Junior Charles Strong Trust Lecture 2005
“Conformity and subversion in the diaspora: Hindu women in South Australia”
Hindu women have often been understood in terms of a Brahmanic construction of the ideal woman. This paper examines this construction of and for women and looks at alternative interpretations. The practices and assumptions of a group of Hindu women in South Australia are discussed in the light of these different interpretations, in order to assess their conformity or subversion of the expected norms.
Heather Foster Ph D
University of South Australia
Introduction
Three questions I was asked when I first started researching Hinduism and Hindu women have remained with me. The first was from my dentist who when discussing what I was doing asked “Hindus…they’re not Christian are they?”. The second came from a neighbour, a member of the judiciary, when told my topic looked at me strangely and asked “You’re not going funny on us are you?”
The third question came from the ethics committee of the University in response to my request to distribute questionnaires to Hindu women. They asked me to address, in writing, how I could ensure the women’s husbands would not fill in the forms for them.
The first two questions demonstrated a general ignorance and lack of understanding about Hinduism but the third highlighted a popular assumption concerning Hindu women lacking power. I had expected a more scholarly assessment of the issues. Although, inadvertently, or perhaps overtly, they were tapping into a Brahmanic understanding of women being under their husband’s control. The assumption was easily addressed, to the committee’s satisfaction by reference to the educational profile of the Hindu women in SA which was well above the level of the general population. But this should not have been necessary. In a sense, by using this argument in order to gain timely approval for my research I felt I was betraying Hindu women without the same level of education by saying ‘educated women have power and control because they are educated’. Was the scenario therefore, ‘but non educated women, of course, do not’?
In a sense I commenced my research on an act of betrayal.
These experiences were, however, valuable insights into the different constructions and understandings of Hinduism and Hindu women in the host community of South Australia. In a sense these experiences provided a starting point by demonstrating the way in which stereotypes, or if you like specific constructions or understanding of groups and individuals influenced the way they were perceived within the diaspora. In order to really engage with these issues it was necessary to look at alternative interpretations or constructions as well as the assumptions and practices of the women themselves.
What are some of the‘constructions’ offered for Hindu women?
Over the years women have often been treated in terms of constituting a generic group or groups and, a number of different ‘constructions’ or ‘models’ or ‘ideals’of and for women have been identified or proposed, often in relation to women’s religious duties or practices. Scholars have attempted to understand women by looking at assumptions or expectations of them, and their own assumptions and expectations of themselves and others. Not only are these assumptions an external construction, it has been suggested that these popular assumptions about women, both positive and negative, have been inculcated into the psyche of various groups of Hindu women and therefore communal expectations have taken on an active role influencing the attitudes of women towards themselves as well as others.
What are the different theoretical and popular perspectives that have been developed concerning Hindu women?
The Brahmanic model
A brahmanic, or orthodox model ofand for women, is perhaps the most prominent ideal which has been projected within Hinduism and as I previously suggested it is the understanding of women that was tapped into by the Ethics Committee. Although originating in the Vedic context it developed over time within Hindu mythology, sacred texts and Indian social context culminating in the description of an ideal woman in the dharamasatras(Robinson 1985, p. 183) 200 or 300 years BCE.
The Brahmanic ideal is of women as pativrata (Wadley 1976, p.161, Obeyeskere 1984, p. 430, Kapur 1979, p. 128, Leslie 1991, p.185 and Magee 1991, p. 86). What is the pativrata? According to Obeyeskere the pativrata has a commitment to being a virgin bride, chaste, loyal and submissive to her husband (Obeyeskere 1984, p. 430). Her duties involve focussing primarily on her husband, his welfare, and anything within his sphere, such as his family and their deities (Courtright 1995, p. 186). The ethos of the ideal woman in Brahmanic terms is to marry and orient her life to her husband in order to use her power for her husband’s well being and take responsibility for him in a social context (Courtright 1995, p.187). It places her as part of him and his world and her duties, including devotional activities are used in order to focus her ‘sakti’ or power in order to benefit her husband (Courtright 1995, p. 187-188).
This ideal model of women developed within a specific symbolic understanding of the power of women but also an understanding of the necessity for this power to be controlled and directed.
The symbolic representation of women in Hinduism highlights their duality. What is understood as the positive aspect of women can be seen in their portrayal as fertile and benevolent while, conversely, they are seen as aggressive and malevolent (Wadley 1977, p. 113). It is through controlling the power of women that these opposites are reconciled and the dangerous aspect of women is restrained and, indeed, turned to advantage. Hence the model of a devoted wife under the control of a husband, or a pativrata, has emerged as an ideal framework for women to render their power as positive, life giving and life supporting. The over quoted section from the Laws of Manu was the culmination of this concept as it states women must always be under the control of a male family member: father, husband or son (Laws of Manu 1991, chapter 9, verses 2-4).
Although the degree of significance these guidelines had is contested they demonstrate the extent to which the concept was developed in some areas.
Well what is in it for the women to be the perfect wife the pativrata? In short - liberation. The duties of a wife towards her family, especially her husband (including providing a son) were and are, an essential aspect of her duty in life and are thought to be linked to liberation. In religious terms a woman needs to be a perfect wife.
Why look at the Brahmanic, or orthodox expectations of women if it is such an historic concept? Because it is not something that had been consigned to the past but has been actively reformulated for middle class women in more recent times. This has occurred, especially for middle class women,within the nationalist movement and other reform movements such as the Arya Samaj, where, according to Sangari and Vaid, the traditional woman has been recovered within these reform movements to feed”…into the compassionate models of the middle class family” (Sangari &Vaid 1990, p.10). They suggest
..her various shapes continuously readapt the ‘eternal’ past to the needs of the contingent present. The formation of desired notions of spirituality and of womanhood is thus a part of the formation of the middle class itself, wherein hierarchies and patriarchies are sought to be maintained on both material and spiritual grounds. (Sangari &Vaid 1990, p.10)
Assumptions of the ideal brahmanic woman have been used, resurrected or reformulated in times of transition and adaptation. They have been utilised in order to make sense of the present and to fulfil changing needs, therefore as middle class women constitute the majority of immigrants within the Hindu Diaspora of South Australia, was this model resurrected at this time of adaptation?
When discussing the brahmanic ideal Madhu Kishwar, who terms it a ‘cultural ideal’, reinforces its relevance for contemporary women. She suggests this ideal ‘…is rarely sought to be forced on a woman in an undiluted form’ (1989, p.7) however, the ‘…woman who appears to have lived up to this cultural ideal is held up as a role model to other, not just in film and popular literature, but also in real life’ (Kishwar 1989, p.6).
There are, however, alternative interpretations and expectations for women. Julia Leslie suggests that even within this Brahmanic ideal articulated in the texts alternative interpretations exist. She states
…it is not to assume that women have a radically different world view than the one allocated to them by men or male-oriented texts. It is the small deviations from the norm which may be crucial, perhaps the way the apparently negative is transformed into something positive and powerful. (Leslie 1991, p.3)
Therefore even within the Brahmanic tradition differing interpretations exist.
A number of scholars suggest it is through popular devotionalism, however, that women are provided with their most powerful alternative (Wadley 1977, Robinson1985). Although devotional practices may occur along with brahmanic rites, they can also occur independently from them. Within devotionalism, devotion and hospitality are directed towards the deities invoked within images at home shrines and temples; pilgrimages to sacred sites; dancing and singing for the deities and undertaking fasts and vows (Robinson 1985, p.195). In popular devotionalism,instead of treating your husband as a god, you direct yourself toward the deity. A reciprocal relationship between the deity and the individual exists and the deity provides blessings for the devotee or their family.
It is through the popular devotional activities which have been described by Sandra Robinson as pre-brahmanic or extra-brahmanic that women are thought to be able to use their power in ways in which they themselves dictate (Robinson 1985, p. 195). Women establish this reciprocal relationship with the deities in order to gain power. This power is directed towards the family; however, the husband is only one aspect of this rather than the primary focus (Robinson 1985, p.195). Vratas or vows are one important aspect of popular devotionalism where women gain influence and control, within their domestic sphere outside brahmanic influence or control(Robinson 1985, p.201).
Popular devotionalism enables equivalence between men and women which does not occur with the brahmanic devotional practices. As these activities may be interpreted as part of the duty of the patrivrata, as well as alternatively being placed outside this concept, scholars suggestpopular devotionalism allows women agency and resistance to brahmanical expectations while seemingly complying with expected norms (Hancock, 1995, p.85)
Women, therefore, have been discussed in reference to a number of different concepts. They have been described in terms of the Brahmanic ideal; slight but significant variations to this ideal; and through popular Hindu concepts articulated through devotionalism.
It is, however, important to acknowledge recent developments within the sub-continent which have acted to modify and redefine the role of women especially the middle classes. Modernity and westernisation are not solely the province of the west as colonial and postcolonial processes have occurred and are still occurring within India as well as the diaspora.
These changes can be summarised as an increase in engagement in higher education due to a later age of marriage for women;residence in affordable, accessible and safe women’s residential colleges where maternal influences are lessened; exposure to different ideas; and expectations of marriage as a partnership (Blumberg & Dwaraki 1980,Kapur 1979, Ross 1961). They have influenced such things as marriage choice, diet and social contact, and therefore their general practices and assumptions.
Therefore although the concept of an ideal model for women may exist within India, for the educated middle class women considerable changes have occurred due to the diverse influences resulting in their participation in education.
A number of possible constructs for understanding the practices and assumptions of women have been put forward and modifications have occurred within contemporary situations in India and the diaspora.
The women
Let usturn to the women who participated in the study in South Australia. Needless to say there was a variety of attitudes, assumptions and practices amongst the women and although I am speaking of them as a homogenous group, there are only some shared boundaries between the women, most notably they all self identified as Hindu.
Due to time constraints I have chosen to highlight only a few of the different practices and assumptions of the women.
When discussing the concepts attributed to the pativrata, the variety amongst the women was clearly evident, this includedattitudes towards a commitment to virginity, submissiveness, lack of assertiveness, ritual acts including devotion, and prayers and fasting.
Although many rejected any religious motivation or grounding for the attitudes and values they expressed, when specifically discussing the role or duties of women, it appeared they understood and described themselves in relation to Hindu concepts of women. Comments such as ‘I don’t consider my husband to be a god’ or ‘I don’t treat my husband as a god’ were firm rejections of a brahmanic construction. That said, statements from others, and observations of them, provided an alternative picture of a few of the women. These ranged from changing behaviour frowned upon by a husband to, in one instance, never referring to her husband by name, clearly relating, when questioned, this practice to treating her husband as a god.
Generally the role of women as wives was down played. Alternatively emphasis was often placed on their role as a mother with statements such as ’…mother is your first god’. Women seemed to concentrate more overtly on their roles and duties as a mother than they did as wives.
In discussions of a woman’s role in marriage and subsequent talks about divorce, both connections to, and contestations of, brahmanic assumptions and the role of women could be found. There was a general belief that women were stronger than men and, therefore, they should be the ones to be flexible and compromise within marriage. Marriage was understood to be fulfilling and children were generally an important aspect of providing fulfilment, but not always. Two of the women had chosen not to have children. Divorce had occurred amongst the group but it was not something taken lightly. It was considered to be a last resort in very difficult circumstances when all else had failed. Divorce was thought to be better than a violent relationship beyond redemption. Therefore not all women thought it their duty to provide a son, or to keep a marriage going under any circumstances.
Understandings of the strength of women were evident, with assumptions regarding the superior and inherent power of women. Although, within the brahmanic understanding women’s saktineeded to be controlled in order to render it as positive, the women spoke more in terms of women being able to control and direct their own power for the benefit of the family. The women acknowledged their role as teachers and appeasers but they also understood their importance in smoothing the transition and adaptation to different environments. Rather than needing to be ‘controlled’ or under the protection of a male family member, the women took an active role in using their strength for the benefit of their families, especially their children in way in which they determined.
Even though it could be argued the activities they undertook are part of the concept of the pativrata, the focus most women placed upon their role did not appear to be primarily directed towards their husband’s wellbeing.
Commitment to virginity proved to be an interesting topic. Of the 30 women interviewed as part of a research project, during the course of the time spent with them, sexual relationships were mentioned by a number of women, often when the tape was not running and during general conversations. It was not a topic I initiated. One woman described her first awkward sexual encounter with her husband and her virginity at marriage. Another who had been studying is Australia went to some lengths in order to be a virgin bride. Before her marriage in Malaysia to a non-Indian Australian she secretly married in a civil ceremony in Australia. She was worried that if she waited for her Hindu marriage she may have lost her virginity.
The other occasions when virginity was discussed were when women mentioned their lack of virginity at marriage. One was a young woman, who was brought to Australia as a child, who could be described as being promiscuous, which she attributed toa reaction against her strict Hindu upbringing. Anotherreturned to Indiafor a traditional marriage after discreetly living with her Indian partner in Australia. One other, while studying in the west insinuated that she had an affair with a married man. Onlyone of the womenimplied she had had a sexual relationship prior to marriage in India. She thought her relationships had been discreet but her father, prior to her semi-arranged marriage to another man, suggested her husband need not know everything.
Therefore a range of views and practices on virginity at marriage existed amongst the group. It seemed that a number of younger women may have readjusted their attitudes while living in the diaspora or were at liberty to act upon their own desires without family constraints, although as I have suggested a variety of attitudes existed.