D. Theoretical Framework
3. Third World Feminist Theory
At its core, feminism as an ideology aims to define and establish social, personal, political, and economic equality of the sexes. Although feminism largely originated from the West, it has since developed into various strands and movements all over the world, focusing on diverse issues that relate directly to women or to gender equality. The articulations of feminism are manifold but for the purpose of this research, the focus is on Third World feminism. Third World feminism, along with transnational feminism (not to be confused with white global feminism criticized by Chandra Mohanty), developed in opposition to the second-wave feminism, which, similar to the first wave, mainly advocated for and came from the subject position of white, Western feminists, therefore ignoring the differences between women in terms of class and race.
The usage of “Third World” in this context is in line with the reclamation of the term that, despite its imprecision and inadequacy, “most clearly approximates the features of the world as we understand it” (Mohanty, 2003, p. 506). It should also be noted that the early formulation of the term “Third World” had a positive connotation and referred not just to a category of nation-states, but a movement full of potential to shape the world, similar in usage to the “Third Estate” in the French revolution, the revolutionary common people who overthrew the First and Second Estates of the monarchy and the clergy (Bevins, 2020, pp. 12-13). The term’s usage in Third World Feminism also refers to the “colonized, neocolonized or decolonized countries […]
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whose economic and political structures have been deformed within the colonial process” (Mohanty, Russo, & Torres, 1991, p. ix).
The historical development of feminism in the Third World has been intertwined with the nationalist and anticolonial independence movements, not only as part of the latter’s process of social inclusion and vital social platform for the collective mobilization of community groups, but also for the formulation of its self- representational vocabulary of nation and nationalism (Heng, 2004, pp. 861-862).
However, Third World feminism in contemporary Southeast Asia has since developed into a variety of forms and movements necessitated for their survival from state and military intervention, with the most successful ones existing as small-scale groups and informal collectives (Heng, 2004, p. 872).
Theoretically, two constitutive ideas and mandates of Third World feminism are:
1) the situating of the analysis of women’s oppression and resistance in historical specificity by paying attention to the local conditions, i.e., intersections of class, race, gender, ethnicity, and nation; and 2) recognizing and respecting the historical and political agency of Third World women engaged in diverse forms of local activism (Herr, 2014, pp. 5-6). It is worth noting that Third World women’s movements tend to focus on enhancing communal conditions, improving the living standards of families and communities itself, aligning with local social movements with pro-democracy or human rights causes rather than focusing on gender equality or radical social structuring to achieve feminist goals. Despite this, women still inevitably take up the cause of gender inequality even when this is not the initial objective.
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For this study, Third World feminism is used to analyze the strategies used by the two ASEAN women cultural workers in their practice to address the negative societal impacts of political instabilities.
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Chapter Four
ASEAN WOMEN CULTURAL WORKERS AND THEIR WORKS
“This intergenerational trauma must be truly thought of and 'healed' as a collective struggle, a struggle for solidarity. In various ways, including works of art. It's the task of art and humanity. The task of humanity in art.”
-Faiza Mardzoeki
“We all need to understand our past in order to make sense of the present day and the future. We need to know where we came from, to know who we are and therefore where to go.”
-Kulikar Sotho
Tackling the subject of mass killings and atrocities is never easy, but it is even more difficult when many of the perpetrators have not been brought to trial and are still living alongside their victims. Another layer of complication is added when there is reticence, if not outright denial, from the government regarding these events and in the pursuance of any semblance of justice and reparation. The cases of Indonesia and Cambodia are similar and also quite distinct from the other, and this complexity is reflected in the way the two ASEAN women cultural workers chosen for this study tackled the subject in their respective works.
Faiza Mardzoeki did not have a firsthand experience of the violent events in her country’s history, but through her activism in women’s movements, she has met the women who did (Sabarini, 2016). This encounter inspired her to write ‘The Silent Song of the Genjer Flowers.’ On the other hand, Kulikar Sotho was very young when the Cambodian genocide happened, and her parents were directly affected by it. While she may not have written ‘The Last Reel,’ she has provided valuable insights that shaped the film.
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