CSS Solved Gender Studies Past Paper 2023 | Write a detailed note on the colonial and capitalistic perspectives of gender.
The following question of Gender Studies is solved by Ateeqa Atia Ul Musawar, the highest scorer in CSS Gender Studies. Moreover, the question is attempted on the same pattern, taught by Sir to his students, scoring the highest marks in compulsory subjects for years. This solved past paper question is uploaded to help aspirants understand how to crack a topic or question, how to write relevantly, what coherence is, and how to include and connect ideas, opinions, and suggestions to score the maximum.
Question Breakdown
This particular article focuses on aspects of capitalist and colonial cultures that result in unequal and exploitative gender relations, upon which debate was already opened centuries ago. The central theme of this article would be the inherent relationship between capitalism, patriarchy, exploitation, and colonialism, with women as significant subjects of oppression. Aside from that, this article would unwrap the argumentative stance on how the capitalistic and colonial cultures left constructive and destructive impacts on the numerous genders.
Outline
1- Prologue
2- The Colonialist Perspective of Gender
- ✓ Positive Impacts of colonialism
- Allowed the widow to re-marriage
- Granted the rights of inheritance to women
- Right to own property
- Prohibition on child marriage
- Termination of immoral practices such as sati
- Growth of organizations for women’s rights and fundamental rights
- ✓ Negative impacts of colonialism
- Introduced the concept of patriarchy
- Created a dual social category system
- Europeans implemented their ideas of sex and gender into the native people
- Prostitutes were provided cards for identification and were provided to soldiers.
3-The Capitalistic Perspective of Gender
- ✓ Positive Impacts of Capitalism
- More and more people were incorporated into industries
- It encouraged efficient people to come forward
- People stood against opposition and demanded their rights
- Consumers enjoy a wider choice of products and services
- ✓ Negative Impacts of Capitalism
- The exploitation of the working-class majority, especially women
- Exposure to violence, objectification, and socio-economic inequality led to anxiety, depression low self-esteem among gender
- Fostered several inequalities
- Increased in Child marriages, teenage pregnancies, sexual abuse, racism, and domestic violence
- Poor access to health care, education, and lack of representation existed in society.
4- Critical Analysis
5- Epilogue
Answer to the Question
Prologue
Gender and colonialism, gender and capitalism are perhaps not the normative concepts in feminist scholarship. The colonial and capitalistic perspectives are the two perspectives on gender, with their own viewpoints seen as contradictory. These are best considered within a comprehensive theory of exploitation. Adversity under the capitalist and colonial systems is a century-old debate. Undoubtedly, the debate on the plight of the capitalist system has been opened by the constructive efforts of Karl Marx and his universally recognised ideology, better known as Marxism. The Marxist ideology strongly criticizes the exploitation system and claims that the principle of defined classism is the root cause of people’s exploitation all over the world. The distinction between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat enriches the rich and impoverishes the poor. The opportunities, rights, and wealth are restricted to a few groups of people, but the exploitation has no boundaries. Within a short period of time, the concept of suppression was no longer limited to the bourgeoisie and the proletariat but also attracted the attention of twentieth-century feminists. Karl Marx, the apostle of Marxist doctrine and the devil of capitalistic ideology, instilled a new spirit in feminist scholarship. The Marxist ideology captured the attention of feminists all over the world after rising in spirit among the bourgeoisie and have-nots. The colonial perspective of gender is all about the role of men, women, and transgender in the development of society, whereas in the capitalistic perspective, men monopolize paid labour and use this as a tool to control women. The colonialists introduced the concept of creating a dual society to distribute and organize production, territory, and behavior. On the other hand, the capitalists introduced the concept of colour distinction with gender to sell more goods to specific groups of people. The colonial perspective on gender has altered the indigenous sense of self-identity and, to a greater extent, their cosmology and gender relationships. The idea of gender itself was believed to have been introduced by the western colonizers as a way to distinguish between two dualistic social categories, namely men and women. They wanted control over their labor, authority over their subjectivity, and ideas of influence. The feminist approach was taking on a new shape under the sway of colonialist and capitalistic perspectives. In a nutshell, both the capitalistic system and colonial system have exploited labour and gender in one way or another.
The Colonialist Perspective of Gender
It is critical to understand the connections between various aspects of society. The idea of gender itself was believed to have been introduced by western colonizers as a way to distinguish two dualistic social categories of gender, which are men and women. The colonialism of gender has altered the indigenous sense of self-identity and, to a larger extent, destroyed the concept of equality in sub-continent. They wanted control over their labor and authority, influencing their subjectivity and ideas of sexuality. Although colonial times were hard on women, they prepared themselves for the coming age. At the same time, there are no two opinions, that the colonial ear has influenced people through its positive impacts besides its grey shades.
- ✓ Positive impacts on gender in the colonial period
There are certain positive impacts on gender in the colonial period. Some of them are
Women were allowed to remarry after their husband’s death. The colonial period incorporated the Hindu Remarriage Act (1856), under which women were allowed to re-marry. Furthermore, women were given the right to own property. They included the Hindu women’s right to property Act (1939). Moreover, the Hindu Law of Inheritance (1929) gave the right of inheritance to the opposite gender. Under the colonial period, conventional and stereotypical practices were abolished such as sati. The Bengal Sati Regulation, which banned the Sati practice in all jurisdictions of British India, was passed on December 4, 1829, by the then Governor-General, Lord William Bentinck. Besides it, there emerged the new concept of the development and growth of women’s status. There had been discussions about the subjugation of women, and under the hood of it, women were granted rights that they deserved.
- ✓ Negative impacts on gender in the colonial period
Every period has its dark shades, likewise is the colonial period. There are certain negative impacts on gender in the colonial period. Some of them are discussed below
During the colonial period, the concept of patriarchy was introduced in society. Men were the slaves of the colonial leaders, and likewise, women were the slaves of men. That notion of patriarchy created a dual sort of society in which both genders are exploited with different rules and tools. Adding insult to injury, the Europeans started to inculcate the concept of gender and sex among the common masses. The inherited debate started to foster the roots of the subjugation of genders. The colonial period created a dual social category system to have control over labour and authority. The Europeans implemented their ideas of sex and gender identity among the native people. In addition to that, it erased the pre-existing concepts of sex and gender identity that were there before the arrival of the British.
The Capitalistic perspective of Gender
Capitalism is now the social system that exists in all countries of the world. Under this system, the means of producing and distributing goods are owned by a small minority of people. The capitalist sees women’s oppression as a direct result of capitalism and the ownership of property rights.
“Women keep the cogs of the capitalistic machine running.”
- ✓ Positive impacts of the Capitalistic Perspective
There are certain positive impacts on gender in the capitalistic period, some of which are discussed below
- More and more people were incorporated into industries etc.
- It encouraged efficient people to come forward
- People stood against opposition and demanded their rights
- Consumers enjoy a wider choice of products and services
- The consideration for employment on the basis of colour, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, physical or mental disability age was overthrown
Capitalism is undoubtedly a major driver of innovation, wealth, and property in the modern era. Competition, wealth, and property in the modern era Competition and capital accumulation incentivize a business to maximize efficiency and let consumers enjoy prices on a wider range of goods. The capitalist period inculcated more people to participate in country affairs, as during World War II, women had to join the workforce with men. Furthermore, it encouraged efficient people to come forward, and race, colour, religious, and gender distinctions were overthrown. People should be against oppression and demand their rights. Thus, rights were given to both genders with the exception that women were not on equal pace.
- ✓ Negative impacts on gender in the capitalistic period
There are certain negative impacts on gender in the capitalistic period. Some of them are discussed below
The capitalistic period introduced the concept of private property, which was owned by the elitist class in the male-dominated society. Furthermore, the gender pay gap, gender disparity in agriculture, health care, child marriages, sexual abuse, racism, domestic violence, etc., are all products of capitalism. Further, it promoted a profit-motivated environment with minimal government intervention and competition among the genders, which resulted in the breaking of bonds among the genders and disrupted the social atmosphere. Women were treated as second-class citizens, which disturbed the social strata and concept of equality in society.
“The husband represents the proletariat, and the wife represents the bourgeoisie.” –
Frederick Engle
Analytical review of Capitalistic and Colonialist perspective in Pakistan
Seeing through the lens of Pakistan, colonial and capitalistic systems had left deep scars in the subcontinent. The repercussions can be witnessed pre- and post-partition in Pakistan. Even today, Pakistan is swirling in the whirlpool of a capitalist and colonial system. On the one hand, citizens have been granted equal rights under the constitution through the endorsement of articles of fundamental rights (Articles 8–28). On the other hand, there is a huge gap between theory and practice. The pro-elitist class has complete sway, and subjugation is the fate of the working class. Likewise, in a male-dominated society, women are equally suffering, although conventional practices date back centuries. Still in the 21st century, women do not have complete political representation. The population of Pakistan is facing several socioeconomic and political discriminations. Child marriages, prostitution, and sexual abuse are not novel phenomena here. Therefore, colonial and capitalistic systems have impacted Pakistan more with their negative repercussions than their positive ones.
Critical analysis
The colonial and capitalistic perspectives of gender refer to the role of different genders in the progress and development of society. In a general overview, gender has been exploited in all ages. The dominant view offered by the Kerner Commission Report is that blocks have been discriminated against, treated brutally, and excluded from their rightful place as equal citizens. On the other hand, the colour distinction between genders, pink and blue, is a capitalistic construct to sell more goods. A particular gender is exploited by certain people (industrialists, etc.) for their own illicit gains. During the 18th century, gender roles work was extremely difficult and exhausting. In the meantime, the motive for producing goods and services is to sell them for profit, not to satisfy people’s needs.
Women are systematically more oppressed by the ruling class, and treated merely as second-class citizens. – Fredrick Engle’s and Marx in Communist Manifesto
Epilogue
Colonialism had a more severe impact on indigenous women than men by introducing patriarchy. The gender perspectives of colonialists and capitalists focused primarily on gender-based differences in status and power. The modernization theory blames internal cultural factors for women’s subordination in the developing world, whereas the Marxist theory blames the economy and economic inequality for class exploitation and gender inequality. In parallel to that world system theory, some argue that gender is exploited in the world economic system, in which some countries take benefit while others are exploited. To cover it up, capitalism and colonialism both exploited gender on some particular grounds and at the same time, they took away their rights, e.g., equal pay for equal work, zero tolerance for sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination, economic equality, improved education, etc. From a purely economic standpoint, this colonization of gender constructs itself had a very important purpose as the division of labor. Thus, dividing the gender is an easy and effective way to organize production, territory, and behaviour.
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