Culture dictates that family’s honour is vested in a woman and in her body, says Prabha Sridevan

Retired judge discusses the positive and negative use of culture in relation to human rights and gender dynamics.

Culture could be used positively to mobilise people in the struggle for their human rights or used negatively by persons exercising a certain power, said retired Madras High Court judge Prabha Sridevan in Chennai on Tuesday. She underlined how culture was used negatively by ‘khap’ panchayats and that ‘honour killings’ were expressions of male-cultural hegemony.

“Culture dictates that the family’s honour ‘kudumbamanam’ is vested in a woman alone and particularly on her body,” she contended during her speech in the international conference on ‘Gender Dynamics in History, Society, Culture, and Power Structures,’ organised by the Department of History and the Centre for Women’s Studies in Stella Maris College.

Underlining the challenges faced by women in approaching courts, the retired judge said that there were so many hurdles, distance, language and more; the structure itself was threatening. “For a long time now, what we see has been determined by the way men spoke, thought and acted. So, the law and its legislative formulations are based on man as the norm.”

Referring to the ‘Feminist Judgment Project’, which re-imagines decided cases and asks what if the judgement has been written by a woman, Ms. Sridevan said the project’s outcome was illuminating and further emphasised: “The law will not change but the perspective will.”

Nanditha Krishna, president, C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar Foundation said women, when in power, have been quite powerful and recalled the tenures of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa. Former PM Indira Gandhi was “probably India’s best Prime Minister till date,” she said and recalled how the former PM used her power and stopped the “genocide of the Bangladeshis that was going on at that time.”

Referring to women in ancient society, Ms. Krishna said it was a little-known fact that 21 authors of the Rig Veda were women, known as rishikas. These women were on par with men and produced the longest-living literature in the world. In the Vedic period, female Brahmavadinis went through the same rigorous discipline as their male counterparts. She also recalled the contributions of Rani Abbakka, Rani Mangammal, Velu Nachiyar and Kuyili, among others, in India’s freedom struggle.

A book ‘Unsung Heroes of Freedom Struggle in India’ was released during the inaugural event. Principal (i/c) Sr. Stella Mary, secretary Sr. Judith Anita Gonsalvez, Dolly Thomas, Director, Centre for Women’s Studies and Susan Paul, Head, Department of History were also present.