Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Postcolonial feminism is a theoretical and activist project for societal transformation. Through analysis of entrenched power structures in formerly colonized nations, postcolonial feminism explains how economic and political institutions and social practices in those nations often oppress and marginalize women. In addition, it demonstrates how women around the globe struggle for equality and independence for themselves, their families, and their nations. The terms postcolonial and feminism are not universally accepted.Feminism is criticized by many postcolonial writers as a western ideology too narrow to incorporate the concerns or activism of women worldwide. The term has been given anti-family and anti-male connotations, causing some activists to reject the label and argue that while women resist, rebel, and protest, there is no essence of woman, and sisterhood is not a global phenomenon. Postcolonial is criticized by many social theorists and activists as a term saturated with multiple, ahistorical, and sometimes incoherent meanings. Despite criticism of its constituent terms, postcolonial feminism engages important discussions around hierarchies of knowledge, assumed universalistic categories, and the impact of race, class, ethnicity, religion, and sexuality on women's well-being. Postcolonial feminists are not a coherent group. Nevertheless, their work exposes the long-term ... log in or subscribe to read full text