Department of Women’s Studies

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7

Open Access
Shades of South Asian Women in Rasheed Jahan’s Writings: Navigating Patriarchies, Spaces, Regime Control, and Colonialism
(University of North Bengal, 2022-12) Chakraborty, Anup Shekhar; Biswas, Praggnaparamita
Women in South Asia had a different colonial experience compared to that of men. Colonialism liberated indigenous women from traditionally restrictive practices, expanding their mobility opportunities. It also introduced indigenous women to newer forms of colonial patriarchy and sometimes resurrected older forms of masculine privilege. Women attempted to overcome obstacles to education and healthcare, forced marriages, and restrictions on their freedom of movement. A group of women actively participated in the nationalist movement and advocated for women’s rights. Writing allowed colonised women in South Asia to convey their thoughts and experiences and to challenge the oppressive structures that confined them, ultimately leading to women’s liberation. By drawing attention to the intersectionality of gender, religion, and culture, women writers in South Asia, particularly the Islamic women writers have contributed significantly to the feminist movement. These writings have given Muslim women in the region a voice and have challenged patriarchal norms and stereotypes. The writings of Rasheed Jahan, Ismat Chughtai, and Qurratulain Hyder continue to serve as a source of inspiration and motivation for future generations of women. The present study delves into the literary works of Rasheed Jahan, with a focus on the portrayal of South Asian women and their experiences in overcoming various forms of patriarchal oppression, their navigation through regimes and their mechanisms of control, their struggle for establishment of identities in diverse social settings, resisting authoritarian regimes, and recovering from the aftermath of colonialism while carving out spaces for their survival.
Open Access
Ignored Voices: An Overview of the life of the Women with Disabilities in India.
(University of North Bengal, 2022-12) Das, Tinku
It has been held from ancient times that men and women are not equal. Some socially prescribed identities have been forced onto both genders. Based on people's biological or physiological differences, performances, competence, retention, and other capacities, society has developed some negative conceptions and established some binaries such as normal/abnormal, able/disabled, fit/unfit, etc. In order to oppress women, patriarchal society has created separate standards for men and women. It views women as weak human beings who serve as spouses, mothers, nurses, and sisters. In a culture that is governed by men, women lack freedom and safety. Men have always held a higher standing than women and are still are viewed as more significant than women. There have been different waves of feminism with their own charter of demands regarding women’s rights but there was no particular demand for women with disabilities. It seems that women with disabilities have no purpose in this world and are considered as useless in the society. Even at the very onset the women who struggled for their rights and identities did not raise their voices for women with disabilities. Harlan Hahn, a disability activist and political scientist has observed that disabled women often encounter “asexual objectification”. Though the world of words masculine and feminine are categorized but women with disability have no category and have been deprived and treated as untouchables. The paper discusses this lack of voice in favour of women with disabilities that pushes them towards more uneasy world.
Open Access
Emancipation and Empowerment of Women – Barriers and Challenges
(University of North Bengal, 2022-12) Roy, Sayantani
‘It is perfectly natural for the future woman to feel indignant at the limitations posed upon her by her sex. The real question is not why she should reject them: the problem is to understand why she accepts them’ -Simone de Beauvior, The Second Sex Since time immemorial, women have been held in the shackles of mediocrity under the guise of domesticity. The notion of inferiority complex silently embedded in their psyche. The invariably assertive surroundings forcibly made an inevitable resolution to push her down the same path that her matriarchal lineage committed to ages since. The fear of obligation and guilt persisted in following her in the subsequent time, no matter how hard a woman attempted to break free from the confines that had been deftly built to keep her in place. The terrifying outburst of self-criticism is a product of the generational transmission of a mental process that endorses patriarchy and relies on the idea that women are in fact a subordinate category incapable of being left on their own. A key component of feminist definition and politics is empowerment, which became a buzzword in the 1970s among development agencies, is not without obstacles and challenges.
Open Access
Women , Leisure and a Room of Their Own : a Brief Appraisal
(University of North Bengal, 2020-12) Mitra, Zinia
Open Access
Study on the Occupational Status of Women of Matigara Community Development Block, Darjiling District, West Bengal
(University of North Bengal, 2020-12) Lepcha Nee Lama, Indira; Saha, Tannistha
Open Access
Love Marriage: Women in Sri Lankan Civil War
(University of North Bengal, 2020-12) Mookherjee, Sanghamitra
Open Access
Socio-Political Status of Women in Ancient India
(University of North Bengal, 2020-12) Goswami, Gita Rani

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