Deification of Women‟s Roleat Household Level SansEmancipation: Insights from Odisha, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61841/wffyjx48Keywords:
Culture, Discrimination, Deification, Household, Odisha, Patriarchy, Society, WomenAbstract
Inrecorded Indian history, women‟s status has been subjected to many changes. There are several factors that validate the privileged position enjoyed by women in ancient India.Socio-cultural constructswith religious overtones, of assigning roles to gender have a significant impact on defining women‟s role within the society. The conditioning of women based on the religio-cultural expectations lead to their subjugated position in the society.This paper attempts to understand the role of women within the household with the help ofreal-life analysis of casestudies collected in Khordha district in Odisha. This illustrates the different roles of women aligned with their cultural interpretation through history embedded in religious scriptures. It simultaneously discusseshow the position of women has declined in due course of time in history, underscoring the contradictions as well. The article brings out that deification of women at the household level does not lead to their emancipation and empowerment.
Downloads
References
1. Agarwal, B. (1997). '' „Bargaining‟'' and Gender Relations: Within and Beyond the Household‟‟, Feminist Economics, 3:1, 1-51, DOI: 10.1080/135457097338799
2. Altekar, A.S. (1938). The Position of Women in Hindu Civilization: From Prehistoric Times to thePresent Day. Benares Hindu University Press, India.
3. Baviskar. B.S. and Patel. T. (eds) (2010), Understanding Indian Society, Past and Present. ISBN: 9788125042648. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan.
4. Becker, G.S. (1965). “The Theory of the Allocation of Time”, The Economic Journal,Vol.75:, No.299, 493-517.
5. Bose, M. and Panda, S. M. (2019). “Value Perception of Unpaid Household Work –Women‟s Perspective in Odisha”. Think India Journal, Vol. 22, No.14, pp. 7651-7671, ISSN0971 1260 (Online
Version).
6. Buvinic, M. and Gupta, G. R. (1993). 'Responding to Insecurity in the 1990s: Targeting Woman headed Households and Woman-maintained Families in Developing Countries'. Paper presented at the International Workshop 'Insecurity in the 1990s: Gender and Social Policy in an International Perspective', London School of Economics and European Association of Development Institutes, London, 5-6 April.
7. Chhacchi, A. (2011). Gender and Labour in Contemporary India: Eroding Citizenship. London: Routledge.
8. Elborgh-Woytek, K., Newiak, M., Kochhar, K., Fabrizio, S., Kpodar, K., Wingender, P., Clements, J. B. and Schwartz, G. (2013). Women, Work and the Economy: Macroeconomic Gains from Gender Equity. I M F Staff Discussion Note, SDN/13/10.
9. Engels, F. (1884). The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State. Australia: Resistance Books.
10. Gatwood, L. E. (1985). Devi and the Spouse Goddess: Women, Sexuality, andMarriages in India. Riverdale, MD: Riverdale Co.
11. Krishnaraj, M. (Ed.). (2010). Motherhood in India: Glorification without Empowerment? New Delhi: Routledge.
12. Loomba, A andLukose, R.A. (2012). South Asian feminism. New Delhi: Zubaan, Duke University Press.
13. Mallik, P.S. (2019). “Socio-Cultural status of Women in India: A Historical Perspective”,
Research Review International Journal of Multidisciplinary . 4:3, 1524-1528. ISSN: 2455-
3085 (Online).
14. Menon, N. (2012). Seeing like a Feminist. New Delhi: Zubaan and Penguin Books Ltd.
15. Owen, J. (2018). Women Are Overburdened with Their Families‟ “Mental Loads”.https://slate.com/human- interest/2018/03/women-are-overburdened-with-their-families mental-loads.html .(retrieved on 17th May, 2020).
16. Pal, B. (2019). “The Saga of Women‟s Status in Ancient Indian Civilization”. Miscellanea Geographica – Regional Studies on Development. 23: 3, 180-184. ISSN: 2084-6118. DOI: 10.2478/mgrsd-2019-0012.
17. Pandit, A. (2019, 8th July). Single Mothers Head 4.5% of All Indian Households. The Times of India.https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/un-report-13-million-households-in india-where-lone-
mothers-live-alone-with-children/articleshow/69949845.cms (Retrieved on 25th May, 2020).
18. Pathak, H.P. (2019). Hinduism and Women Religious Beliefs and Practices. Research Association for Interdisciplinary June 2019 Studies. 228-235. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3267688. RAIS Conference Proceedings, June 10-11, 2019.
19. Pattanaik,D. (2017). Devlok with DevduttPattanaik 2.Penguin Random House India.ISBN 10: 9780143428435, ISBN-13: 978-0143428435
20. Raju, S. (2010). Mapping the World of Women's Work: Regional Patterns and Perspectives.
NewDelhi: International Labour Organisation.
21. Raju, S. and Bagchi, D.(1993). Women and Work in South Asia- Regional Patterns and Perspective. London, New York: Routledge.
22. Sadan, E.(2004). Empowerment and community planning: Theory and practice of people focused social solutions. Tel Aviv: HakibbutzHameuchad Publishers, 1997/2004.
23. Shrivastava, N. (2009), "The Progress of Indian Women from 1900s to Present". Honors Scholar Theses.
76. https://opencommons.uconn.edu/srhonors_theses/76
24. Sreekumar,S. (2015). Revisioning Motherhood - Geetanjali Shree‟s Mai as A Counter narrative of Mothering. Research Scholar. ISSN 2320 – 6101. Vol. 3 Issue III August, 2015.
25. Tiwari, K.(2016,6th April). Women at Work. The Hindu Business Line. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/women-at-work/article8442287.ece. (Retrieved on
25th May 2020).
26. Tripathy, P.C. (2000). Crime Against Working Women. New Delhi: AshishPublication House.
27. UN Women. (2019). Progress of The World‟s Women 2019–2020: Families in a Changing World. ISBN: 978-1-63214-156-9. The United States. www. progress.unwomen.org
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
You are free to:
- Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format for any purpose, even commercially.
- Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
- The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as you follow the license terms.
Under the following terms:
- Attribution — You must give appropriate credit , provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made . You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use.
- No additional restrictions — You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
Notices:
You do not have to comply with the license for elements of the material in the public domain or where your use is permitted by an applicable exception or limitation .
No warranties are given. The license may not give you all of the permissions necessary for your intended use. For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material.
