In the confusing and confused hotpot that is India, globalization is yet another dimension; and the urban Indian woman is still trying to find herself. Caught between the strong conditioning of a traditional patriarchal society and the powerful new influences exerted by seductive global media, global goods and global culture, today's urban woman is very different from the one the Indian women's movement envisioned.

Why are so many young, educated girls from India's upper and middle class opting for the traditional wife-mother-housewife role (albeit in trendy clothes), turning their backs on the hard-won freedoms that women's activists fought for? Are Indian women allowing themselves to be re-colonized (for instance, being educated not for their own empowerment but in order to be educated mothers and wives)? 

These and several other issues related to and impacting women - identity, violence, media and communication, and political participation - are the focus of the newly-released 'Urban Women in Contemporary India' (Sage Publications). Feminists in India have been opposing globalization on the grounds
that it would lead to feminization of poverty and commodification of women. It is urban India that has taken the initial benefit and brunt of globalization, says the book's editor, Rehana Ghadially, explaining why this collection of essays focuses on urban, educated, middle-class women. Some may take issue with this, but the insights it offers are valuable nevertheless.

The book is divided into sections, each with three to four essays examining different aspects of the subject. The themes include Reconstructing gender; Violence (in particular domestic violence and sexual harassment at the workplace); Media; Neo-liberal globalization; and Politics and political participation. Most of the essays are written within the Left ideological framework with a focus on globalization and its impact. And the underpinning is India's women's movement.

Many of the two dozen essays in this book deal with communication, covering Hindi films; advertising; the press and the women's movement; portrayal of women in TV serials; and ICTs.

How men interpret Hindi films, the male filmgoer's gaze both towards actresses and ordinary women, and how this affects their self-image as well as their unconscious transference of these reactions to the women in their lives offers fresh insights into the impact of Hindi films on India's socio-cultural landscape. Interviews with Indian male filmgoers and observing audiences in Indian movie houses, as well as analysis into Hindi film fan magazines, show that Indian films do facilitate men's controlling gaze - an important part of male power.

The cinema hall, for instance, by virtue of being a male-dominated space (men usually outnumber women by 4:1 and often by 10:1), becomes a space for the objectification of women - leering at them, harassing them. Besides this fundamental basis of male power is what the authors of the essay term the 'controlling gaze' - looks that compel women to follow social restrictions on attire, mobility, etc. The authors argue that while watching Hindi films, men unconsciously define 'modest' women who deserve the 'protection' of the controlling gaze and those who can be openly stared at.

Sexual portrayals in Hindi films are significant not only because films are widely viewed but also because sexuality-related matters are rarely discussed among families and friends. The essay on this subject analyses a study that shows that a substantial proportion (40 per cent) of sexual scenes in Hindi films depict sexual violence; almost all films show female characters as victims of sexual violence and men as perpetrators (not just villains but heroes too, which makes it appear that being aggressive is 'manly' and acceptable) - buttressing the gendered belief that women should be submissive and men aggressive. The authors point out that many would deduce that women should tolerate violence from men.

Turning to advertising, the study quoted in the essay found that women were being portrayed more often in neutral roles but not in non-traditional roles such as a figure of authority or a career woman - a pointer, says the author, to the fact that though Indian society is changing, it is still patriarchal and dramatic changes may not be easily acceptable. Worryingly, non-traditional portrayals of women increased in 1990 but dropped to below-1987 levels in 1994 (largely because women were being shown in more gender-neutral roles).

Unfortunately, the essay relies on an ongoing periodic study of advertisements in magazines (initiated at a time when TV was not such a powerful medium in India) therefore television advertising has been omitted. This is a great pity as advertising on TV not only has a far wider geographic and linguistic reach but is also now a more popular medium for publicity. The author's theories on gender portrayal would doubtless remain valid, but it would have been interesting to get more details about a medium that now influences so many people.

In fact, reliance on data and studies that are often 10 to 20 years old is a shortcoming of some essays in this book. Much of this is because not many detailed and rigorous studies have been done on these issues. The end of each essay includes suggestions for further research that could be taken up by academics.

This book is meant for those interested in women's issues, social activism, politics, sociology, psychology, information and communication technologies (ICTs), and media. It includes an overview of the women's movement: the issues it began campaigning on in the late 1960s and '70s, and the changes both in the movement's character and the problems it is grappling with.

The themes in this anthology seek to highlight the positions that women are placed in their struggle for gender equality, the issues they face, the challenges before them and the strategies needed to meet them. At the outset, Ghadially writes, "I am stunned by the fact that the women's movement in India has not moved much; and yet, I know that many women, including myself, have come a long way." Not just globalization but the rise of religion and rituals has posed a fresh challenge to the women's movement. This book is a reminder that it is still a long and uphill journey to women's empowerment in India.

(Urban Women in Contemporary India; Edited by Rehana Ghadially;
Sage Publications; Rs 595) 

June 30, 2007

By arrangement with WFS 

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