Critically examine the challenges that postcolonial thinking poses to traditional Western feminism.
Introduction
The question of gender equality has a long history. The antagonism between equality has existed since the time memorial with masculine taking the whole cake of equality and feminist conflicting within the same. Over time the women had not realized what they can do and how they can do it. They remained in the comfort zone with the notion that their place is in the kitchen, looking after children and giving birth for the continuity of the community. Till late when feminism took over the feeling changed and the women created the notion that they are also people, not objects. A lot of contemporary stories have raised concerns about gender and race. The argument has suggested that gender, race have some underlying similar characteristics.
Feminists can be explained as the radical way that women are people who deserve better treatment. The commitment to gain equality in the sexes domain. The notion does not exclude women, men, while taking advantage of the dominant gender, feminism also got a stake in winning the restrictive duties that deprived women of full humanity. Postcolonial, theories explain some challenges that feminism encountered in the path of reclaiming their dignity and achieving equality. There are three types of feminism namely socialist, reformist and radical feminists. The paper will embark on examining some of the challenges posed by the postcolonial thinkers about feminism and some types of feminism about economical, political, and social influences.
Types of feminism
Feminism can be categorized into three major forms under which the influence lies. Socialist feminism is also known as the Marxist feminism. It is attached to the materials and privatization of properties; it traces the mistreatment of women that developed in connection to the class system. The form of feminism that views gender inequalities as intrinsic to the system of the capitalist. Capitalists take advantage of women to capitalize on making huge profits through unpaid women labor at homes or little pay to women at the workforce just like the racism that translates to slavery or the homophobia and all sorts of bigotry. The capitalist in the process to eliminate the oppression socialism could work well. Socialists sought to do away with the capitalist by the push for collect sharing of wealth accumulated by the human labor without any economic stake causing exploitation.
The second type of feminism is the reformist it the types that believe that their gender imbalance can be eliminated through taking the legislative means or by focusing on the electoral reforms without necessarily interfering with the capitalist. The organization that unit to find the gender inequality like National Organization for Women/ NARAL typify the effort of reformist arguing it limits what can be won within the current systems. It was referred to be a single-issue approach it was geared towards swaying the political lobbyist and donors.
The other category was radical feminists, the approach targeted the male psychologist, again they targeted the biology which was termed the source of women’s oppression. There was the most extreme formula for the radical feminism called separatism, it advocated for complete separation with men. It combined effort bringing in the art of all-inclusive sisterhood believing it to be part of the solution to patriarchy. Radical feminism overlooks the class disparity that hindered them from having the same approach and interest. They also reduced the meaning for the solidarity between the men and women of color in the race to fight against racism.
Championing the feminism could not be a simple task. Detaching men from the developed notion that the women belong to the house and they do not have space in the outdoor operation could be the toughest thing. Postcolonial feminism faced some tough occasions in the verge to rescue their dignity and establish they are worthwhile. Western feminists focused on the equality between them and men as the center of the struggle. Some of the critical challenges like objectivation during the postcolonial saw recolonization to the women. Understanding the third world women and blacks also made it. It could be understood by the utilization of the theories of postcolonial feminism and the encounters. As colonialism was always gender-based and addressing the role of the women was so obvious that they do not belong anywhere but they should remain as sexual destiny. Racialized space that could even lead to the self-gender denial in terms of color and race was also a great encounter in the feminism endeavors violence and gender injustices summing up the whole trauma in the fight of gender balance. The challenges will be expounded in the below paragraphs
The challenges 1
One of the encounters of postcolonial feminism was the understanding of the third world woman Leela Ganchi notes that foundations to postcolonial states exist at the time when the generic conformity is found between imperialism and anti-colonial nationalism. In the process of the postcolonialism celebration to the anti-colonial nationalism as the showcase for the rebellion and resistance, it fails to consider the internal orthodoxies, silence, injustice, and the marginalization. This series of conflict between nationalism and feminism has always impacted postcolonial consequently pushing for the feminists conflicting with postcolonial on the understanding of the third world women and overthrowing the gender chronology and the hierarchy in the recanalized space. The existing inability to an acknowledgment of differences in feminist knows how of the oppression of the women was brought to light by the Chandra Talpade-Mohanty as she pressed to get the attention on the colonialism of the third world woman in the monolithic context of the western feminist.
The conceptualization of the third world woman is too much neglected. With their representation getting diminished. In the attempt to deliver themselves in the cocoons od the mistreatment still the gap was found in the self-such with some not understanding the role to play to get themselves out. Here comes an irony where the body of a woman used to symbolize the conquered land, just the symbols but in a real sense no power neither a simple representation of what they can do best. The culture and devotion to the masculine gender hunted the women even after being used as sculptures to showcase the power of the land. Then another division between black and white, without understanding no oppression is little if the woman found themselves white, they felt they were better than their counterpart/ that clearly describes how women could not understand their position. As it is depicted in the Spivak article on whether the subaltern women can talk. Through her alterations, she mocks the inability of the women to lead and always being under the instructions and always getting orders. Subaltern through with different descriptions depending on the place it is used, Spivak played a very integral contribution it trying to sensitize the women that they also matter.
Some of the contributions that were fired by Spivak on subalterns was the sense of uniting the gender, fighting the class and racial attributes that hindered the activism and the process of feminism among the women from different cultural believes and governing principles of these cultural differences. Ghazoul’s interpretation of the word subaltern inspired different debates who he claimed the word was bringing different meaning to different regions, but Spivak remained to her line of understanding that it was a necessary tool to find the dispossessed with the ultimate focus being onto women. The challenges did not end with third world women there was also the aspect of violence.
Challenge 2
Postcolonial feminism was also faced with the challenge of violence. violence attributed to political wrangles, social life, cultural and gender violence. violence greatly impacted the whole operations. The aspects wrap us up with some questions, like how can we account for these gendered disparities and universalisms around the violence attached to the postcolonial state structure? Probably whose voice is not yet heard in the postcolonial world and what the types of violence are encountered? In the process of addressing such issues, some studies were conducted by the school of science Monash University, that focused on postcolonial and feminist directions and considering the empirical case studies and picking some countries like India, Congo, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Throughout the workshop, violence remained a threat to feminism and the whole process of creating a conducive environment for the women to express themselves and bring sense to the whole world. the occupation of political contest among the political class can be said narrowed down the way feminism could get the ground and attain a maximum space in the process of attaining equality. The absence of the institutions to champion social justice and bring the equality that has led to the lasting identity politics the consequently cultivated for the armed defense by the segment of the population. Feminist argued out that despite that the policies can motivate the social inequality, and drag the gender and rights recognition, it is the only hope where the segment which is marginalized by the identical politics can learn on. Feminist continuously have critiqued the states for the violence and asked for the accountability to gain the society where its civil encounters are limited and call for more progressive governance, secular values and liberal rules that can rescue the millions of people who still experience the oppression and the inequality in the precolonial race to end the gender imbalance and secure the full rights and citizenship benefits.
The story of violence cannot end without interacting with the Fanon concept thinking about the violence. He reminds us that the virtues of the violence, it is the only violence can reduce the tension and mischief caused by, he asserts that the restoration of humanism and the nationhood is a forced process that has violent encounters. As it is depicted from the colonial point which he writes about. the idea of Fanon to promote violence to heal the wounds caused by the violent was countered by Hannah Arendt posing that whoever has never faced the violence at close quarters won’t know the impact, she referred to it as mere animalistic thought that would not change anything. She literate that the change can only be achieved through positive human actions. The violence remains to be a daunting challenge to the action of feminist and postcolonial. Violence also spread the effect of the economic power wheel that impact the momentum for women to exercise their right stably. The resource for publishing their article, the funds for conducting seminars to educate other women who still had no one to tell them they can do something to get out of oppressions. Economic power is a crucial component in carrying out such campaigns and since it is the driver of stability.
Challenge 3
Race and religion stake a spot in that postcolonial feminism have a strong connection with indigenous movement and broad postcolonial theories. It is affiliated to the black feminism because both black and postcolonialism feminist argues that the western feminism cannot adequately bring them to light the issue of racial differences. Racism has a huge role in the endeavors of postcolonial feminism. It seeks to tackle the issue of ethnic disagreement consequently handover those issues to the feminism discourse. In the past mainstream the feminist did not treat the issue with the strength it lagged behind the patriarchy instead the swept it under the rags separating it from the feminism till late when the white women have rejuvenated the issue as a matter of concern. Postcolonial feminism had attempted to relegate speaking like women were homogeneous populations with no defined difference in race, class sexual attachments, and even age. In western norms, racism is viewed as an institutionalized and facet that is ingrained in society. postcolonial feminism has tried to bring on how an individual can address the racist presumption, prejudices, and practices within their own lives.
There is social and religious conduct that occurs in some countries that may seem oppressive to a certain color of women feminist. According to the third world feminist, it is important to honor these practices but at the same time have a way to tell the people the best ways to implement the beliefs that enlighten them to view themselves not as an object but value humans who can play a crucial role in the society. Chillan Bulbeck literates that the feminist champions the equality of sexes through balancing the opportunities, reproduction rights, and education rights. Postcolonial feminism has been trying to bring some sense of different people as the moral agents to the peoples who are still attached to their cultural practices and making the remaining resistant some aspects like western imperialization and middles East where the dress is bone of contest. The racism has continued up to date people are treating one another on the bases of their color, where they come from. Such encounters have made it hard for the feminism to attain the target of equal rights since it is occurring even to the women themselves. That led to a different course of black feminism dividing the agenda and fight the other white women. Religions have inflicted some beliefs that are hard to take making it hard for feminism to get root in such cultural and religious backgrounds. Believes such that man is the one who should provide, they have made some group view feminism as an immoral act that will ruin their relations.
Challenge 4
There is also aspect od decolonization which is termed a threat to the process of executing the feminism. Even after achieving independence in some countries especially western countries where the large population is white, women are experiencing double colonization where the colonial power still hunt them as well as patriarchy powers. Postcolonial feminists are still a concern with the impact of the double colonization, especially with the female writers. The concept is more practical when considering the postcolonial and colonial women writers. It explains some struggles that women encounter writing compared to their male counterparts. The whole hierarchy narrows down to the black women where they receive multiple oppression and depriving them of crucial roles in gaining the moment to climb the ladder of equity and gender balance in the third world. decolonization practices most of them were associated with the original voice of America and other colonial contexts, though seeking to denaturalize the harsh dehumanization motivation. The independence marked a new error of ex-colonialism with the expectations the signal did not match the expectation the inequality persisted with feminism facing different shape of resistance. The new relationship is still unequally pushing further with the western trying to bull the developing world economically, politically, and socially with the case of feminism being overlooked. That translates to still some countries are facing harsh gender oppression and imbalance.
Challenge 5
Gender injustice, postcolonialism, and feminism pose are very significant discourses that have enriched more understanding and knowledge of international relations. In the last few decades, the theoretical approaches have grown to the different capacities to embrace and enhance diversity in the political and social world. through the postcolonial development should promote the feminist and create are fairly groomed for the clearance of the long-lasting oppression, still, gender injustices are experiencing. The development should come for rescue to the pressed gender by rejecting such experience and promote universalism
Objectification has remained at the back of the society and the masculine still feels the woman doesn’t deserve the whole capacity to make some ruling decisions. Them who have risen to challenge the idea they face a lot of critics and they are shut down. Women are searching their space the chance still getting narrower due to the fiction that the ownership is left to men. Some are even insulted and viewed as the cursed generation if they rise to defend the spot for the girl child. Some few decades women were not being given the equal chance in the education systems, such opportunities were left for men and the woman being pin down treated as the homemakers. Some cultural practices can be attached to this kind of gender injustice where the woman is viewed as a sex maniac and is left with nothing to account for rather than waiting for their men to please and give them pleasure. Categorically even if they go ahead and acquire the property, they do not have the right to own it is the man’s property. Such gender injustices have been a huge setback to the push for the feminism and the championing for gender equality, with equal rights to possess and own properties.
Conclusions
The end of colonialism did not just press the button of freedom to everyone. It was just but the beginning of a new relationship that saw some people suffering from gender inequality specifically affect women. Precolonial feminism did not change much because of the obstacle that stood against their way. As the theorist explains the western feminists have struggled to establish their way out. With them being pinned down and getting cold reception in the process of pushing their agendas on equality and equal rights. The development of the legislatures and laws neither did guarantee them a direct ticket to equality. Still, gender injustice, violence, conflict of interest objectification, and other women oppression is being experienced even after in the 21st century. Women though are gaining the moment to deal with these discourses still the avenues to voice out their grievances are not fully elaborated.
Cultural practices, religion, and racism still persistent making the collective bargain for the women very hard with some women questioning the behavior of others hence creating internal conflict amongst the women themselves. For example, Muslim women with the veil face different critics compared to the western women who their dress is unconditional. Such challenges are making the penetration of feminism harder. To win the game of equity women should focus more on self-orientation leave the egocentrism of cultural and religious believes that are obsolete.
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