Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
Name
Stud. ID
Tutor Name
Maryam Khan
0000057954
Miss Nosheen Ahmad
Program
BS (English)
Course Code
9162
Course
Perspectives of Gender Studies
ALLAMA IQBAL OPEN UNIVERSITY
1
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
Question No. 1
What is your opinion about the social status of women in your religion?
The study of women and religion examines women in the context of different religious faiths. This includes
considering female gender roles in religious history as well as how women participate in religion. Particular
consideration is given to how religion has been used as a patriarchal tool to elevate the status and power of men
over women as well as how religion portrays gender within religious doctrines Islam is a monotheistic religion
that was founded in the early seventh century by the prophet, Muhammad. The notion of a good life for
a Muslim person is defined in Islam’ s sacred text, the Quran, as well as the Hadith which are the direct
teachings of Muhammad. Although these sources covered a lot, there were still some situations that were left to
interpretation. Thus, Islamic scholars formed a consensus around a set of secondary sources, the most notable
being the ijma, qiyas, ijtihad and fatwas. It is important to recognize that the Quran is not a static source with a
fixed meaning but a dynamic, versatile one.
Although, the introduction of Islamic principles was a step in the right direction, men kept the dominant
position and women were required to be obedient to their husbands, fathers, and sons. This was less due to the
teachings of the religion than to the cultural norms of the era in which it arose. Before Islam became so
widespread, people of the Middle East lived in households in which women were seen as the property of their
husbands and were only meant to perform household tasks, ultimately dehumanizing them.
Islam also gave some recognition to women’ s rights by regarding men and women as equals in their ability to
carry out the wishes of Allah and the teachings of Muhammad. The three main things which sharia law
introduced were a women’ s rights to marriage, inheritance, and divorce. It also limited the oppressive
privileges of men by restricting polygamy, limiting men to marrying a maximum of four women only, and
requiring the husband to take care of each wife equally and properly. Marrying more than four wives is the right
only of certain men in powerful positions. Muhammad himself had several wives, marrying some who were
widows to give them a home and protection.
Muslims must observe the five pillars of Islam: praying five times a day, fasting during the month of Ramadan,
making a pilgrimage to Mecca, donating to charity, and accepting Allah as the only God and Muhammad as
Allah's prophet. Women have restrictions on praying in public, given instead separate private spaces. Also,
women are not permitted to pray during menstruation as they are not considered clean. If women are pregnant
or nursing during the month of Ramadan, they do not need to keep the sunup to sundown daily
2
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
fasts. Segregation of men and women in Islamic centers gives Muslim women the right to work independently
and not under men.
Due to their isolation, it became the responsibility of the ummah, or Muslim community, to pass down the
customs and traditions that mold a Muslim women's life. This guidance, sharia, and Islamic scripture outlined
the structure for her education, employment opportunities, rights to inheritance, dress, public appearance,
domestic 'duties', age of marriage, freedom to consent to marriage, marriage contract, mahr, permissibility of
birth control, divorce, sex outside or before marriage, ability to receive justice in case of sex crimes, property
rights independent of her husband, and when salat (prayers) are mandatory for her A high-ranking Bhikkhuni in
the Chinese Buddhist tradition during an alms round.
Buddhism can be considered to be revolutionary within the social and political realms of ancient India in
regards to the role of women. Buddhism can be attributed as revolutionary due to the fact that Gautama
Buddha admitted women into the monastic order, during a time when monastic communities were dominated by
males in India. Additionally, one of the main schools of tradition that originated from the early development of
Buddhism, called Theravāda Buddhism, expresses the assumption that “all men and women, regardless of their
caste, origins, or status, have equal spiritual worth.” Buddhism can be described as a religious and
philosophical ideology that does not have an explicit “ Creator” there is no implied “ sacredness” in relation
to one’ s human form, which means that the practice itself is not bound to the ideas of gender, reproduction,
and sexuality
However, it is argued that Buddhist traditions still have underlying issues pertaining to gender roles. While
Buddhist ideologies may be considered a revolutionary step forward in the status of women, many still consider
the tradition to be subject to the social and political context of undermining gender issues during its upbringing,
and even up to this day. The progression of gender issues, especially between gender and authority, can be seen
during the time period of Hinayana Buddhism, when the Buddhist order underwent major reforms of splitting
into about 20 different schools. During this time Buddhist narratives and beliefs arose limiting the status of
women’ s roles within the Buddhist communities, asserting that women could not reach enlightenment,
or Buddhahood. This also meant that women would not attain positions of leadership because that they could
not reach enlightenment, unless they “ gain good karma and are reborn as men beforehand.”
[41]
Alternatively, Khandro Rinpoche, a female lama in Tibetan Buddhism, shows a more optimistic view in regards
to women in Buddhism:
When there is a talk about women and Buddhism, I have noticed that people often regard the topic as something
new and different. They believe that women in Buddhism has become an important topic because we live in
modern times and so many women are practicing the Dharma now. However, this is not the case. The female
sangha has been here for centuries. We are not bringing something new into a 2,500-year-old tradition. The
roots are there, and we are simply re-energizing them.
3
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
In a YouTube interview on why there are so few female teachers in the Buddhist communities, Rinpoche goes
on to say that: It is because of a lack of education. It was a very patriarchal society back in the East. Wherever
Buddhism grew, these societies were very patriarchal. It limits the opportunity women have to study and be
independent – and you have to study and be independent to manifest any kind of realization or
understanding…fortunately, that seems to be changing. I really think that opportunities for education have now
really increased for women – they are becoming very competitive and learned, and things are going to change.
Rinpoche states that while the underlying nature of the patriarchal system that still exists today creates more
obstacles and limitations for women in Buddhism, she believes that there is a changing dynamic and optimistic
future for women within the Buddhist community.
Hinduism
Hinduism, states Professor of Indian Religion Edwin Bryant, has the strongest presence of the divine feminine
among major world religions, from ancient times to the present. The goddess is viewed as central in Shakti and
Saiva Hindu traditions. In Hinduism, women are portrayed as equal or even greater than men. For instance, Kali
Ma (Dark Mother) "is the Hindu goddess of creation, preservation, and goddess of destruction." Her power
included the origin of all creation's life, as well as the end of life. Due to her control over life and death, Kali
was seen as a goddess who should be loved as well as feared. This leads to a higher status for the woman than
the man, because everyone has to respect her in order to have a smooth life and live longer. Another important
female figure is Shakti or Adishakti or Adiparashakti, the divine feminine - a goddess that embodies the energy
of the universe, "often appearing to destroy demonic forces and restore balance".Because Shakti is a universal
force, she embodies all the gods in Hinduism and is worshiped as the "mother goddess". In Hindu lore, the
Goddess is referred as Devi or Devi Ma, meaning Mother Goddess. The Goddess is considered as the
progenitor, sustainer and ultimately, the destroyer of the universe. She is worshipped as Durga - the warrior
Goddess, Kali - the Goddess of time and death and regeneration, Lalita Tripurasundari - the divine lady of All
Worlds and as Bhuvaneshwari, the Goddess of the Universe. The Goddess is worshipped in many forms
as Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity and as Saraswati, the Goddess of knowledge, arts,
education and learning.
Throughout history, Hindu women have held public religious positions as practitioners and conductors of Vedic
Rituals. Hindu society has seen many female rulers, such as Rudramadevi, Rani Abbakka, Rani Durgavati, Rani
Ahilyabai Holkar, Rani Chennamma of Keladi, women saints, such as Andal, philosophers, such as Maitreyi,
and religious reformers.[49] While Hinduism portrays women as figures who play an important role in
understanding how the world works, women in Hindu society have often been marginalized and their
importance has been diminished, as a result of "girls being made to feel lesser and not as important as boys". [50]
Devdutt Pattnaik asserts that "Hindu mythology reveals that patriarchy, the idea that men are superior to
women, was invented",a societal shift in power occurred between men and women, sometimes to the point
4
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
where a woman was in a subordinated position to a male. On the other side, matriarchal theology is quite
prevalent in Sanskritic traditions and village Hinduism relating to the worship of Shakti, and there are numerous
Hindu communities that are matriarchal. Where there has been societal inequality, reformers and feminists have
utilized Hinduism's texts to reorient the social status of women to provide them with equal opportunities, and
modern Hindu society has witnessed an upsurge in women taking up leadership roles in many contemporary
institutions.
Question No.2
Elaborate on the main arguments of Feminist Socialist Theory.
Socialist feminism rose in the 1960s and 1970s as an offshoot of the feminist movement and New Left that
focuses upon the interconnectivity of the patriarchy and capitalism. However, the ways in which women's
private, domestic, and public roles in society has been conceptualized, or thought about, can be traced back
to Mary Wollstonecraft's A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792) and William Thompson's utopian
socialist work in the 1800s. Ideas about overcoming the patriarchy by coming together in female groups to talk
about personal problems stem from Carol Hanisch. This was done in an essay in 1969 which later coined the
term 'the personal is political.' This was also the time that second wave feminism started to surface which is
really when socialist feminism kicked off. Socialist feminists argue that liberation can only be achieved by
working to end both the economic and cultural sources of women's oppression.
Socialist feminism is a two-pronged theory that broadens Marxist feminism's argument for the role of capitalism
in the oppression of women and radical feminism's theory of the role of gender and the patriarchy. Socialist
feminists reject radical feminism's main claim that patriarchy is the only, or primary, source of oppression of
women.[5] Rather, Socialist feminists assert that women are oppressed due to their financial dependence on
males. Women are subjects to male domination within capitalism due to an uneven balance in wealth. They see
economic dependence as the driving force of women's subjugation to men. Further, Socialist feminists see
women's liberation as a necessary part of larger quest for social, economic, and political justice. Socialist
feminists attempted to integrate the fight for women's liberation with the struggle against other oppressive
systems based on race, class, sexual orientation, or economic status.
Socialist feminism draws upon many concepts found in Marxism, such as a historical materialist point of view,
which means that they relate their ideas to the material and historical conditions of people's lives. Thus,
5
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
Socialist feminists consider how the sexism and gendered division of labor of each historical era is determined
by the economic system of the time. Those conditions are largely expressed through capitalist and patriarchal
relations. Socialist feminists reject the Marxist notion that class and class struggle are the only defining aspects
of history and economic development. [7] Karl Marx asserted that when class oppression was overcome, gender
oppression would vanish as well. According to Socialist feminists, this view of gender oppression as a sub-class
of class oppression is naive, and much of the work of Socialist feminists has gone towards specifying how
gender and class work together to create distinct forms of oppression and privilege for women and men of each
class. For example, they observe that women's class status is generally derivative of her husband's class or
occupational status, e.g. a secretary that marries her boss assumes his class status.
In 1972, "Socialist Feminism: A Strategy for the Women's Movement", which is believed to be the first
publication to use the term socialist feminism, was published by the Hyde Park Chapter of the Chicago
Women's Liberation Union (Heather Booth, Day Creamer, Susan Davis, Deb Dobbin, Robin Kaufman, and
Tobey Klass).[8] Other socialist feminists, notably two long-lived American organizations Radical Women and
the Freedom Socialist Party, point to the classic Marxist writings of Frederick Engels (The Origin of the Family,
Private Property and the State) and August Bebel (Woman and Socialism) as a powerful explanation of the link
between gender oppression and class exploitation. In the decades following the Cold War, feminist writer and
scholar Sarah Evans says that the socialist feminist movement has lost traction in the West due to a common
narrative that associates socialism with totalitarianism and dogma.
Post 1970, the socialist feminist party grew in many ways in expanding. In Socialist Women : European
Socialist Feminism in the Nineteenth & early Twentieth Centuries, by Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy, social
feminism is defined as "women who saw the root of sexual oppression in the existence of private property and
who envisioned a radically transformed society in which man would exploit neither man nor women [1]" The
equality described has to do with a transformed society in which both sexes are equal and given the same
opportunities despite any physiological differences. Going forward it is described to need a total change in both
the economic and social system to create the lasting improvement that the socialist feminism movement is
looking for.
Kristen R Ghodsee argues, in her book Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism, that free markets
discriminate against women as big bosses consider women to be less reliable, weaker and more emotional
which leads to the gender pay gap as they need financial incentives to employ them. [11] George Bernard Shaw
quotes "Capitalism acts on women as a continual bribe to enter into sex relations for money". [12] He also claims
many women take part in work within the household but this is invisible as far as the market is concerned.
Socialist feminist Claudia Jones worked to incorporate Black women, other working women of color, and their
needs into The Communist Party in the 1930s. This is because most of the issues The Communist Party
addressed had to do with the white, male proletariat. Jones theoretical background rests at the intersection
of Marxism, Black Nationalism, and Feminism thus resulting in her contextualization and expansion upon
6
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
"Triple Oppression", or the notion that Black and Brown women experience oppression based on race, class,
and gender. Jones further argues that white women, much less Black and Brown working women, would never
be liberated if the structures of colonialism were not abolished and Black Nationalism were not adopted.
Feminist historian Linda Gordon asserts that socialist feminism is inherently intersectional, at least to a certain
degree, because it takes into account both gender and class. Gordon says that because the foundation of socialist
feminism rests on multiple axes, socialist feminism has a history of intersectionality that can be traced back to a
period
decades
before
Dr. Kimberlé
Crenshaw first
articulated
the
concept
of intersectionality in
1989.[14] According to Gordon, socialist feminism of the 1980s expanded upon the concept of intersectionality
by examining the overlapping structures that instantiate oppression.[15] Feminist scholar and women's studies
professor Elizabeth Lapovsky Kennedy says that this broader analysis of societal structures began with socialist
feminism and served as a catalyst for feminist scholarship. Kennedy says that many of the first women's studies
programs were established by socialist feminist theorists.[1] Despite the claims of being a homogenizing
philosophy that erases difference of identity, [16] socialist feminism's inherent approach to difference of
identities, through an analysis of economic exploitation of all, is both recognized and enhanced by Crenshaw's
intersectionality.
Despite the supposed presence of intersectionality in socialist feminism, many feminists, particularly women of
color, critique the movement for perceived deficiencies in regards to racial equity. In Kennedy's account of
socialist feminism's impact on women's studies, she says that a lack of Black voices in feminist academia
contributed to whitewashing of women's studies programs and courses. [1] Kum-Kum Bhavani, a professor at
University of California Santa Barbara, and Margaret Coulson, a socialist feminist scholar, assert that racism in
the socialist feminist movement stems from the failure of many white feminists to recognize the institutional
nature of racism. According to Bhavani and Coulson, race, class, and gender are inextricably linked, and the
exclusion of any one of these factors from one's worldview would result in an incomplete understanding of the
systems of privilege and oppression they say constitute our society. [17] Kathryn Harriss, a feminist scholar from
the United Kingdom, describes what she sees as the shortcomings of the socialist feminist movement of the
1980s in the United Kingdom. Harriss describes marginalized women's grievances with the Women's Liberation
Movement, a large socialist feminist group. She says many lesbian women criticized the movement for its
domination by heterosexual feminists who perpetuated heterosexism in the movement. Similarly, Black women
asserted that they were deprived a voice due to the overwhelming majority of white women in the WLM
advocating widely held views regarding violence against women, the family, and reproductive rights that failed
to account for the distinct struggles faced by women of color.
7
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
Question No.3
Explain the utility and importance of qualitative research methods in feminist research.
Feminist qualitative research begins with the understanding that all knowledge is situated in the bodies and
subjectivities of people, particularly women and historically marginalized groups. Donna Haraway (1988)
wrote,
I am arguing for politics and epistemologies of location, position, and situating, where partiality and not
universality is the condition of being heard to make rational knowledge claims. These are claims on people’ s
lives I’ m arguing for the view from a body, always a complex, contradictory, structuring, and structured body,
versus the view from above, from nowhere, from simplicity. Only the god trick is forbidden. . . . Feminism is
about a critical vision consequent upon a critical positioning in unhomogeneous gendered social space. (p. 589)
By arguing that “ politics and epistemologies” are always interpretive and partial, Haraway offered feminist
qualitative researchers in education a way to understand all research as potentially political and always
interpretive and partial. Because all humans bring their own histories, biases, and subjectivities with them to a
research space or project, it is naïve to think that the written product of research could ever be considered
neutral, but what does research with a strong commitment to feminism look like in the context of education?
Writing specifically about the ways researchers of both genders can use feminist ethnographic methods while
conducting research on schools and schooling, Levinson (1998) stated, “ I define feminist ethnography as
intensive qualitative research, aimed toward the description and analysis of the gendered construction and
representation of experience, which is informed by a political and intellectual commitment to the empowerment
of women and the creation of more equitable arrangements between and among specific, culturally defined
genders” (p. 339). The core of Levinson’ s definition is helpful for understanding the ways that feminist
educational anthropologists engage with schools as gendered and political constructs and the larger questions of
feminist qualitative research in education. His message also extends to other forms of feminist qualitative
research. By focusing on description, analysis, and representation of gendered constructs, educational
researchers can move beyond simple binary analyses to more nuanced understandings of the myriad ways
gender operates within educational contexts.
Feminist qualitative research spans the range of qualitative methodologies, but much early research emerged out
of the feminist postmodern turn in anthropology (Behar & Gordon, 1995), which was a response to male
anthropologists who ignored the gendered implications of ethnographic research (e.g., Clifford &
Marcus, 1986). Historically, most of the work on feminist education was conducted in the 1980s and 1990s,
with a resurgence in the late 2010s (Culley & Portuges, 1985; DuBois, Kelly, Kennedy, Korsmeyer, &
Robinson, 1985; Gottesman, 2016; Maher & Tetreault, 1994; Thayer-Bacon, Stone, & Sprecher, 2013). Within
8
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
this body of research, the majority focuses on higher education (Coffey & Delamont, 2000; Digiovanni &
Liston, 2005; Diller, Houston, Morgan, & Ayim, 1996; Gabriel & Smithson, 1990; Mayberry & Rose, 1999).
Even leading journals, such as Feminist Teacher (1984−present), focus mostly on the challenges of teaching
about and to women in higher education, although more scholarship on P–12 education has emerged in recent
issues.
There is also a large collection of work on the links between gender, achievement, and self-esteem. However,
just because research examines gender does not mean that it is feminist. Simply using gender as a category of
analysis does not mean the research project is informed by feminist theory, ethics, or methods, but it is often a
starting point for researchers who are interested in the complex ways gender is constructed and the ways it
operates in education.
The normative historiography of feminist theory and activism in the United States is broken into three waves.
First-wave feminism (1830s−1920s) primarily focused on women’s suffrage and women’s rights to legally exist
in public spaces. During this time period, there were major schisms between feminist groups concerning
abolition, rights for African American women, and the erasure of marginalized voices from larger feminist
debates. The second wave (1960s and 1980s) worked to extend some of the rights won during the first wave.
Activists of this time period focused on women’ s rights to enter the workforce, sexual harassment, educational
equality, and abortion rights. During this wave, colleges and universities started creating women’ s studies
departments and those scholars provided much of the theoretical work that informs feminist research and
activism today. While there were major feminist victories during second-wave feminism, notably Title IX
and Roe v. Wade, issues concerning the marginalization of race, sexual orientation, and gender identity led
many feminists of color to separate from mainstream white feminist groups. The third wave (1990s to the
present) is often characterized as the intersectional wave, as some feminist groups began utilizing Kimberlé
Crenshaw’ s concept of intersectionality (1991) to understand that oppression operates via multiple categories
(e.g., gender, race, class, age, ability) and that intersecting oppressions lead to different lived experiences.
Historians and scholars of feminism argue that dividing feminist activism into three waves flattens and erases
the major contributions of women of color and gender-nonconforming people. Thompson (2002) called this
history a history of hegemonic feminism and proposed that we look at the contributions of multiracial feminism
when discussing history. Her work, along with that of Allen (1984) about the indigenous roots of U.S.
feminism, raised many questions about the ways that feminism operates within the public and academic
spheres. For those who wish to engage in feminist research, it is vital to spend time understanding the historical,
theoretical, and political ways that feminism(s) can both liberate and oppress, depending on the scholar’ s
understandings of, and orientations to, feminist projects.
Much of the theoretical work that informs feminist qualitative research today emerged out of second-wave
feminist scholarship. Standpoint epistemology, according to Harding (1991, 2004), posits that knowledge comes
from one’ s particular social location, that it is subjective, and the further one is from the hegemonic norm, the
9
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
clearer one can see oppression. This was a major challenge to androcentric and Enlightenment theories of
knowledge because standpoint theory acknowledges that there is no universal understanding of the world. This
theory aligns with the second-wave feminist slogan, “ The personal is political,” and advocates for a view of
knowledge that is produced from the body.
Greene (1994) wrote from a feminist postmodernist epistemology and attacked Enlightenment thinking by using
standpoint theory as her starting point. Her work serves as an example of one way that educational scholars can
use standpoint theory in their work. She theorized encounters with “ imaginative literature” to help educators
conceptualize new ways of using reading and writing in the classroom and called for teachers to think of
literature as “ a harbinger of the possible.” (Greene, 1994, p. 218). Greene wrote from an explicitly feminist
perspective and moved beyond simple analyses of gender to a larger critique of the ways that knowledge is
constructed in classrooms.
Question No.4
Goddesses in Hinduism are highly revered. What is the social status of ordinary women in
Hinduism?
Hindu texts present diverse and conflicting views on the position of women, ranging from feminine leadership
as the highest goddess, to limiting gender roles. The Devi Sukta hymn of Rigveda, a scripture of Hinduism,
declares the feminine energy as the essence of the universe, the one who creates all matter and consciousness,
the eternal and infinite, the metaphysical and empirical reality (Brahman), the soul, (supreme self) of
everything. The woman is celebrated as the most powerful and the empowering force in some Hindu
Upanishads, Sastras and Puranas, particularly the Devi Upanishad, Devi Mahatmya and Devi-Bhagavata
Purana.
Ancient and medieval era Hindu texts present a diverse picture of duties and rights of women in Hinduism.
The texts recognize eight kinds of marriage, ranging from father finding a marriage partner for his daughter and
seeking her consent (Brahma marriage), to the bride and groom finding each other without parental participation
(Gandharva marriage). Scholars state that Vedic-era Hindu texts and records left by travelers to ancient and
medieval India suggest that ancient Hindu society did not practice Dowry or Sati.[8][9] These practices likely
became widespread sometime in the 2nd millennium CE from socio-political developments in the Indian
subcontinent. Throughout history, Hindu society has seen many female rulers, such as Rudramadevi, religious
figures and saints, such as Andal, philosophers, such as Maitreyi, and female practitioners/ conductors of Vedic
Hindu rituals.
10
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
Hinduism, states Bryant, has the strongest presence of the divine feminine among major world religions, from
ancient times to the present. The goddess is viewed as central in Shakti and Shiva Hindu traditions. Matriarchal
theology is quite prevalent in Sanskritic traditions and village Hinduism relating to the worship of Shakti, and
there are numerous Hindu communities that are matriarchal.
Ancient texts of Hinduism expound a reverence for the feminine. The 10th chapter of the Rigveda, for example,
asserts the feminine to be the supreme principle behind all of cosmos, in the following hymn called as Devi
Sukta,
I am the Queen, the gatherer-up of treasures, most thoughtful, first of those who merit worship.
Thus Gods have established me in many places with many homes to enter and abide in.
Through me alone all eat the food that feeds them,-each man who sees, breathes, hears the word outspoken
They know it not, yet I reside in the essence of the Universe. Hear, one and all, the truth as I declare it.
I,
verily,
myself
announce
and
utter
the
word
that
gods
and
men
alike
shall
welcome.
I make the man I love exceeding mighty, make him nourished, a sage, and one who knows Brahman.
I
bend
the
bow
for
Rudra that
his
arrow
may
strike
and
slay the
hater
of
devotion.
I rouse and order battle for the people, I created Earth and Heaven and reside as their inner controller.
On the world's summit I bring forth the Father: my home is in the waters, in the ocean.
Thence I prevade all existing creatures, as their Inner Supreme Self, and manifest them with my body.
I created all worlds at my will, without any higher being, and permeate and dwell within them.
The eternal and infinite consciousness is I, it is my greatness dwelling in everything.
— Rigveda 10.125.3 - 10.125.8, The Vedas have several hymns accredited to women scholars who were known
as "Brahmavadinis". There were many learnt women who could defeat men with their skills and intellect. These
include Gargi, Ahalya, Maitreyi, Lopamudra, Ghosha, Swaha, Haimavati Uma , Gautami, Hemalekha, Sita etc.
At the same time , the Rigveda states contradictory views on women:
"Indra himself hath said, The mind of woman brooks not discipline.
Her intellect hath little weight."
"With women there can be no lasting friendship
hearts of hyenas are the hearts of women."
Upanishads
The Devi Sukta ideas of the Rigveda are further developed in the relatively later composed Shakta Upanishads,
states
McDaniel,
where
the Devi asserts
that
she
is Brahman,
from
her
arise Prakṛti (matter)
and Purusha (consciousness), she is bliss and non-bliss, the Vedas and what is different from it, the born and the
unborn, and the feminine is thus all of the universe.[3] She is presented as all the five elements, as well as all that
is different from these elements, what is above, what is below, what is around, and thus the universe in its
entirety.[20] This philosophy is also found in the Tripuratapani Upanishad and the Bahvricha Upanishad.[1]
11
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
The early Upanishads are, however, generally silent about women and men, and focus predominantly on
gender-less Brahman and its relation to Atman (Soul, Self). There are occasional exceptions. Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad, composed about 800 BCE, for example, in the last chapter detailing the education of a student,
include lessons for his Grihastha stage of life. There, the student is taught, that as a husband, he should cook
rice for the wife, and they together eat the food in certain way depending on whether they wish for the birth of a
daughter or a son, as follows,
And if a man wishes that a learned daughter should be born to him, and that she should live to her full age, then
after having prepared boiled rice with sesamum and butter, they should both eat, being fit to have offspring.
And if a man wishes that a learned son should be born to him, and that he should live his full age, then after
having prepared boiled rice with grain and butter, they should both eat, being fit tohave offspring.
— Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 6.4.17 - 6.4.18, Translated by Max Muller
Women are mentioned and are participants in the philosophical debates of the Upanishads, as well as scholars,
teachers and priestesses during the Vedic and early Buddhist age. Among women acknowledged in the
Upanishads
are Gargi and Maitreyi.
In Sanskrit,
the
word acharyā means
a
"female
teacher"
(versus acharya meaning "teacher") and an acharyini is a teacher's wife, indicating that some women were
known as gurus.
Female characters appear in plays and epic poems. The 8th century poet, Bhavabhuti describes in his
play, Uttararamacharita (verse 2 - 3), how the character, Atreyi, travelled to southern India where she studied
the Vedas and Indian philosophy. In Madhava's Shankaradigvijaya, Shankara debates with the female
philosopher, Ubhaya Bharati and in verses 9 - 63 it is mentioned that she was well versed in the Vedas.
Tirukkoneri Dasyai, a 15th-century scholar, wrote a commentary on Nammalvar's Tiruvaayamoli, with
reference to Vedic texts such as the Taittiriya Yajurveda.
The epics
The Mahabharata is a legendary Hindu epic reflecting the social beliefs and culture in ancient India. In its first
book, Dushmanta asks Sakuntala (above) to marry him for love, in Gandharva-style marriage, without the
consent of their parents. The texts also describes seven other forms of marriage, and when they were
appropriate or inappropriate.
In the two Hindu epics, Ramayana and Mahabharata, the role of women is mixed. The main female character in
the Mahabharata, Draupadi is married to all the five Pandavas, thus has five husbands. She is insulted by
Duryodhana, one of the triggers for the great war. In the Ramayana composed in the second half of 1st
millennium BCE, Sita is respected, honored and seen as inseparable beloved but presented as a homemaker, the
ideal wife and partner to Rama. In the Hindu tradition, a majority of women's oral retellings of
12
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
the Ramayana depict autonomy as the rule rather than the exception, but states Sugirtharajah, these versions are
of recent origins.
The Epics are stories, but carry precepts of dharma embedded them, suggesting perceived notions about women
in Hinduism at the time the Epics were composed. The Mahabharata, in Book 1, for example, states,
No man, even in anger, should ever do anything that is disagreeable to his wife; for happiness, joy, virtue and
everything depend on the wife. Wife is the sacred soil in which the husband is born again, even the Rishis
cannot create men without women.
— Adi Parva, Mahabharata Book, 1.74.50-5
The Anushasana Parva of the Hindu epic Mahabharata has several chapters dedicated to the discussion about
duties and right of women. It gives a mixed picture. In chapter 11, the goddess of wealth and
prosperity Lakshmi asserts, that she lives in those women who are truthful, sincere, modest, organized, devoted
to their husband and children, health conscious, patient and kind to guests. The goddess asserts she does not
reside in woman who is sinful, unclean, always disagreeing with her husband, has no patience or fortitude, is
lazy, quarrelsome with her neighbors and relatives.
In chapter 47, as Yudhishthira seeks guidance on Dharma from Bhishma, the Anushasana Parva compares the
value of daughter to a son, as follows,
The daughter, O king, has been ordained in the scriptures to be equal to the son.
— Bhishma, Anushasana Parva, Mahabharata 13.47.26
In Udyoga Parva of Mahabharata, states misogynists and bigots are sinners.
"Assertion of one's own superiority, the avaricious [lolupa], those who are unable to tolerate the slightest insult,
the bad tempered, the fickle, those who neglect the protecting of those who seek it. One who thinks only of his
own sexual satisfaction, the bigoted, the arrogant, one who gives and then regrets it, one who’ s parsimonious,
one who admires power/wealth and pleasure, and the misogynist these are the 13 types of sinners. " The duties
of women are again recited in Chapter 146, as a conversation between god Shiva and his wife goddess Uma,
where Shiva asks what are the duties of women. Uma (Parvati) proceeds to meet all the rivers, who are all
goddesses that nourish and create fertile valleys. [29] Uma suggests that the duties of women include being of a
good disposition, endued with sweet speech, sweet conduct, and sweet features. For a woman, claims Uma, her
husband is her god, her husband is her friend, and her husband is her high refuge. A woman's duties include
physical and emotional nourishment, reverence and fulfillment of her husband and her children. Their happiness
is her happiness, she observes the same vows as those that are observed by her husband, her duty is to be
cheerful even when her husband or her children are angry, be there for them in adversity or sickness, is regarded
as truly righteous in her conduct.[29] Beyond her husband and family, her duty is to be cheerful of heart and
humble with friends and relatives, do the best she can for friends and guests. Her family life and her home is her
heaven, tells goddess Parvati to Shiva.[29]
13
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
Anushasana Parva has served as a source for modern era texts on women in Hinduism. For example,
Tryambakayajvan of Thanjavur, in the 18th-century CE, published Strīdharmapaddhati (sometimes referred to
as Stri Dharma Paddhati, or "Guide for a Dharmic Woman"). Tryambaka, according to Julia Leslie, selectively
extracts verses from many chapters of Anushasana Parva. He selectively extracts verses from other books of the
Mahabharata as well, and other ancient Indian texts, for Strīdharmapaddhati, choosing those he preferred,
omitting verses from the Mahabharata that represent its characteristic style of presenting many voices and
counter-arguments.
Question No.5
Q.5 Write notes on the following:
a)
Domestic Knowledge Systems
domestic
system,
also
called putting-out
system, production
system widespread in
17th-century
western Europe in which merchant-employers “ put out” materials to rural producers who usually worked in
their homes but sometimes laboured in workshops or in turn put out work to others. Finished products were
returned to the employers for payment on a piecework or wage basis. The domestic system differed from the
handicraft system of home production in that the workers neither bought materials nor sold products. It
undermined the restrictive regulations of the urban guilds and brought the first widespread industrial
employment of women and children. The advantages to the merchant-employer were the lower wage costs and
increased efficiency due to a more extensive division of labour within the craft.
The system was generally superseded by employment in factories during the course of the Industrial
Revolution but
was
retained
in
watchmaking industry in Switzerland,
the
20th
century
in
toy manufacturing in Germany,
some
and
industries,
notably
numerous
the
industries
in India and China.
All production systems,
when
viewed
at
the
most
abstract
level,
might
be
said
to
be
“ transformation processes” —processes that transform resources into useful goods and services. The
transformation process typically uses common resources such as labour, capital (for machinery and equipment,
materials, etc.), and space (land, buildings, etc.) to effect a change. Economists call these resources the “ factors
of production” and usually refer to them as labour, capital, and land. Production managers have referred to
14
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
them as the “ five M’ s” : men, machines, methods, materials, and money. When viewed as a process, a
production system may be further characterized by flows (channels of movement) in the process: both the
physical flow of materials, work in the intermediate stages of manufacture (work in process), and finished
goods; and the flow of information and the inevitable paperwork that carry and accompany the physical flow.
The physical flows are subject to the constraints of the capacity of the production system, which also limits the
system’ s ability to meet output expectations. Similarly, the capacity of the information-handling channel of the
production system may also be an important measure of a system’ s output. The management of information
flows, or the planning and control of the system to achieve acceptable outputs, is an important task of the
production manager.
While the capacity of the system is the major factor in determining whether output expectations can be met, the
additional consideration of quality must also be seen as a limiting factor. The quality of a product, measured
against some objective standard, includes appearance, performance characteristics, durability, serviceability,
and other physical characteristics; timeliness of delivery; cost; appropriateness of documentation and supporting
materials; and so on. It is an important part of the definition of a system.
There are three common types of basic production systems: the batch system, the continuous system, and the
project system. In the batch system, general-purpose equipment and methods are used to produce small
quantities of output (goods or services) with specifications that vary greatly from one batch to the next. A given
quantity of a product is moved as a batch through one or more steps, and the total volume emerges
simultaneously at the end of the production cycle. Examples include systems for producing specialized machine
tools or heavy-duty construction equipment, specialty chemicals, and processed food products, or, in the service
sector, the system for processing claims in a large insurance company. Batch production systems are often
referred to as job shops.
b)
Gendered work
“ Gendered work” refers to the outcome of processes whereby “ work” is defined, organized, divided, and
valued in ways that reflect the patterns of relations (including those marked by advantage/disadvantage) that
exist between men and women (and between groups of men and women differentiated on the basis of class,
racialization, nationality, age, sexual orientation, etc.) and the meanings and identifications attached to
“ masculinity” and “ femininity” in a particular socioeconomic context at a particular period in time.
The link between gender and work has not been this strong in European culture, but economic institutions,
technological developments, cultural norms, religious and intellectual currents, and popular beliefs have all
played a part in shaping clear distinctions between men's and women's work. These distinctions have, in turn,
determined how tasks would be valued, with tasks normally done by men valued more highly than those done
by women, even if they took the same amount of time, skill, and effort. In fact, the very definition of "work" has
often been gender-biased, with men's tasks defined as "work" while women's have been defined as "assisting,"
15
Course: Perspectives of Gender Studies (9162)
Semester: Spring, 2022
"helping out," or "housework." Some tasks done by women, such as the care and nurturing of family members,
have generally not been regarded as "work" at all.
In the same way that gender history in general grew out of women's history, the study of gender and work
developed primarily out of studies on women's work. Economic and labor historians whose primary focus was
work were often more attentive to class differences than to those of gender; their focus was the male work
experience, but its gendered nature was not analyzed or explored. This is beginning to change, but there are still
many more studies that focus explicitly on women's work than on men's work defined as such. Historians
themselves have thus contributed to the notion that men's work is simply "work," whereas women's is "women's
work," but this is slowly changing as more scholars recognize and highlight the gendered nature of their
subjects.
Gender hierarchies in the division of labor have survived massive economic changes in Europe over the last five
hundred years, with new occupations valued—and paid—according to whether they were done primarily by men
or women. This resiliency has led social historians into several different lines of investigation. One of these has
been to search for the reasons why women's labor has been undervalued, a question historians began
investigating as early as the 1920s. A second line of inquiry, which began in the 1970s, explores how economic
changes, such as the development of commercial capitalism, industrial production, or the global labor market,
were experienced differently by men and women. A third and more recent line of inquiry reverses the second,
and investigates how gender hierarchies (or sometimes more pointedly stated, how patriarchy) shaped economic
developments. In all of these areas, historians are increasingly cognizant not only of work itself but also of the
meaning of work for individuals and for society at large. Thus they use as their sources economic data such as
employment statistics, census records, business reports, union records, and account books, and also more
subjective records such as letters, diaries, newspaper editorials, advertisements, and personal memoirs.
Of these three lines of inquiry, the second has received the most attention, with many studies tracing how men's
and women's work changed as the result of new production methods, labor structures, kinds of technology, or
market organization. Many of these studies focus on a single village, city, or region, and it is clear that any
generalizations across all of Europe must be made very carefully. Innovations were often made in one area
decades or even centuries after they were made in another, during which time other things that shaped gender
structures, such as religious ideas, public schooling, political structures, or the availability of contraceptives,
had also changed. The impact of a similar change in work patterns might therefore be very different in one
region from another, depending on when it was introduced. Local studies have made clear that along with this
chronological difference, other axes of difference such as social class, race, marital status, and age must be
taken into account when exploring changes and continuities in the gender division of labor or the meaning of
work.
16