An Ecofeminist Study of Taslima Nasreen’s All About Women
Abstract:
Ecofeminism, a twentieth century interdisciplinary branch of study, is the product of the amalgamation of ecology and feminism. The greed for profit and pelf of the patriarchy is the main cause of such exploitation, thus, leading to the combine efforts of the exponents of Nature and women to challenge them. There can be various ways in which their amalgamation can be articulated: Utopian, Stereotype and Dystopian. The variety of perspectives viz. Utopian, Stereotype and Dystopian that one comes across in the mingling of female and ecology are evidently reflected in Taslima Nasreen’s All About Women.
Keywords: Ecofeminism; All About Women; Taslima Nasreen.
I. HISTORY OF ECOFEMINISM
Ecofeminism, a twentieth century interdisciplinary branch of study, is the product of the amalgamation of ecology and feminism. On a broader level, ecology studies the issues concerning environment while feminism studies the issues concerning female species of the human kingdom. Francoise d’Eaubonne’s seminal work Le Feminisme (1974) heralded the intermingling of the principles of ecology and feminism so as to present their issues in an effective manner in different walks of life like culture, religion, literature, social, etc. The term ecofeminism “… discuss the ways in which feminism and environmentalism might be combined to promote respect for women and the natural world and were motivated by the notion that a long historical precedent of associating women with nature had led to the oppression of both.” (Miles). In its utopian form, ecofeminism will lead to spiritual ecstasy for the human species while in its dystopian form, ecofeminism will lead to an extinction of the human species.
Ecofeminism, a compound word, follows the norms of endocentric compound words, in which the term feminism is the head and eco- or ecology is the term that modifies the second one. In this respect, ecofeminism reflects the various modifying aspects of feminism with special respect to ecology. Feminism amalgamated with many other disciplines like Marxism, Radicalism, Socialism, Psychoanalysis, etc. largely on basis of getting identity or respect for the self or to demonstrate the deficiency of feminist view in other disciplines. For instance, Marxist-feminist critics highlight the negligence of female in Marxist’s ideology. This is not the case with Ecofeminism, as both complement each other by many similarities between the two. Quoting Maria Mies, Vandana Shiva asserts a productive relationship of female and nature for sustenance production as “women not only collected and consumed what grew in nature but they made things grow” (Shiva 41). For instance, females are actively involved in making organic farm fertilizers, converting the by-products of farm produce as food for animals, bring water i.e., life in farm and family.
II. PROXIMITY BETWEEN ECOLOGY AND FEMINISM
Using ecofeminism as a metaphoric term one can depict the similarities between the two disciplines: ecology and feminism – there is biological proximity between females and ecology to produce and reproduce life. Ecology asserts equality of rights for all while feminism demands equality in parity to males. Ecology is the primary producer of food for nourishing the living beings without any bias while feminism is responsible for pro-creation and nourishment of human beings without any gender or sexual differences. Both are rarely aggressive but when aggressive very destructive. Ecology is dominated in the name of economic progress of the capitalist society, an aspect of patriarchal culture while females are dominated in the name of cultural progress by patriarchal society. Man, the epitome of patriarchal culture, tries to dominate female and ecology as they lack means of production / reproduction. The link between female and nature is established by social terms like nurturer, caregiver, mother, life-giver, etc. The motive too is similar for both: “desires egalitarian, collaborative society without any domination” (Merchant 193).
III. PRACTICALITY OF ECOFEMINISM
The study of ecofeminism can be worked out at varying levels, as discussed below. In the actual world, there are a number of instances where females have taken predominance to save nature. The 1973 Chipko Movement in Northern India was headed by female to prevent the tree-cutting / deforestation by hugging the trees. In 1977, Prof. Wangari Moathai started the Green Belt Movement to plant trees in Kenya to stop desertification. In 1978, Lois Gibbs started the Love Canal Movement in New York to protest the discovery of Love Canal on a toxic dump site leading to child illnesses. In 1980, there was the opposition of destruction of Nature, military power and discrimination of women after the exposure of the 1979 Three Mile Island Nuclear Accident in United States of America. The 1980/81 Women’s Pentagon Actions demanded equal rights and opposed military action. These and many such movements to preserve Nature have been initiated and successfully accomplished by the female leadership across the globe.
IV. THEORETICAL ASPECT OF ECOFEMINISM
Ecofeminism is a theory, which is enriched by the views of many critics. Francoise d’Eaubonne used ecofeminism to bring to light potential ways in which women can play significant role in ecological issues. The feminist and environmentalist left their indelible mark on patriarchal society by, what Jessica Schmonsky calls, ‘drawing forth a conceptual framework as opposed to a political or bureaucratic approach.’ (Schmonsky). Charlene Spretnak categorizes ecofeminist works in three groups: (i) by study of political theory and history; (ii) by belief and study of nature-based religions; and (iii) by environmentalism. (Spretnak 5). Greta Gaard and Lori Gruen, in their 1993 essay “Ecofeminism: Toward Global Justice and Planetary Health”, proposed a four-sided framework for ecofeminism to depict “separation between nature and culture” (Gaard and Gruen 3). They are: (i) Mechanistic material model; (ii) Patriarchal religion forming gender hierarchy and rejecting divine; (iii) Formation of self and other dualisms; and (iv) Capitalism and its ills to procure wealth. (Gaard and Gruen 4). The binary oppositions imposed by patriarchal domination resulted in formation of pairs like spirit/matter, human/animal, male/female/, mind/body, culture/nature, white/non-white, etc. Carolyn Merchant equates spiritual with cultural ecofeminism to display relationship between female and Nature in “the revival of ancient rituals centred on goddess worship, the moon, animals and the female reproductive system” (Merchant 202). She advocates the overturning of social and economic hierarchies to liberate female. Aldo Leopold goes a step further in her 1949 essay “Land Ethic” by asking for equality among all non-human parts of that community [animals, plants, land, air, water] as equal to and in relationship with humans. The extreme opposition of exploitation of females and nature is observed on the placards of Greta Thunberg and others – ‘lick clitos, not monsanto’s ass”; ‘Fuck us, not the climate”; “My planet, my cat, save the Wetlands” (Zein and Setiawan). Taslima Nasreen, the feminist writer, goes a step further and asks for role-reversal for a female, when she writes, “I really want to buy me a boy” (Nasreen 54).
V. STUDYING ALL ABOUT WOMEN FROM THE LENS OF ECOFEMINISM
Taslima Nasreen is a feminist, gynaecologist, anaesthesiologist, a poet, a novelist, and a writer par excellence in feminist ideas. Coming from the patriarchal Indian subcontinent, specifically from Bangladesh, she possesses the first-hand experience of witnessing the brutality against the females. Taslima Nasreen finds woman more oppressed than the subalterns as they are able to obtain their rights to a certain extent though they are less in quantity than the women. The females are deprived of their legitimate social, political and economic rights and oppressed in the name of gender, religion, culture, pollution, etc. As a gynaecologist, she came across many raped-female survivors by their own male family members. These influenced her writing too much, which can be seen in her works like Shame (1993), The Game in Reverse (1995), French Lover (2002), multi-volume autobiographies, poetry collections, etc.
Alike all her works, All About Women (2005) is also a feminist work reflecting the poetess as a crusader for the rights of the women against the oppression of male dominated religious world. The present paper analyses this feminist work in collaboration with the ecology aspect as applicable to the feminist cause i.e., ecofeminism. The analytic research method is applied on the primary source viz. All About Women in the light of the theory of ecofeminism.
The contemporary world is dominated by ideologies of capitalism and patriarchy, which results in exploitation of Nature and women. The greed for profit and pelf of the patriarchy is the main cause of such exploitation, thus, leading to the combine efforts of the exponents of Nature and women to challenge them. There can be various ways in which their amalgamation can be articulated: Utopian, Stereotype and Dystopian.
Utopian is an ideal combination where in both, ecology and feminism, enjoy the ecstasy of each other’s company or express each other’s opinions, views, feelings and emotions freely. Nature and woman are in their best form when they are free and untamed. The woman in the wilderness is the best form of woman, as mentioned in the poem “Phoolan Devi” –
“You were true self in that Chambal forest.
There you blossomed like a gardenia,
There you were a goddess,” (Nasreen 10).
The divine form of a woman is in the company of wild nature where she can blossom in her true colours and true self. Here she does not require the identity of the male who tamed her to be a shy and obedient woman. The ideal woman for Taslima Nasreen is Phoolan Devi who takes revenge of her rape by killing her rapists, thus appealing the poetess “to be like Phoolan Devi” (Nasreen 10). This is in lieu with the women warriors of the Amazons who resided alone in the company of Nature.
The conversation between two girls in communion with Nature brings to light their ideal world. The poem “Mokka – Modina” is about two sisters talking with each other on their way back home. Mokka questions about the blue colour of the sky, the sun, the moon, the wind, the river, etc. while Modina answers in a feministic covert way from the “strange fairy tales” (Nasreen 11). The two girls are happy in the company of each other and Nature and feels free and liberated.
On the same level, the poem “My Mother’s Story” presents the ideal natural scenario in which the narrator is in harmonious unity with her mother. The female’s desire, mother’s desire, to comfort another female’s desire, daughter’s desire, is in the company of Nature. The making of delicious food, visiting garden and courtyard to procure food items highlights the feminine amalgamation with Nature. This is like divinity for them –
“O such a magic moon,
Such a magic night
Have never come before in my life” (Nasreen 50).
The ideal female is a goddess, a divine form. The poem “Eve, oh Eve!” imparts divinity to the female for the act of disobedience to God in eating the forbidden fruit in Paradise. Eve is endowed with all human sense and hence there is nothing wrong in her eating the fruit –
“But then why wouldn’t Eve eat the fruit?” (Nasreen 56).
The Fall of Man resulted in human beings thrown out of Paradise on the Earth. In John Milton’s Paradise Lost, Book IV, Satan arrives on Earth with the goal to bring the Fall of Man but forgets his goal when he sees the beauty of the Earth –
“Of this new World; at whose sight all the Starrs
Hide thir diminisht heads;” (Milton).
If Eve had not eaten the fruit how would human beings enjoy the divine beauty of Nature of Earth. The entire ecology of Earth is for us to enjoy due to Eve’s deed of eating the fruit –
“Because Eve has eaten the fruit
There is joy, …
… Eve made a heaven of earth” (Nasreen 57).
The mingling of female with ecology resulted in an ideal habitat for human beings on the Earth.
The ideal communion of Nature and woman finds vent in the poem “The Unrung Ring”, in which the desires of a woman are expressed with the imagery from Nature –
“As clouds clash with clouds,
Lightning rings outs.
Dreams ring, keeping time to their beats,
And, making a havoc internally,” (Nasreen 23).
The natural imagery can aptly articulate the internal feelings and emotions of the lonely woman, as both are uncontrollable. In the poem, “Border”, the woman desires, alike a river, to keep moving on in company of the fields and wind. She expresses her desire in the company of whooshing wind “I’ll dance someday” (Nasreen 24). The desire to fulfil heat-felt wishes is possible for a woman in the company of nature.
The poem “Sad Girl” invites females to throw away their sad plight and fulfil their desire –
“Throw open all the windows,
Dane in the whirlpool of light and air
as you please” (Nasreen 29).
The poetess openly invites the sad females to reject male domination and enjoy in the company of natural elements viz. light and air.
Stereotype is where both are portrayed in the typical roles imposed by the capitalist, patriarchal society. The poem “We Women” bring to light the stereotyping of females by patriarchal culture from the days of genesis. Nature has created females at par with males but males have not only rejected this perspective but imposed a new one on them. The males have created a new theory about the creation of females. The females were produced, not reproduced, “from men’s ribs” (Nasreen 39). John Milton in his work Paradise Lost also mentions it. With this, many such myths were propagated by males – “Women’s heaven under men’s feet” and deny the fact that “Nature says women are human beings” (Nasreen 39). Such denial is in the name of religion and society. The patriarchal society has stereotyped such views for females.
The males have created patriarchal Heaven for the females too. In the poem “My Mother’s Story”, the poetess explains that women enjoy living in the company of Nature but man demonstrates that she should die so as to attain Heaven where she will be well-received by Prophet and Allah –
“And the prophet Mohammad –
So handsome …
… embracing her,” (Nasreen 51).
The mother will be greeted in Heaven by handsome divine males towards whom she will be attracted. The concept of female as an object of lust is still lingering even in Heaven for a female. The mother will be fed with bird’s meat. The male paradise is against the spirit of ecology while the Mother’s Paradise, as imagined by the atheist speaker, is in lieu with the spirit of ecology and in company of the ideal Nature.
In the poem “East and West”, she presents the typical role of women dealing with nature. Taslima Nasreen recalls how her mother played out the typical role of nurturing the gardens, growing vegetables, fruits, flowers, etc. for the family. When she saw Margot doing the same things, memories crept in her mind but with a difference. Both women took care of the Nature in a similar fashion but Nasreen’s mother did it for the family while Margot for the self – “But Margot, unlike Mother, lives for herself” (Nasreen 7). In any corner of the world, there is a typical affinity between women and ecology, as seen here too.
The poem “Garment Girls” highlights the stereotypical treatment of women in the patriarchal society in general and Bangladesh in specific. Enjoying their freedom, the garment girls are compared to “a flock of birds flying in Bangladesh’s sky” (Nasreen 15) but they are harassed by the males as usual in their habits. Typically, with such harassments, the girls do “just walk on” (Nasreen 15), as they too do here. Alike Nature, the girls continue their journey even though they are exploited by the patriarchal capitalist world. The ecological degradation is seen in forcing the forest animals by domesticating them so as to force them to work. The comparison of the garment girls with the bullocks grinding the stone bring to light the stereotypical treatment not only of the woman but of the animals too.
Nature and woman continue to play their roles in the male-dominated capitalist society. The poem “The Woman Breaking Brick” is a glowing example of this. The woman continues to break the bricks so as to fulfil her role of nurturer for her seven children. Similarly, the Nature keeps on feeding human beings even though they keep on exploiting natural resources without constrains. The brick is the symbol of capitalist society exploiting Nature for its personal gains. Even though both, woman and Nature, are not paid alike males, they continue their work proving their iron mantle:
“The hammer can break a brick – it cannot break the woman” (Nasreen 20).
It is by and for the monetary power that males continue their exploitation of woman and nature. This exploitation continues in the poem “Self-Portrait” where the females argues that the politician and religion-mongers raises every issue of exploitation but not the female exploitation, as they are a part and parcel of it “ … omits anything about women’s exploitation” (Nasreen 27).
Capitalism exploited ecological resources unabated so as to give power to males, which they utilized to exploit females to their benefit. The poem “At the Back of Progress” mentions such physical exploitation of the females as routine for the aristocratic males by the virtue of their monetary power –
“Raped a dozen or so virgins” (Nasreen 40).
“The fellow goes home and beats his wife” (Nasreen 40).
Such brutality with females is considered as normal by the patriarchal society. The abuse of the females by the males takes the form of language, behaviour and illicit affairs.
Dystopian is the view in which both are overtly exploited leading to portrayal of each other’s pain in images of each other. The poem “The Dowry” brings to light the ghastly treatment meted out to a bride when she comes with incomplete or no dowry at her in-laws. The poetess presents her plight in ecological terms as under –
“ The bride is cursed everyday,
gets slaps and kicks,
gets whipped;
the flowers in her garden wither and falls,
and only thorns blossom there.” (Nasreen 8).
The pain of a bride is expressed as the withering flowers and blossoming thorns in the poem.
In the poem “Mokka – Modina”, the innocent sisters face the religious constrains in the form of Matbor Ali who teaches them “how to behave (Nasreen 12) and raped them. When justice was asked for the girls, the girls were whipped 100 times for no crime of their own. Modina, who used to answer Mokka’s questions from books and fairy tale, became speechless when Mokka questions her –
“But why were we punished, Didi, for what crime? (Nasreen 14).
The girls were punished for the crime of the Imam, the symbol of religious patriarchy. The poem “Venomous” portrays such males as “ … more venomous / Than a double-headed snake” (Nasreen 28).
Taslima Nasreen uses another animal imagery for male committing brutal acts. In the poem “Bad Omen”, she compares the rapists with “ … packs of jungle dogs. / Flocks of vultures will descend to peck at and devour chunks of her flesh” (Nasreen 36). The rapists behave as if they were animal in their brutal act, alike the way nature is exploited by capitalist culture.
Though, the females are abused, raped and murdered by males, they continue their commodification. Capitalism exploited not only ecology but females too. To advertise the products, females are used as it attracts the male gaze. But this result in commodification of the females, thus, leaving them without any human consideration. They carry out a number of activities not for self-pleasure but for the pleasure of the males, which include –
“walking naked”; “cover their whole body”; “have a thousand hair styles”; “put extra colour on their faces”; “need ornaments”; “have black bruises”; “in tears”; “get killed”; and still “smiling on the billboard” (Nasreen 59). Even when Nature and females are exploited, they continue in their traditional roles. They rarely get aggressive and revolt against the male dominated capitalist world.
VI. CONCLUSION
Taslima Nasreen illuminates a variety of combination of the females with the nature so as to bring to light the ecofeminism concerns in her collection of poetry All About Women. The work is a plethora of such amalgamation and a very fertile field to put ecofeminism in practice. The variety of perspectives viz. Utopian, Stereotype and Dystopian that one comes across in the mingling of female and ecology are evidently reflected in Taslima Nasreen’s All About Women. Thus, we can conclude that the collection of poetry addresses a number of issues of female interconnected with ecology like communion of a female with female in nature, enjoying ecstasy in nature, facing the stereotype norms of the patriarchal society by female and nature and encountering the worst repercussion due to the ecological and feminine exploitation by the capitalist patriarchal society. All About Women is the most suitable mirror to reflect the ecofeminist concerns of the all females in all its shades.
WORKS CITED: