Title: A Question of Silence

Theme: Religion and Feminism: Obstacle or Opportunity

Co-authored by: Hrishita Chatterjee and Rahma Anwar Hossain
Email: rahmahossain23@gmail.com, hrishi.chatterjee398@gmail.com.
Mobile number: 8777069960, 9775905940
Name, class and institution of author 1:
Hrishita Chatterjee
3rd year English dept.
Lady Brabourne
Name, class and institution of author 2:
Rahma Anwar Hossain
3rd year Political Science dept.
Lady Brabourne
ABSTRACT:
Question of Silence
“Your wives are a tilth for you, so go to your tilth”- Quran (2:223)
For several years, women have been categorized as culverts in the negotiations between men and their
ruthlessly selfish motifs. History bears witness on how women have been victims of gruesome crimes inflicted
largely by the elite men getting their foot on essentializing patriarchy as a fundamental rule of gender. This
resulted in the emergence of individualistic feminism when women started to fight for their rights and the
collective conscience resulting in the shared perspective of instilling political, economical and cultural
movements worldwide. Howeverhistory also bears on how despite the progressive stature of women’s
movement transcending geographical and time bounds, religion happens to cause a major drift in the process of
liberation of women as intersectionality is seen by both feminists and non feminists as a tool for an
fundamentally patriarchal institution. In the light of integrating two contradictory identities namely religion and
feminism the real question is: Does the freedom of religion protect the feminist voice? Or does the orthodoxy of
religious scriptures which are mostly misogynistic in nature provides for an inevitable shackle for feminists to
voice opinions? Or how should women navigate through orthodox religion to instill feministic zeal? In order to
answer these questions it is imperative to realistically analyze how religion affects life choices of women in the
broader scenario.
This paper deems fit to embark upon a few emerging strands of feminism all around the world, where the
question of religion being an obstacle or opportunity for the growth of feminism is better understood. It would
be an efficient attempt to evaluate the cases of : Ezrat Nashim, CFP Sikh Feminist Research Institute, ‘Chilean
feminist struggle’ which gave birth to the new Feminist Anthem or the road show in form of flash mob in
Kolkata by women from all walks of life with the title ‘dhorshok e tumi’. This paper also deems fit to explore
the trend of feminism in the most incongruous religiously hostile middle east which includes comprehending
feminism in the ultra-orthodox secular states of Israel, Palestine and Arab. The paper would take into
consideration important women associations established to promote a sense of oneness in spite of the women’s
religious barriers (Nasawiya: a feminist collective and the Sudanese women’s union respectively).
 A QUESTION OF SILENCE

THEME: FEMINISM AND RELIGION: OBSTACLE OR OPPORTUNITY

HYPOTHESES: RELIGION SHOULD NOT BE AN OBSTACLE IN RENDERING FEMINIST RIGHTS TO
ALL.

Individual feminism or the essential liberal feminism as a fringe ideology (Jessica Thompson, 2020) acting
merely devil’s advocate assigned humanitarian rights to the feministic zeal of the 1960s West. The concept of
liberal feminism as propagated by feminists like Mary Wollstonecraft or Dora Marsden in spite of being a
beginner’s step was in fact diluted in spirit for it failed miserably to provide a general inter-religious coherence
in dealing with people’s perception of the self that in turn counteracted with culturally inherent belief systems
and religion was mostly seen as a propagable instrument in bringing together feminists who could voice their
concerns on the basis of their religious scriptures. As a result perpetuating religious dogmas became the most
important role of feminists which essentially caused a drift between them.
Politics of the religion happens to encapsulate the simple fact that politics and religion might or might not be
all-inclusive but whether the inclusivity of the faith and the state is detrimental to the spirit of collective social
movements is highly contentious. A school of thought holds the view that Religious dogmas are mere
infringements to the human rights. The religious dogmas do not have provisions for gay rights, unmarried
women, women seeking abortions, the class-less and the untouchables and lots of people living under the
radical secular states have been demoralized and killed. Of all the state-sponsored persecution of masses in
highly secular states, the worst-case scenario can be mentioned of the monolithic backbone of religion resulted
in the mass persecution of the Rohingya muslims by the saffron-clad monks of the predominantly Buddhist state
of Myanmar. (Brown, The New Internationalist, 2019) The second school of thought however believes that the
person should be politicized to such an extent that proper human connections might be established under
religious coherence to ensure social justice and human dignity which can flower more mechanically politicized
instruments to end violence. Various party movements can in turn establish human connections, faith harmony
and equality. In such a scenario an individual’s idea of equality can be a result of his/her indulgence in religion
and political beliefs (Dawn Foster, New Internationalist, 2019). Yasmin Alibhai Brown, a renowned journalist,
broadcaster author and an intersectional feminist stated that “the most sinister and oppressive states in the world
are those that use God to control the minds and actions of their populations”
In the context of enlightening upon the freedom of the women with respect to the religious context, it is highly
imperative to incorporate Karl Marx’s theory of religion and assess the same with the twenty-first century
feminist propaganda. Plamenatz held the view that Religion “can be held to be a cement holding society
together, and if society is divided into classes, some of which exploit others, it is cement which helps to make
this exploitation possible”i. Marx’s theory of religion could readily tend to believe that the religious doctrines
do cater to one single glass but religion is used by different classes for different purposes. Religion is a product
of the man-made world and acts as an “opium” or a “sedative” ( Karl Marx, 1843) to focus on man’s
immaturity. In light of this particular topic, we can definitely trace the prevalence of the theory of religion to
understand how the ruling classes exploit the masses of the people instrumentalizing religion to denote female
oppression. While religious orthodoxy is not prevalent in a socialist state, however, religion and its universality
in all kinds of states alike cannot be ruled out. Marxist Feminism advocates the view that working-class women
are subjected to glass ceiling and are affected by both patriarchy and capitalism. Religion along with patriarchy
and capitalism could be taken to analyze the oppressiveness of the masses. In his 1884 book, “The Origin of
Family”, Friedrich Engles advocates the view that the state serves as a class interest with respect to patriarchy.
Patriarchic elements are deeply ingrained in the basic fabric of the state so much so that the state deems fit in its
nature to foster and implement patriarchic interests respectively. In this light, the role of the state in trying to
render proper recognition and space to women can be taken into account but the productive forces of the capital
enable oppression of women. Lenin, being a staunch atheist believed that Religion is the crudest means to
exploit the masses taking into account the patriarchal nature of the religious scriptures. Religion, according to
Lenin, religion should be a private affair and religious authorities should not be a matter of the governance. The
religious societies should be independent of the state machinery which includes polytheists and theists (Lenin,
Essay on Religion, 1904) Combining both Lenin’s ideology on the matter of faith v/s religion and Marx’s
ideology of the religious institutions, we deem fit to challenge the status quo of feminism in the context of
religion.
Orthodoxy is the simple incompetency of religious practices and leaders to be able to ‘evolve’. But much of it
comes from the Religion and its fundamental scriptures. The founding documents are what we can refer to as a
proof of the archaic, parochialistic, misogynist patriarchy. But the word orthodoxy is deep-rooted into the
religion itself in ways that we’re blinded by these sanctions and disregard basic human rights and obligations,
justifying it with a supposed allegiance to the Supernatural, omnipotent entity. Orthodoxy and feminism have
long been nothing short of an extended arm of the patriarchal institutions. The texts of Quran or Torah, of the
Old Testaments and Manusmriti to just name a few among all the other religious scriptures, have either
attempted to bound women to the private/household domesticity or it’s the Men who have themselves pulled the
herculean task of saving the society by ensuring the execution of the religious doctrines. Patriarchy as an
institution was developed through ages of human evolution like an untraceable disease. With the doctrine of
“private property” man distinguished between “mine” and “his”, and along with other material possessions
women too were included in this materialism. while patriarchy was being the model for the new world,
matriarchy is getting closer each day to becoming a myth. We have to recognise a pattern here, the
overpowering of patriarchal beliefs all around that even we, the women are themselves imbibed with this kind
of understanding and belief system. Margot Badran’s study of feminism and nationalism in Egypt stands out as
one that shows the complexities of the process in which nationalism is constructed in the context of gender
politics even as nationalist movements and national institutions define gender and regulate gender relations ii.
Too often, however, studies and debates about women’s rights and citizenship have simply taken the nation for
granted as the arena in which struggles over definitions of rights and entitlements take place. This literature
hasn’t completely broken free from the constraints of the so-called “woman question,” which takes nationalism
as a given and constructs gender as a problem to be resolved within the national context. In its crudest form, this
view suggests, for example, that postcolonial women must first help to emancipate their nations; only then can
gender issues be addressed. Scholarship on nationalism often has implicitly constructed nation building as a
male enterprise so that when gender is addressed at all, women are cast as “the problem” or “question,” while
the hegemony of the masculine goes without remark.

The term Intersectionality or intersectional feminism can simply be defined as the strand of feminist voice who
identify and acknowledge the diversity of women present, their distinctive identities associated with race,
religion and ethnicity and others. It’s the beginning of identifying women of color and other sections and paying
attention to their issues, to go beyond the white skin. The word itself was first used by scholar and civil rights
advocate Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989. While still a student studying to be a lawyer, she saw that gender and
race were looked at as completely separate issues. To Crenshaw, studying them in isolation to each other made
no sense. She saw that women of colour, for example, are doubly discriminated against, particularly in law.

The 1976 case of Degraffenreid vs General Motors is used by Kimberlé Crenshaw to this day to illustrate
intersectionality.  Five African American women sues car manufacturer General Motors for racial and gender
discrimination. But the courts found that women in general weren’t discriminated against when it came to jobs
as secretaries, and the fact that GM employed African American factory workers disproved racial
discrimination.iii It ignored the fact the sheer majority of secretaries were white women, and factory workers
were all men. So the women lost. Intersectionality today Despite coining the term, Crenshaw is the first to admit
that she’s not the first to articulate its true meaning, citing women like 19 th century Black Liberation Activist
Anna J. Cooper all the way through to living legend Angela Davis, a prominent political activist. As Crenshaw
built on these foundations, modern feminists build on hers – today, intersectionality encompasses more than just
the intersections of race and gender. It’s now widely used to illustrate the interplay between any kinds of
discrimination, whether it’s based on gender, race, age, class, socioeconomic status, physical or mental ability,
gender or sexual identity, religion, or ethnicity. Why it matters to our work The whole purpose of intersectional
feminism is to listen to different kinds of feminists – not just ones like yourself. Making your feminism
intersectional makes perfect sense to us – your life experiences are based on how your multiple identities
intermingle. And we can see compounding forms of discrimination experienced by the women we work with.
There are many examples, but here are just a few. DIVA for Equality, for example, tell us that LGBT women in
Fiji found it more difficult to access disaster relief in the wake of Cyclone Winston. In Timor-Leste, class and
socioeconomic discrimination intersect with sexism, making it hard for poor women to get elected because of
the high cost of campaigning in the newly democratised nation. Research IWDA has contributed to in
Cambodia shows that women with disabilities are more likely to face violence from immediate family members,
and more likely to experience controlling behaviour from partners. Intersectionality is a broad concept, and it’s
still one that’s hotly debated in the feminist community. We don’t claim to be authorities on anyone else’s
feminism, but to us, acknowledging how different forms of discrimination intersect with and amplify gender-
based discrimination is a critical way to ensure all women reap the benefits of women’s rights.

CASE STUDIES

Women hailing from the Middle East

In the Middle East the culture punctuates feminism. A region where patriarchy is fused with religious and
traditional conservatism, women have historically fought for emancipation and equality. However there still
exists hope for a brighter, stronger future for feminists, the young generation who have successfully devised
their own unique brand of feminism.

 The late nineteenth century ushered feminist ideas in the Middle East, the Middle Eastern society's formal stand
on the position of women has often been perhaps the most sensitive index of the society's attitude to the West—
its openness to, or its rejection of Western civilization. Thus Turkey's attitude of openness to Western
civilization at the beginning of this century was epitomized by the abolition of the veil. More recently, the
veiling of women in Iran has constituted perhaps the chief index and deliberately chosen symbol of Iran's
rejection of Western civilization.iv But it’s expurgation of the West or acceptance is not the only challenge faced
by its women. The problems start from basic oppression in the primary institutions of family, marriage and
denial of the basic rights, such as education and legal and political rights.
The Taliát (rising up/stepping out) movement is one such impactful and bold example of women “breaking
free”. It is an independent movement free from any institution. On September 26, 2019, thousands of
Palestinian women took to the streets demanding freedom, safety and a better reality. The demonstrators turned
out for the sake of every woman facing daily physical violence, and to reject all forms of violence against the
most vulnerable segments of society. Women came out from everywhere— in the territory occupied since 1948,
the West Bank, Gaza, Jerusalem, and the diaspora.v In the ongoing Palestinian liberation movement, women are
often subjected to violence and are killed, nevertheless the problems of women are completely sidelined in the
general Palestinian political struggle. They are either ghettoized as “personal” issues of concern to women alone
or are designated “social” issues, distinct from politics. In contrast, the women in Tali’at (rising up) have come
to say that these are not personal matters or isolated criminal cases; they are part of a deeply rooted social
condition embedded in entire systems of violence and corruption, and in turn, they should matter to every
Palestinian woman and man. These women live under a violent colonial regime which has ruled and oppressed
women for over 70 years, which has divided, displaced, fragmented them and stripped them of their material
and moral possessions. the women of Tali’at believe that the process of recovering from this cruel and
monstrous reality requires a feminist solidarity that can transcend the fragmentation — a solidarity that mirrors
the stories of Palestinian women wherever they are so that they can fight together to build a just, safe
Palestinian struggle. From the streets the movement started expanding, actively among women from all social
classes. With hope to create a decentralized space that will enable the Palestinian women to raise their issues in
the Palestinian political sphere; to make the women’s issues a political priority, such that any Palestinian
woman or man can engage with them as a crucial issue. This was the first time in recent history that Palestinian
women took action under an explicitly political and feminist banner. It has succeeded in mobilizing Palestinians
across their fragmented geographies. Further, the police, as women worldwide know, is not our protector or
ally; let alone when they form part of a colonial structure that engages with Palestinians as subjects that are to
be surveilled and controlled; be it the Israeli police or the American trained Palestinian Authority police, with
a paramount role of policing Palestinians in the interest of our colonizer. An actuality which cannot be sidelined
from this matrix of oppression, is the systematic crippling of Palestinian economic development and the
engineering Palestinians, including women, into a cheap and exploitable workforce.

Jordan

Jordan has the highest female literacy rates in the region yet they constitute only 22%of the work force of the
country. Like many of the barriers Jordanian women face, this disparity is rooted in a network of strict social
codes, propped up by a legal system that frequently undermines the rights of women and reinforces the
patriarchal status quo. Activists point to provisions that perpetuate women’s second-class status, such as the
Personal Status Law, under which men may inherit twice as much as women, or the refusal to grant full
citizenship rights to the children of Jordanian women (but not men) who have married foreigners.

Feminism may be variously viewed as a joke, a threat, a western import or the prerogative of the elite, more and
more Jordanian women are taking it seriously by educating themselves and others about their rights. Now it’s
more important than ever to invest in the younger generation and arm them with the knowledge to take the fight
forward. A Jordanian feminist stated, “The revolutions across the Arab world brought all the dirt to the fore and
now we can see it and fight it. In the past we couldn’t talk about issues like secularism and feminism, but now
people can see with their own eyes and address the problems that were hidden before.”

The Jordanian Women’s Union (JWU), headquartered in Amman, is a non-governmental, democratically

elected organization that is committed to improving the status of women. It is one of the most prominent and
influential women’s organizations in the Arab world and has established strong networks with women’s
movements, both nationally and internationally. The JWU was established in 1945. In 1957, martial law was
declared in Jordan and all non-governmental organizations were dissolved. Thus, the JWU was forced to
disband. In 1974, the organization re-emerged as the Women’s Union of Jordan and continued its activities
until 1981 when, once again, it was compelled to discontinue its operations. With the democratization of
Jordan’s parliament in 1990, the Women’s Union of Jordan again resumed operation. In 1994, it adopted its
present name, the Jordanian Women’s Union. The JWU’s vision is to achieve equal rights, within all sectors of
society, for women and all marginalized groups. However, for this vision to be fully realized there must first be
a real civil society. Nadia Shamroukh director of the Jordanian Women’s Union (JWU)says, “Some of them
criticise feminism because they have an idea that it is linked to radical ideologies and they don’t want to be
associated with this and attacked by society,” Many in Jordan see feminism as a taboo subject, and a threat to
the social and religious order. Others within the women’s rights community dismiss it as a predominantly
intellectual movement that busy activists have little time or energy to engage with. Shamroukh is hoping to
change this, starting with a new education programme designed to open up the discourse around feminism and
unite it with activism.

 “The concept of feminism is very elitist here,” says Ana, who also works at JWU, explaining that the
programme will target women from all backgrounds, reaching out to those in rural communities with little or no
access to discussions around women’s rights. “Feminism is something that’s raised at roundtable discussions or
conferences attended by highly educated women who mostly come from privileged backgrounds. It’s not
inclusive. That’s what JWU is trying to do: introduce feminism as something every woman should adopt and
claim as her own,” she says. For Aseel Abu Albandora, project coordinator at JWU, feminism in Jordan means
something different to feminism in the west. Jordanian feminists need to “equip themselves for the fight,” she
says, by learning about their rights. “In the west people are free about taking a stand but for us to have a belief
that’s not usual in this country is a struggle.” Shamroukh emphasises the importance of focusing on a feminism
that’s distinct to the region rather than ideas translated from overseas. “We need a home-grown concept because
our priorities are different,” she explains, adding that some feminist issues such as lesbian rights are difficult to
address in a Middle Eastern context.

“Change has to come from within. We're not waiting for the west to help us"

Feminist vlogger Laila Hzaineh says it’s essential to distinguish between what’s imported from the west and
what’s bred in the Middle East. “Here we’re still fighting for basic rights so movements like “free the nipple”
are absolutely out of the question. We’re still trying to free our hair.” She points to a long lineage of strong
Arab women to look up to. “Change has to come from within. We're not waiting for the west to help us because
in the Middle East we know what it's like to have the west intervene in our problems. It’s one of the reasons
feminism isn't accepted in Jordan, because it seems so "western”.

During Eritrea’s long struggle for independence, women served in EPLF alongside men in all capacities except
the top ranks of leadership. As guerilla fighters, women fought side by side with men in mixed units and
marched to victory with their male comrades. In fact, the image of a khaki-clad woman warrior brandishing a
rifle became emblematic of the nationalist movement. The woman fighter seemed to signify Eritreans’
determination to fight on to the last man and, beyond him, to the last woman. The woman fighter also served as
a symbol of the grassroots nature of the movement, which drew Eritreans from all walks of life and all ethnic
groups. The woman fighter with her characteristic unisex dress and unkempt hairstyle, moreover, personified an
image of progress, a rupture with the past, and liberation from oppressive traditions. Within EPLF, national
liberation and advancement for women were seen as going hand in hand. Many of the first women fighters
came from urban and educated backgrounds, but they were quite successful in mobilizing other women from
rural as well as urban areas. Women from all ethnic backgrounds and walks of life joined the movement.
Eritreans use the term “fighter” (tegadelti in Tigrinya) to include all those who served in EPLF forces in Eritrea
during the war. The EPLF slogan, “No Liberation Without Women’s Participation,” thus accurately depicts the
hierarchy of goals in which national liberation was central and women’s emancipation figured as one of the
means to that end. There was no independent women’s movement in Eritrea or Ethiopia, only the male-led
EPLF, which took up certain issues concerning the status of women and mobilized women to achieve the goal
of national independence. The Front revolutionized the social position of women by making women over in
men’s image and by virtually eliminating the family as a social institution within its ranks. In some sense,
domestic social patterns were not so much reorganized as suppressed by EPLF. EPLF included women by
treating them like men and there was thus little need to reorganize anything for their inclusion. Seen from this
perspective, it is easy to understand why the gains women made in the field were not easily translated into daily
life once Eritrean independence was achieved. vi Once the liberation struggle ended, Eritrean women fighters
confronted a new struggle to build secure economic, political, and social positions for themselves within the
nation. Women fighters who had spent much of their adult lives in the guerilla movement faced the particular
challenges of reintegrating into civilian life. The majority of women fighters lacked resources, skills, and jobs.
Some women exfighters felt they were being devalued in the new society of independent Eritrea. During three
decades of war, family life was disrupted, kin were scattered, and domestic and ritual routines were upset. But
with independence achieved and their guerilla warfare days behind them, the first thing many fighters wanted
was to reestablish family ties and to start their own families. As EPLF fighters became civilians, extended
families were reunited and the older generation could once again exert its influence over the lives of sons and
daughters returning from the war.

Ezrat Nashim
One of the most prior attentions given to the collective feministic zeal in various sections of the world is
universalizing the concept of intersectional feminism under the strongholds of religion. Under this light, we can
assess how religion under the sphere of collective orthodoxy relegates women to a secondary gender domain.
The discrimination of women by Judaism can be uttered as we come to know how “institutionalized prejudice”
(Dan Rickman, 2009, pp.68) has come about to assign gender hierarchies in the Jewish orthodoxical ideology.
In fact, it is imperative for an orthodox Jewish man to pray to God under the influence of the rabbi with the
words “Thanks to God who has not made me a woman”. A collective New York based feminist archive by the
name of Ezrat Nashim, founded in 1971, contributes to the twenty first century feminist agenda by establishing
women’s status in Judaism, fight against ethnic oppression, glass ceiling, breaking rigid stereotypes, ensuring
women’s empowerment and cater to the basic needs of woman in a religious institution. The founders were
prominent Jewish feminists, including Martha Ackelsberg, Arlene Agus, Paula Hyman, Elizabeth Koltun, and
Dina Rosenfeld (Jewish Women’s Archive, 1972). The name “Ezrat Nashim” can be taken to mean the
women’s section in synagogues where women were destined to sit during prayers.
The collective force of the Jewish Feminist voice formed a rudimentary manifesto stressing upon their motifs
and objectives and presenting the same to the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly. This young educationalist led
initiative has become the grandest driving force for the women fighting for equal participation for all women in
religious proceeding. Ezrat Nashim deems fit to shatter the stereotypical images of women as seen by the
Jewish doctrines, it also deems fit to eliminate the traditional restrictions imposed on women by exempting
women from following various “mitzvots” or commandments followed exclusively by the men (The Jewish
Women in America: An Historic Encyclopedia, 1972, pp. 694-698). The manifesto by the name of “The Jewish
Women Call for Change” made wonderful efforts in changing gender norms with the help of their religiousness.
Significant changes were made in the second wave of American feminism whereby a number of important
inclusions were made by the feminists in establishing exclusive rituals for girls. Ezrat Nashim recognized "the
compelling moral claim of women's equality as well as the changed status of women in the modern world."
(Jewish Women’s Archive, 1972) And most of the Jewish feminist groups of the twenty-first century derive
their inspiration from Ezrat Nashim in fostering rights to women in the religious spectrum.

THE CFP SIKH FEMINIST RESEARCH INSTITUTE

The CFP feminist Sikh Research Institute or SAFAR delves deep into the realms of systemic institutionalized
sexism. The main aim of the organization tends to break the prevalent egalitarian values of the religion. SAFAR
incorporates within its realm of understanding a group of activists, educators, independent researchers working
on the very fabric of feminist activism and the programs related to spread the scope of activism to larger parts of
the United States of America (Safar, 2010) . One of the most important questions that the CFP seeks to answer
on the wider scope is: How to ensure Sikh feminist representation in a biased patriarchal religious institution
beset with false ideologies and sexist scriptures mainly to overcome gender segregation? The basic goal of the
Sikh Feminist Research Institute has essentially come to sublimate the normative andocentric hermeneutics. The
institute also deems fit to examine the interpretation of scriptural texts through feminist lens as the vital
“meaning-makers” of the “Rahit Maryada” or the Sikh code of moral conduct which essentially relates that :
“We do not put Guru Nanak’s truly unique configuration of Ikk Oan Kar into any pre-existing molds. The
standard translation “There is one God” does not quite explain the vastness and plentitude or the intimacy
bursting forth in the original. Instead of an opening into limitless possibilities, as envisioned by the founder
Sikh Guru, scholars and translators have selected, structures and shaped Sikh Oan Kar into a male God” (Singh,
2011, pp.68).
At present, the SAFAR activities include (2010), conducting a community based outreach, including a
mentorship conference for young women in secondary school, and a monthly political discourse development
initiative for women of all ages, developing The First Ever Sikh Feminist Journal, a Peer-Reviewed On-Line
Effort Led By An International Editorial Board Creating A Virtual Community Space For Exchange Of Ideas,
Commentary, And Aspirations Providing A Repository For Sikh Feminist Oriented Material And Publications.
(http://www.sikhfeministresearch.org/about, 2010)

CHILEAN FEMINIST MOVEMENT

The Chilean Feminist archive is an anti patriarchal graffiti (Bree Busk, 2019, Roar Magazine) which essentially
marks the revival of the radical feminist wave in 2017, had its wings spread to the vast corners of the world in
particular. The Chilean Feminist revival is a radical intersectional feminist initiative with a standpoint beset
with wrath and power, addressing the all forms of women oppression respectively. The Chilean movement
came off as a vast radical mass movement with a great number of social organizations joining the mass
mobilization forming a New Chilean Feminist wave since its interception. The wrath and rage of such a radical
movement sprung from the long line of Chilean historic struggles from the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet to
the widespread sexual violence prompted by the macabre name of Venda (opendemocracy.net, 2019) It is due to
the rich long oppressive history of the feminist struggle that women from all walks of life can have a unified
voice. “The surge in global feminist visibility, the parallel ascensions of other social movements and the
pressure exerted on all Chileans and Indigenous peoples through the continued application of the neoliberal
policies instituted since the return of democracy” (Bree Busk, 2019) Beside this, various multispectral
movements have been initiated by the feminist trade unions to curb the hitherto wage income disparity and the
uncompensated nature of work of all women.
The Rapist is in Your Way
The flashmob was based on the work of Argentinian feminist and professor Rita Laura Segato, who inspired
Las Tesis to show that “rape not just as a crime against an individual woman, but the expression of a larger
social issue,” as reported by Quartz. A Feminist Anthem which rippled across the world as a global shout out
against “violence against women” was written and choreographed by a Chillean feminist theatre group “Las
Tesis”. The lyrics of the song deeply resonated in the hearts of women who are historically oppressed and
violated by Men, State and other patriarchal justice systems and institutions. This was a flash mob held first in
Chile in November followed by USA, Turkey, Germany, Argentina, New Zealand, Mumbai, Peru, Delhi,
Bangladesh, Pakistan, Kolkata and Rio.
In India, according to a National Crimes Bureau Data, more than 32,500 cases of rape were registered in 2017.
While the Indian courts disposed of only about 18,3000 cases, more than 127,800 cases were left pending. “It’s
devastating that the issues addressed in this song are still transversal on the social level, here and a little
everywhere,” the group said. With the recent instances of gruesome sexual violence against women in India, the
anthem has become all the more meaningful.
Kolkata:
Around 200 women gathered before New Empire cinema hall on 4 th January, 2020 with their eyes covered
protesting against the 'rape culture' and chanted a poem, which was adapted from the Spanish poem,
“Dhorshok-e Tumi”.
Delhi:
On December 7,2019 in Jantar Mantar, Delhi, a group of independent activists organized the flash mob as the
need of the hour as an answer to the growing statistics of rape in India. With the infamous nickname of the
National Capital to be the Rape capital too for its alleged state of women and alarming growth in the rate of
violent crimes against women.
Mumbai:
On February 5, it was organized by “Mumbai Central”,(a theatre crew) and on February 7, 2020 in Mumbai
Central, also called Mumbai bagh saw the same flash mob / street play titled,”Balatkari ho Tum”.

Bangladesh:
The protest happened on January 6 in front of the Bangladesh National Museum adjacent to the campus.
Around 500 cases of rape and abuse had been filed in the Dhaka metropolitan area in 2019. This flash mob was
organized by the Dhaka University students against the rape of a fellow student.
Of all the above stated cases, women have somehow found a crossroad, a junction with different and unique
factions of feminism. The fight for rights and freedom goes beyond religion. It does drive actions and backs
opinion but then we have formal education and experience to counter it. We’ve come a long way from being the
hunter- gatherer of the cave man era and also far away from the predator instincts, this is the time of
intersectionality of saving and securing the broken fragments of the global society. Some countries of the
middle east and Africa are still lagging far off when women are fighting strongly against colonialism,
terrorism, religious fanaticism for the basic rights. Its only fair to say they’re in the first wave of feminism of
Suffragette movements, while we’re fortunate to decide whether to follow religion or not, whether to vote or
not, maybe bunk today’s lecture… well that’s a luxury for many feminists out there.
Defying racist and orientalist stereotypes, women in the Middle East and North African region are at the
forefront of the struggle for building a fairer, more equal and just society. Feminists worldwide are embodying
and articulating a feminism that sees oppression as systematic and structurally rooted in capitalism, intersecting
with race, sexuality, colonialism, and environmentalism. In short, a feminism that goes beyond individual-
gender-based demands, urging us to fight for a more just and equitable world for all. This reality compels us to
analyze experiences of violence – in their varied forms – as a social and political matter that must be dealt with
at their root and collectively, as a society. This is not a call for institutional reform, but to deepen our
understanding of the intertwined relationship between colonization and the manifestations of social oppression.
This all culminates in a multilayered system of violence where power relations, in their gendered, economic,
social and political forms, are intensified and reproduced, directly impact on intra-community social formations
i
( Plamenatz, 2010 http://www.politicalsciencenotes.com/marxism/karl-marxs-theory-of-religion-
definition-sources-ideology-and-criticism/1257,

Margot Badran, Feminists, Islam, and Nation (Princeton: Princeton University Press,
ii

1996).

iii
(May 11, 2018)WHAT DOES INTERSECTIONAL FEMINISM ACTUALLY MEAN?

(https://iwda.org.au/what-does-intersectional-feminism-actually-mean/)

iv
Leila Ahmed(4th July 2002) Feminism and feminist movements in the middle east, a
preliminary exploration: Turkey, Egypt, Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of
Yemen(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/0277539582900243)
v
Hala Marshood(October26,2019) Taliát: Putting feminism at the centre of Palestinian
Liberation.( https://madamasr.com/en/2019/10/26/opinion/politics/taliat-putting-feminism-at-the-
center-of-palestinian-liberation/)
vi
Victoria Bernal (revised 2-26-2006) From Warriors to Wives: Contradictions of Liberation and Development in
Eritrea(University of California, Irvine)