Tarabai Shinde
Encyclopedia
Tarabai Shinde was a feminist activist who protested patriarchy
and caste
in 19th century India
. She is known for her published work, Stri Purush Tulana ("A Comparison Between Women and Men"), originally published in Marathi
in 1882. The pamphlet is a critique of upper-caste patriarchy, and is often considered the first modern Indian feminist text. It was very controversial for its time in challenging the Hindu
religious scriptures
themselves as a source of women's oppression, a view that continues to be controversial and debated today.
in Buldhana, Berar Province
, in present day Maharashtra
. A founding member of the Satyashodhak Samaj, Pune, her father was a radical and head clerk in the office of Deputy Commissioner of Revenues, he also published a book title, Hint to the Educated Natives in 1871. Tarabai was the only daughter and was taught Marathi, Sanskrit and English by her father.
and was a member of their Satyashodak Samaj ("Truth Finding Community") organisation. The Phules had started the first school for Untouchable caste girls in 1848, as well as a shelter for upper-caste widows in 1854 (who were forbidden from remarrying), and shared with Shinde an awareness of the separate axes of oppression that constitute gender and caste, as well as the intermeshed nature of the two.
Period. But Tarabai’s work is also significant because at a time when intellectuals and activists alike were primarily concerned with the hardships of a Hindu widow’s life and other easily identifiable atrocities perpetrated on women, Tarabai Shinde, apparently working in isolation, was able to broaden the scope of analysis to include the ideological fabric of patriarchal society. Women everywhere, she implies, are similarly oppressed."
Stri Purush Tulana was written in response to an article which appeared in 1881, in Pune Vaibhav, an orthodox newspaper published from Pune
, about a criminal case against a young Brahmin
(upper-caste) widow, Vijayalakshmi in Surat
, who had been convicted of murdering her illegitimate son for the fear of public disgrace and ostracism. Having worked with upper-caste widows who were forbidden to remarry, Shinde was well aware of incidents of widows being impregnated by relatives. The book analyzed the tightrope women must walk between the "good woman" and the "prostitute". The book was printed at Shri Shivjai Press, Pune, in 1882 with 500 copies at cost nine annas, but hostile reception by contemporary society and press, meant that she did not publish again. The work finds mention in the second issue of Satsar, the magazine of Satyashodhak Samaj, started by Jyotiba Phule in 1885, however thereafter the work remained largely unknown till 1975, when it was rediscovered and republished.
Patriarchy
Patriarchy is a social system in which the role of the male as the primary authority figure is central to social organization, and where fathers hold authority over women, children, and property. It implies the institutions of male rule and privilege, and entails female subordination...
and caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
in 19th century 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...
. She is known for her published work, Stri Purush Tulana ("A Comparison Between Women and Men"), originally published in Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
in 1882. The pamphlet is a critique of upper-caste patriarchy, and is often considered the first modern Indian feminist text. It was very controversial for its time in challenging the Hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
religious scriptures
Religious text
Religious texts, also known as scripture, scriptures, holy writ, or holy books, are the texts which various religious traditions consider to be sacred, or of central importance to their religious tradition...
themselves as a source of women's oppression, a view that continues to be controversial and debated today.
Early life and family
Born in 1850 to Bapuji Hari ShindeShinde
Shinde is a common surname among the Maratha people of India. The term may refer to:* Shinde, a Maratha caste found mainly in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andra Pradesh and Goa.* Scindia, a prominent Maratha family-People:...
in Buldhana, Berar Province
Berar Province
Berar Province, known also as the Hyderabad Assigned Districts, was a province of British India. The province, formerly ruled by the Nizam of Hyderabad, was administered by the British after 1853, although the Nizam retained formal sovereignty over the province...
, in present day Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
. A founding member of the Satyashodhak Samaj, Pune, her father was a radical and head clerk in the office of Deputy Commissioner of Revenues, he also published a book title, Hint to the Educated Natives in 1871. Tarabai was the only daughter and was taught Marathi, Sanskrit and English by her father.
Social work
Shinde was an associate of social activists Jotirao and Savitribai PhuleSavitribai Phule
Savitribai Jotiba Phule was a social reformer, who, along with her husband, Mahatma Jotiba Phule, played an important role in improving women's rights in India during the British Rule....
and was a member of their Satyashodak Samaj ("Truth Finding Community") organisation. The Phules had started the first school for Untouchable caste girls in 1848, as well as a shelter for upper-caste widows in 1854 (who were forbidden from remarrying), and shared with Shinde an awareness of the separate axes of oppression that constitute gender and caste, as well as the intermeshed nature of the two.
Stri Purush Tulana
In her essay, Shinde criticised the social inequality of caste, as well as the patriarchal views of other activists who saw caste as the main form of social antagonism in Hindu society. According to Susie Tharu and K. Lalita, "...Stri Purush Tulana is probably the first full fledged and extant feminist argument after the poetry of the BhaktiBhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
Period. But Tarabai’s work is also significant because at a time when intellectuals and activists alike were primarily concerned with the hardships of a Hindu widow’s life and other easily identifiable atrocities perpetrated on women, Tarabai Shinde, apparently working in isolation, was able to broaden the scope of analysis to include the ideological fabric of patriarchal society. Women everywhere, she implies, are similarly oppressed."
Stri Purush Tulana was written in response to an article which appeared in 1881, in Pune Vaibhav, an orthodox newspaper published from Pune
Pune
Pune , is the eighth largest metropolis in India, the second largest in the state of Maharashtra after Mumbai, and the largest city in the Western Ghats. Once the centre of power of the Maratha Empire, it is situated 560 metres above sea level on the Deccan plateau at the confluence of the Mula ...
, about a criminal case against a young Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
(upper-caste) widow, Vijayalakshmi in Surat
Surat
Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...
, who had been convicted of murdering her illegitimate son for the fear of public disgrace and ostracism. Having worked with upper-caste widows who were forbidden to remarry, Shinde was well aware of incidents of widows being impregnated by relatives. The book analyzed the tightrope women must walk between the "good woman" and the "prostitute". The book was printed at Shri Shivjai Press, Pune, in 1882 with 500 copies at cost nine annas, but hostile reception by contemporary society and press, meant that she did not publish again. The work finds mention in the second issue of Satsar, the magazine of Satyashodhak Samaj, started by Jyotiba Phule in 1885, however thereafter the work remained largely unknown till 1975, when it was rediscovered and republished.
Quotes
From the introduction:- "I'm just a poor woman without any real intelligence, who's been kept locked up and confined...But every day now we have to look at some new and more horrible example of men who are really wicked, and their shameless lying tricks. And people go about pinning the blame on women all the time, as if everything bad was their fault. When I saw this, my whole mind began churning and shaking.. I lost all my fear, I just couldn't stop myself writing about it in this very biting language."
- "So is it true that only women's bodies are home to all the different kinds of recklessness and vice? Or have men got just the same faults as we find in women?"
See also
- Babasaheb Ambedkar, another non-Brahminical revolutionary who fought for the rights of women and dalits.