearance of other hierarchies can only come about if annihilation of caste happens. But if you’re talking about only equality between men and women, the question arises: equality between which men and which women are you talking about? We who are in equal relationships, as forces of labour (Dalit, Adivasi, MBC women) are laboring women, women of sweat.
The issues of these laboring women are never seen in the literature of the feminists, never broached in their programmes. But they say all women are the same. But whose problems, issues become the agenda of these feminists? The problems of our scavenging, sanitation women workers? The problems of our Jogini women? The problems of our lack of education, of unemployment? The problems of denial of dignity to us? But our problems never find space in their writings or literature or programmes.
But again, they say all women are one. Recently, Vinodini Madusu* made a very good observation: in the caste hierarchy, what rung do women occupy? The Brahmin women are on the Brahmin rung. And the kshatriyas and vaishyas and shudras are in their spots..and the dalits are even lower, in pataal. So on what rung are all these women together, in this societal order?
Those women, their bellies are filled without ever crossing the threshold. But these women are engaged in labour. For them, sexual freedoms, family honour (how are they relevant)..They say, family. In family, their patriarchy ordains their duty is protecting properties, propagating the vansh, giving birth to children.
Here, in our laboring castes, where are the properties? They not only produce children, but they’re also engaged in social production. They’re half of the workforce in social production. Their gender perspective, their caste perspective is different.
Savarna women will be liberated, if they free themselves of patriarchy. They’ll be liberated if they get equal opportunities as their men.
But look at the problems of our women. There is the caste problem, caste-based loot, problem of labour.. They’re the slaves of slaves. Our men themselves are slaves, we’re slaves of slaves. But you? You’re performing slavery for your men. But we are slaves for your men, for you women, for all other men (who are slaves themselves).
In the nationalist movement, your problems were resolved. This society is of men. Which men? Of men who hold power, hegemony. It means those who exercise power over structures..that is patriarchy. Attributing the patriarchy born there, among those holding power over structures, to men of all jatis or castes…From this attribution, it is we who are the losers. Our castes suffer. Because, you talk of equality and freedoms, but for us, our castes should disappear.
It is because of my caste that I became a scavenging woman, it is because of my caste that I was denied education, it is because of my caste that I am jobless, it is because of my caste that I am denied dignity. Give us our respect. I’ve to remove caste first. Caste is the huge burden on my head. Gender comes only after that.
Patriarchy is that which takes over structures, institutions into its control and exercises power and authority over them. But men of our castes exercise power over only their homes, not over institutions, structures.. Feminists call even that patriarchy. And exercising power over structures is also patriarchy. Power over homes, and power over structures: they’re calling both as patriarchy.
This ideology of white women in Europe, America has been brought to India by left Brahmin women. Looking at only the evils in their homes, patriarchy there, calling it domestic violence. But there is social violence on our women, there is caste violence on our women. On Bahujan women, on Dalit women.
They’ve formulated no agenda to resolve our issues, problems. The savarna feminists are talking since 1960s..70s.. They’re talking of domestic violence. Domestic violence, sexual freedoms.. Since the 70s they’re talking. They don’t move beyond domestic violence. We’re still at the stage of food.. we still need to think of how to get through today, this evening, tomorrow..will we find work tomorrow or not.. we’re still at that stage, we’ve not reached that high, their stage.
The line you laid, built.. from the wisdom gained from your experiences, your interpretations, your directions—we’re supposed to follow. Our struggles, our narratives, our experiences, our histories don’t fit into that frame, your frame. You should understand that. But even when you understand it, for your selfish interests, you’re still saying all women are the same.
Are all men equal, for all women to be equal? Even now, they move ahead with the slogan that all women are equal. In this caste society, everyone has their own problems. There has not been a discussion on those problems; there has been no focus on developing an agenda to deal with those problems. The feminists are not even talking about them.
They’re not talking about the Jogini issue, they’re not talking about the problem of hunger these castes constantly face.
They’re talking about household work. They’re talking about disposal of garbage in homes. Ok, we should attribute value to all kinds of work. But, why aren’t they talking about those who clean roads outside homes, those who clean shit?
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Joopaka Subadra is a poet, writer, critic, and a significant figure in Telugu literature and anti-caste struggles.
This was translated from Telugu by Naren Bedide (Kuffir)
You can read her interview on Prauddha: Journal of Social Equality
