Overview
- Opens a critical window to the implications of the religious mediation of patriarchy as manifested in the caste inscribed Catholic Syrian Christian community of Kerala
- Considers the varied expressions and experiences of patriarchy at the intersectionality of gender with class, caste and religion
- Examines the latent contradictions underlying the development paradigm by bringing into relief the ‘gender paradox’ of the human development discourse
Part of the book series: New Approaches to Religion and Power (NARP)
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Table of contents (7 chapters)
Keywords
About this book
This book examines the operational dynamics of patriarchy that is deeply woven into the Indian cultural fabric and its persistence in spite of women advancing in Human Development Indices. In studying the situation of women of the Catholic Syrian Christian community of Kerala, South India, as a case of analysis, Kochurani Abraham identifies caste consciousness and religious prescriptions of this community as the main factors that intersect with gendered identity construction and succeed in keeping women within its patriarchal confines. While women do engage in negotiating patriarchy through what can be termed simulative, tactical, and ‘agensic’ bargains, this remains a ‘politics of survival’ as it does not challenge the established gender order. In this context, making a shift from ‘politics of survival’ to a ‘politics of subversion’ is imperative for challenging persisting patriarchies.
Reviews
“Persisting Patriarchy examines the gender question, as it plays out in minority religious communities in the Indian context. Through her careful and considered evaluation of women's speech, familial and social roles, and their complex relationship to Church and faith, Kochurani Abraham shows us how faith, caste, and class shape women's self-perceptions, and how women, in turn, negotiate these structures in a meaningful yet poignantway. The book goes beyond customary feminist reflections on personal law and minority rights and instead addresses local configurations of patriarchal power.” (V. Geetha, feminist historian, author of Undoing Impunity: Speech after Sexual Violence)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Kochurani Abraham is a feminist theologian and gender researcher from Kerala, India. At present she is the National Convener of the Indian Christian Women’s Movement (ICWM) and the Vice-President of the Indian Theological Association (ITA). Her research interests include gender, ecology, spirituality and transformative education.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Persisting Patriarchy
Book Subtitle: Intersectionalities, Negotiations, Subversions
Authors: Kochurani Abraham
Series Title: New Approaches to Religion and Power
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-21488-3
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-21487-6Published: 24 August 2019
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-21490-6Published: 25 August 2020
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-21488-3Published: 08 August 2019
Series ISSN: 2634-6079
Series E-ISSN: 2634-6087
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 241
Number of Illustrations: 5 b/w illustrations
Topics: Feminist Theology, Religion and Gender, Gender Studies