Question

Kate Shanley states that the Indian women’s movement seeks equality on the individual level. What kind of individual equality does the movement seek? How does this individual equality differ from that of the mainstream white feminist movement? Why does the difference between the movements exist?

Answer 1

• The Indian women’s movement seeks equality in two ways that do not concern mainstream women; on the individual level, the Indian woman struggles to promote the survival of a social structure whose organizational principles represents notions of family different from those of the mainstream.
• On the societal level, the people seek sovereignty as a people in order to maintain a vital legal and spiritual connection to the land, in order to survive as a people.”
• The difference between indian feminist movement and white feminism was that white feminism was all about addressing the issue of color and the priviledges women lacked because of their colour whereas indian movement focused more on equality between land and the family.The focus is upon empowering indigenous women in the context of indigenous cultural values and priorities, rather than mainstream, white, patriarchal ones.
• This difference is occurs because for Indian women their role domestically is more important which has been ignored. The traditional beliefs and tribal soverignity are important for Indian women rather than in white feminism. Because Indian women have a position within their tribe's cultural,economic,political and social spheres,the characteristics of white feminism focusing on sociopolitical confinement of women to the domestic sphere has little application in Indian feminism. Indian feminism values focus more on land and tradition.
• White feminism somewhat misuses the priviledge of being white and focusing less on the equality problems especially with indian women.