The Two Partitions Experienced By Women

RR
by Rhian Reyes1 view·Updated May 5, 2021
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  1. Mhm Partition and women how women experienced two partitions During
  2. the separation of India between 1947 and into the 1950s,
  3. women in the independence movement, women were active participants in
  4. the quit India movement and at this point they were
  5. slowly being integrated into the public sector through this political
  6. activism. This was of course, with the permission of their
  7. patriarch upon Abbas Zoo argues that nationalism and feminism became
  8. intertwined through this work and the independent in the independence
  9. movement and because of this, women did not quite denounce
  10. the patriarchal society yet therefore indian feminism at this point
  11. was very different from Western feminism and that it worked
  12. with the patriarchy against colonial rule.
  13. Gandhi's relationship with women was very complicated through the partition
  14. process. However, with the independence movement, Gandhi credited women as
  15. the progenitors of nonviolent, passive resistance and supported and relied
  16. on them in the quit India movement.
  17. He advocated for women's partition participants sorry participation in politics,
  18. but strongly and firmly held the belief that women belonged
  19. in the private sphere of influence.
  20. The first partition that was experienced by women was the
  21. partition of India.
  22. Do you quote here says when speaking of the journey,
  23. though undertaken with military escort as far as possible, was
  24. both hazardous and traumatic, convoys were ambushed, family separated Children,
  25. orphaned and women abducted left as hostages were killed by
  26. their own families in large numbers.
  27. This is because nobody had the foresight to see how
  28. partition would ultimately play out.
  29. Millions of people migrated between east and west punjab.
  30. The results, as we can see here were one million
  31. deaths, the relocation of 12-15 million people and more than
  32. 80,000 abductions and rapes of women.
  33. This type of violence that comes with such mass migrations
  34. was completely unforeseen by the government or military.
  35. The second partition that women went through was the partition
  36. of their families.
  37. Efforts to recover women began in December 1947, but most
  38. women were not returned until Quote unquote returned until 1952.
  39. Recovery efforts were made by men to uphold the honor
  40. of the patriarchal state and by the time women, by
  41. the time recovery efforts are made, women did not want
  42. to leave because they had often converted, married and had
  43. Children. Moreover, women felt shame and dishonor for their partition
  44. experiences and opted to stay with the families they found
  45. after partition.
  46. Unfortunately, government policy was to return women regardless of their
  47. wishes, which was essentially connecting them again.
  48. This quote by Gandhi illustrates how it was difficult for
  49. women to come home when there was all of this
  50. chain surrounding whether or not the honor had been stolen
  51. from them.
  52. He says, I hear women have the objection that the
  53. Hindus are not willing to accept back the recovered women
  54. because they say that they have been become impure.
  55. I feel that this is a matter of great shape.
  56. That woman is as pure as the girls who are
  57. sitting by my side.
  58. And if one of those recovered women should come to
  59. me, then I will give them as much and respect
  60. and honor as I accord to these young maidens.
  61. Mhm. Well, with the best intentions.
  62. This quote clearly shows that the repatriation programs come from
  63. a patriarchal standpoint and that Gandhi is granting them a
  64. sort of illusion of honor.
  65. He's choosing to act as if the violence that occurred
  66. during partition never happened to women and that they are
  67. still virginal as you can see by his.
  68. Um he says, respect and honor as I accord to
  69. these young maidens as pure as the girls who are
  70. sitting by my side.
  71. there's still that patriarchal emphasis on their honor and virginity.
  72. The benefits and challenges of oral history.
  73. Oral history has been incredibly beneficial in collecting the experiences
  74. of women after partition.
  75. And it has been used to fill in the gaps
  76. left by government accounts of events and to provide a
  77. more whole picture.
  78. Excuse me, picture of the events that occurred.
  79. Oral history also allows women to connect with one another
  80. and provide an honest account of their experiences and the
  81. non judgmental and safe environment.
  82. Unfortunately in patriarchal societies in Pakistan and India post challenges
  83. to this collection of oral history because the presence of
  84. male family members becomes difficult to navigate.
  85. In this collection of history.
  86. Men removed the safety and the comfort of the environment
  87. when women are trying to discuss such traumatizing events.
  88. Furthermore, women are often unable or unwilling to share the
  89. details of their experience in the presence of a family
  90. member because there's so much shame surrounding their honor.
  91. At worst, women feel like their voice is nothing compared
  92. to their male counterparts.
  93. And this is especially detrimental for the women and for
  94. the collection of oral history because when the man takes
  95. over the interview, it shifts the whole narrative from women's
  96. experiences to this male centered perception of what happened during
  97. partition. Thank you.