Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World
Encyclopedia
Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World written by Kumari Jayawardena
is widely used in women's studies
programs around the world and is considered a key text of third-world feminism.
Jayawardena reconstructs the history of women's rights
movements in Asia and the Middle East from the 19th century to the 1980s, focusing on Egypt
, Turkey
, Iran
, India
, Sri Lanka
, China
, Indonesia
, Vietnam
, Japan
, Korea
, and the Philippines
. Her research shows that feminism
was not a foreign ideology 'imposed' on 'Third World' countries, but instead, was indigenous to Asia and the Middle East as women struggled for equal rights and against the subordination of women in the home and in society in general.
Jayawardena is the author of several other books, including The Rise of the Labor Movement in Ceylon and Embodied Violence: Communalising Women's Sexuality in South Asia. (Co-edited with Malathi de Alwis
). However Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World is one of Jayawarden's oft-cited works and has gained international recognition. The book was chosen for the Feminist Fortnight award in Britain in 1986 and was cited by Ms. Magazine
in 1992 as one of the 20 most important books of 'the feminist decades' (i.e. 1970-1990).
Kumari Jayawardena
Kumari Jayawardena is a leading feminist figure and academic in Sri Lanka. Her work is part of the canon of third-world feminism which conceptualizes feminist philosophies that are indigenous and unique to non-Western societies and nations rather than mere off-shoots of Western...
is widely used in women's studies
Women's studies
Women's studies, also known as feminist studies, is an interdisciplinary academic field which explores politics, society and history from an intersectional, multicultural women's perspective...
programs around the world and is considered a key text of third-world feminism.
Jayawardena reconstructs the history of women's rights
Women's rights
Women's rights are entitlements and freedoms claimed for women and girls of all ages in many societies.In some places these rights are institutionalized or supported by law, local custom, and behaviour, whereas in others they may be ignored or suppressed...
movements in Asia and the Middle East from the 19th century to the 1980s, focusing on Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, Korea
Korea
Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
, and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. Her research shows that feminism
Feminism
Feminism is a collection of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities for women. Its concepts overlap with those of women's rights...
was not a foreign ideology 'imposed' on 'Third World' countries, but instead, was indigenous to Asia and the Middle East as women struggled for equal rights and against the subordination of women in the home and in society in general.
Jayawardena is the author of several other books, including The Rise of the Labor Movement in Ceylon and Embodied Violence: Communalising Women's Sexuality in South Asia. (Co-edited with Malathi de Alwis
Malathi de Alwis
Malathi de Alwis is a feminist scholar and activist at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka. She also teaches in the MA Program in Women's Studies at the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo and was Visiting Associate Professor of Anthropology at the...
). However Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World is one of Jayawarden's oft-cited works and has gained international recognition. The book was chosen for the Feminist Fortnight award in Britain in 1986 and was cited by Ms. Magazine
Ms. magazine
Ms. is an American feminist magazine co-founded by American feminist and activist Gloria Steinem and founding editor Letty Cottin Pogrebin together with founding editors Patricia Carbine, Joanne Edgar, Nina Finkelstein, and Mary Peacock, that first appeared in 1971 as an insert in New York magazine...
in 1992 as one of the 20 most important books of 'the feminist decades' (i.e. 1970-1990).
See also
- Kumari JayawardenaKumari JayawardenaKumari Jayawardena is a leading feminist figure and academic in Sri Lanka. Her work is part of the canon of third-world feminism which conceptualizes feminist philosophies that are indigenous and unique to non-Western societies and nations rather than mere off-shoots of Western...
- Third-world feminism
- Postcolonial feminismPostcolonial feminismPostcolonial feminism, often referred to as Third World feminism, is a form of feminist philosophy which centers around the idea that racism, colonialism, and the long lasting effects of colonialism in the postcolonial setting, are inextricably bound up with the unique gendered realities of...
- Feminist theoryFeminist theoryFeminist theory is the extension of feminism into theoretical, or philosophical discourse, it aims to understand the nature of gender inequality...
- Sunila AbeysekeraSunila AbeysekeraSunila Abeysekera is an award winning human rights campaigner. She was born in 1952 in Sri Lanka and has worked on women's rights and human rights issues in Sri Lanka and in the South Asia region for over 20 years as an activist and scholar. In 1994 she received an M.A...
- Malathi de AlwisMalathi de AlwisMalathi de Alwis is a feminist scholar and activist at the International Centre for Ethnic Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka. She also teaches in the MA Program in Women's Studies at the Faculty of Graduate Studies, University of Colombo and was Visiting Associate Professor of Anthropology at the...