GIGW-C8: Women and Gender §

Class: IS402 Created Time: November 24, 2021 2:03 PM Database: Class Notes Database Last Edited Time: March 20, 2022 10:56 PM Type: Presentation Notes

Introduction §

• 1990 = the spread of feminist anthropology
• Focusing topic regarding women
  • Western : the scope shifted from focus mainly on women to more refined analyses of gender relationships with the main focus on female experience.
  • Southeast Asia : current focus on “female gap” and “high status female”
• The topic of women = not interested thus not many discussion has been made
• Why? History evolves around issues that had male as main actors.

💡 Examples :

• 1932 : Filipino historian Gregorio Zaide
• 1981 : Vietnamese tradition on Trial by David Marr

Early History §

• The imbalance between men and women studies = trouble for studies in 20th century; inclusive approach formed to study interactions

1. 1st stage : “high female status” = debate on if there were a bias of male dominated

   1. Study on cemeteries : looking at skull conditions on cases

   2. Furor of 2004 discovery = three-foot adult female skeleton (dramatic case)

   3. Thailand : a skeleton of “princess or high profile person within the community”

   Toomay Douglas conclude that sex ratio did not resulted in bias by gender

2. Material evidence from site : The material is blurry yet still provide some information

   1. Helped make Comparison and assumption were made

   2. Cambodia case : potentially women who have official positions in religious ritual or record keepers.

   This can linked to Khmer queen in the past who have experience as rulers.

Early Modernity §

• Early modern = more extended historical evidences
• Both new and acquired sources can use to show promising results if studies were made

“high status female” = potential theme for further study on women topic

• Problems: less interesting and lack data for researching = hard for Ph.D students or juniors to try and dive into the related topic.
• As of now only one collection available called Other pasts and primary materials
• Suggested topic regarding female focused in Southeast Asia
  1. How religious and belief shaped relationship between male and female
  2. Prominence of women within the market
  3. Indigenous literature on women

Early 19th Century §

• 19th century ⇒ new division in studies of women
• Main focus is on colonial and indigenous society = women is not an important characters
• The study on women within this century is very little included:
  1. the publication by European women who joined their husbands, travelling or working independently
  2. Relationship between male and female = cultural mediation
  3. Even on European paperwork not many information on women were written

19th Century §

• Southeast Asia main focus is on resistance to foreign presence and being rebellion = less female role
• After study shown different result, as women were in fact a part of those movement and should be mentioned
  1. Women warriors in Vietnam
  2. Thao Suranari in Thailand: fights against invading Laos
  3. Cut Nyak Dhien during the fight with Dutch
  4. The Philippines women resistance against Spain

Conclusion §

Only During the 20th century that the study of women have been started after having evidence from written visual and oral materials. Due to the fact that each country in Southeast Asia has different cultures, languages, economic and religious, it is hard to study Southeast Asia as a whole. But with easier access to information we can anticipate more studies regarding the topic

Myanmar Case Study §

• Religion (Buddhism) discriminate against female role in society

• Religion, Ethnicity, and Gender is inter-related

• Buddhism has been a political instrument

  • Male-controlled until British colonialism in 1886

  ⇒ British rule stopped religious use in politics

• Buddhism as election propaganda

• Buddhism used by military in civil war (Kachin & Rakhine)

• 135 different ethnic minorities

• Nationalistic religion: “to be Burman is to be Buddhist”

  • Restrictions against freedom of belief

• Gender Inequality in Myanmar still exists

  • socio-political and religio-cultural suppression against women
  • subordinated to men in both traditions of Karmastic Buddhism and pastoral ordination for women is rare in Christian churches
  • gender based violence against women is widespread in ethnic areas

Gender inequality is a problem for both men and women, interconnected with ethnicity and religion

• Public policy can serve as a platform to deal with these problems