From the Margins: Revisiting the Concept of 'Marginalized Women'

Abstract

A few days back, I attended a seminar on 'Violence Against Marginalized Women and Gender Justice'. The seminar discussed about issues relating to various subgroups within the category 'women' like widows, dalit women, tribal women, refugee women, so on and so forth. The deliberations made me think as to who constitute 'marginalized women' when 'women' being women are marginalized in the patriarchal world. Women as a 'category' or as a 'group' in comparison to 'men' have been relegated to margins due to systemic and structural discrimination within the society. Women, irrespective of their hierarchical status, ranking or background, face violence within public and private spaces, they are being doubly discriminated and denied of the basic rights and are often oppressed by norms, culture and customs in a male dominated world where capitalism and globalization commodifies and objectifies women. Considering this aspect, the term 'marginalized women' needs rethinking as to which of the subgroup of category 'women' may be classified as 'marginalized women' and whether these marginalized women can use marginality as a site to contest for their rights and entitlements.