TNIE Expressions | Can literature fight the good fight?

Literature has waged some of the strongest battles against the greatest of societal evils. One of those battles has been against patriarchy. Writers Sharanya Manivannan, Anand Neelakantan and CS Chandrika came together for a panel organised by TNIE’s DakLF 2020 to discuss patriarchy, politics and writing, all which go hand in hand, and what we must change and make stronger in this war against patriarchy.

Chandrika pointed out that women are not a homogeneous category and it was the same with patriarchy. “There is racist patriarchy, capitalist patriarchy, sexist patriarchy and caste patriarchy. Every woman’s experience is different, women are challenging this control in different forms,” she said. Anand agreed but also pointed out that the most religious in a community are usually the ones who are most oppressed.

And that is why he feels that upper caste women also face oppression. Sharanya feels that while love is not enough to break social constructs, if we could all challenge hierarchy by the choices we make, we wouldn’t have caste and religious fundamentalism. “Love is a radical force, it is the basis of political agitation. It is not the only way to break societal constructs, but it is vital, ” she said.

Chandrika said that the pressure to self-censor, for women, starts from home, “I faced a lot of issues when I decided to write about my sexual experience. Women are very conscious about words when it comes to talking about sex. Women here haven’t had the chance to have a liberated sexual experience.” “People are getting punished for their views.

Patriarchy is very much a part of governments that control populations. Whom do our bodies and choices belong to? Today, we have an ordinance against interfaith marriage, that is the current state of affairs.” But Anand argued that while everyone attacks Hindutva, nobody is questioning Islamic patriarchy. But how can literature fight the good fight? “By telling the best story,” Anand opined, while Chandrika added, “By telling the truth based on justice and equity.”