Violence Against Marginalized Women: Literary Representations in Tamil

Abstract

This paper discusses representations of marginalized women on grounds of caste and religion in literary works in Tamil. An analysis of writings of Bama, Sivakami, Salma foreground the forms of oppression on women’s labour, both physical and sexual. The violent containment of women’s bodies, repression of their sexuality by family, and state institutions is highlighted. The institutionalizing of violence on Dalit women and the collusion of patriarchy and religious institutions alerts us to the dehumanizing of marginalized women. The paper argues for recognizing a heterogeneity among women to be reckoned with, in feminist discourse on grounds of class, caste, religious identity and to make feminist standpoint an inter-sectional one.