How subaltern women writers broke conventions and took on patriarchy Premium

Through the writings of three non-Brahminical women, the paper discusses a subaltern narrative of womanhood that defies looking at women as symbols of nationalism and culture

Ingole, Anagha, ‘Imagining a New Ethic of Sociality: The Non-Brahmin Educated Woman in 19th-Century Western India’, Sage Journals, Vol 58, Issue no. 13, April 1, 2023

While many scholars have discussed how subaltern literature has challenged and helped us imagine a new version of history, Anagha Ingole’s article deciphers the writings of three non-Brahmin educated women, whose writings, distinct from Brahmin writings of their time questioned the dominant narrative of womanhood in historiographies. The author explains that these women, through a writing style different from that of upper-caste women of that period, broke away from concepts of tradition, nationality and culture on the one hand, and liberalism and modernity on the other.

In the 19th century, two contrasting perspectives on Indian womanhood emerged. The European viewpoint perceived women in India as confined by Brahminical orthodoxy and Hindu traditions, requiring reform. The reformist narrative aimed to modernise women, believing that introducing them to education and liberal enlightenment would guide society towards progress. Women became symbols of a society’s moral health.

However, nationalist historiography rejected such an understanding of Indian womanhood. It reimagined womanhood as emerging from colonial encounters while distinguishing it from the narratives of traditional memsahibs or lower-class/caste women. The new Indian woman became the protector of Indian culture and nationalism. Indian womanhood was the placeholder for the inner core of nationalism that was spiritual and cultural, distinct from the outer core of nationalism that dealt with state and political economy.

Yet, the author explains that both historiographies shared commonalities — they recognised the necessity of modernity and neglected women’s experiences. Even when their experiences were considered, the intersection of gender and caste was overlooked, limiting the narratives to upper-caste women’s experiences.

Scholars like Partha Chatterjee suggest that lower-caste women could not grasp the virtues of freedom. Their resistance against caste issues merged with anti-colonial narratives. While the woman’s question could not neglect lower-caste women’s experiences, it did not play a key role in shaping the intellectual discourse on womanhood. Hence, the onus of telling the Dalit experience and its difference and relevance in the overall narrative around womanhood shifted to Dalit feminist scholars.

The author clarifies that it was not as if women never wrote and shared their narratives. But Brahmin or upper-caste women typically adhered to a set pattern, writing autobiographies that downplayed their roles and emphasised domesticity. In contrast, non-Brahmin feminist writers like Savitribai Phule, Tarabai Shinde, and Mukta Salve broke conventions in their writing forms and included non-conventional and explosive topics of discussion, questioned the societal norms of patriarchy and discussed caste discrimination.