Marriage is supposed to be a tool of love, a construct in which two people are bonded together for life. Does there sound like something wrong with that? Two people being glued together for life? If these people are in love, this may not be a problem. When the weight of societal pressures to get married in your 20s and start a family, to be subservient to your husband as you financially rely on him, and to be a pure virgin who only loves one man before the wedding and for the rest of one’s life- marriage starts to become a tool of oppression. 

Unfortunately, the patriarchy has weaponized this tool of oppression against women for a long time, and Indian Literature well articulates these struggles. The idea of a “Virtuous Indian Women” - as described by Sahitya Akademi in Feminism and Modern Indian Literature- has been utilized by the patriarchy to uphold a standard of how Indian women should act. 

The “Virtuous Indian Women” is a woman who sacrifices her personal life for her husband and family. She lets go of all of her ambitions so that her husband can go on and conquer his endeavors, whether it be a new business venture or an educational opportunity. Luckily, times have changed, and many women have conjured up the power to rebel against these standards and express the reality they face through media and literature. 

When portraying a female’s experience through writing, not every woman's life is the same, but every encounter is important to learn. As stated by Professor Morse Peckham, there are many different feminisms, as there are many different perspectives. A feminist approach to writing can display these perspectives. Primarily in Indian literature, authors take more of a creative stance than a critical stance. 

While many works push the standard of a “Virtuous Indian Woman”, authors represent the female as an individual rather than a wife created for a man. The stories Odalala and Kusumabale, novels by Devanuru Mahadeva, glorify motherhood- as though a woman has no other purpose than to bear children. On the opposing side, the story Charitraheen, written by Kiran Moyee, takes a more radical stance on the institution of marriage. Feminism started appearing in Indian literature around the 1920s and 1930s. 

Texts that show the more graphic reality wives would face before strict laws protected them include stories such as Sakharam Binder. Sakharam Binder contains themes of morality, sex, and violence. Women thrown out on the streets by their husbands are “rescued” by Sakharam. He shelters them, only to sexually exploit and abuse them. Women, in this film, cannot survive without their husbands. When they cannot be reliant on someone, they are in danger. They do not have the means to provide for themselves and can be exploited by anyone with power anointed by the patriarchy. This film was banned in 1974 for “alleged vulgarity”. What does this say about women who endure that trauma in real life rather than viewing it in a cinema?

Of course, women face oppression in other forms of abuse, taking into account the multiple feminisms. The novel Girls by Mrinal Pande is written to be read from the perspective of a daughter who grows up facing discrimination from her parents as she is not a son. Once again, times have changed and the love in a family is not determined by the gender of a child. However, some women do receive fewer opportunities for not being a male. 

In Kunti Kuntala Sakuntala, the female characters assert their femininity and own their individuality rather than tolerate abuse. We have feminist writers such as Shivani, Amrita, and Binapani Mohanty for portraying strong women’s presence and lives through their work. Women’s role in a society heavily influences the way they are portrayed in the media.

With the progress of media and it being 2021, Indian female authors create a space to thrive for themselves and are not shy to write about themes such as sex and love rather than just trauma women face, as women are much more than a standard they try to fulfill or trauma they face when they do not reach this standard. There is some improvement to be made, such as the growth of critical writing and opportunities for those who live in a rural area. However, feminism in media is a necessary tool that engages and represents a whole new audience. 

Works Cited:

164.100.228.241:8080. 164.100.228.241:8080/sahitya-akademi/library/meettheauthor/binapani_mohanty.pdf.

Spark of Light: Short Stories by Women Writers of Odisha. researchgate.net/publication/329329380_Spark_of_Light_Short_Stories_by_Women_Writers_of_Odisha.

Vol. 36, No. 5 (157), September-October, 1993 of Indian ... jstor.org/stable/i23336598.