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Embodied Violence, Communalising Women's Sexuality in South Asia
Kumari Jayawardena and Malathi De Alwis (eds.)
New Delhi: Kali (1996), 299 pages
In the last decade the South Asian region has emerged as one of the most conflict-ridden regions in the world. This conflict has engulfed nations posing threats of erupting violence between communities, within nations, as well as cross-border conflicts. The resultant hostility has threatened bonds of friendship forged over centuries through a commonality of historical experience. It is, therefore, most heartening to note that in recent years conscious efforts have been made by intellectuals and activists alike, to renew relationships and exchange views on problems perceived to be common to the people of this region. This book is the outcome of one such effort and marks an important contribution towards an understanding of violence that has impacted human lives deeply in recent years.
The book traces the trajectory of violence from a historical perspective and explores its roots in the socio-political structures as well as the context of shifting power equations in the region. The collection is a result of conference deliberations focused on "Women: the State, Fundamentalism and Cultural Identity in South Asia," held in Sri Lanka in 1992. While noting that the everyday life of citizens in the region has become fraught with fear and suspicion, hatred and violence, the volume concentrates on exploring the impact this has on women, not only as victims, but also in terms of the social construction of the category, woman, in the dominant discourse on culture in this region. Thus, while most discussions on the theme of identity and representation tend to get entangled in a-historical confabulation, the pieces carried here are well-grounded in a historical framework and locate women in the broader matrix of social relationships. Thereby, they contribute towards developing a concept of patriarchy that is historically grounded and intersects with other dominant and more specific forms of oppression and discrimination.
The introduction lays out the parameters within which the problem is studied. Going beyond a simplistic notion of women primarily seen as victims, the contributions aim to examine the process through which women have become active participants as well as instruments of destruction in military and militant movements, on behalf of and...