Vizianagaram districts even today against feudalism, the women continue to play a daring and courageous role.
The semi-feudal and semi colonial mode of production that caters to the needs and interests of the imperialists and their comprador capitalist, land lord classes is still existing in India. In India, predominantly an agrarian country, the land is highly concentrated in the hands of a few. The vast masses of people remain as landless poor and agricultural labour. Majority of them are the dalits( lowest caste people). The women agricultual labourers are subjected to the atrocities, sexual exploitation and oppression of the land-lords. The patriarchal oppression of women has been institutionalised by the social system in the society. Both the feudal and imperialist exploitation and feudal and imperialist cultures have forced the lives of women to a walk on the burning coals. The imperialists are exploiting and plundering the labour power and resources of the third world countries very cheaply. Labour of the women is being exploited ruthlessly under heinous working conditions.
The I. T sector promoted by the imperialists in the name of development is imposing heavy work load on the women. It is distancing them from the society, social movements and social environment. On the other side, the feudal and comprador ruling classes stood as the main prop for the social economic system. They pursue the policies of exploitation oppression against the women as dictated by their imperialist masters. The state- an instrument of power- in the hands of rulers is also having the nature of male-hegemony and patriarchy.
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This gender hegemony of males over the women can easily be perceived in its use of severe oppression and suppression on the movements of the women against exploitation suppression meted to them.
So, the emancipation of women in our country means, in the main, emancipation of toiling women. The basis for the emancipation of women will only be laid in the new democratic system. Therefore the women liberation movements shall be a part and parcel of the movement having the objective of new democratic revolution and uniting all the oppressed classes to realise the same. In the course of such a movement alone women acquires the consciousness about their rights. They will be able to fight against various forms of economic and cultural exploitation.
The women liberation movement has to be organised with the objective of freeing them from the routine family work, social bondage and limitations in order to prepare them for a fight against various problems and society and to make them partners in the struggle of new democratic revolution.
To realise this objective, CPI( ML) has taken up the task of fighting against the system of patriarchal oppression, patriarchal ideology and patriarchal family system. The CPI( ML) is making special efforts to make the women actively participate and take part in the struggle against the feudal and imperialist exploitation. It will strive to awaken and organise the people against the imperialist exploitation and aggression in the third world countries. It has organised various protests and agitations against the US invasions against Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon. It extended its solidarity to the people of those countries who were attacked by the US imperialism. Ideologically the Party fights against the imperialist culture that reduced the women into an object and commodity. At the same time the Party strives to rally and unite all these forces of women into these struggles. One of the main objectives of these struggles of the Party is to fight against the ruthless exploitation of the labour of toiling women and lower caste women besides fighting against caste discrimination and oppression. The women liberation movement stands in solidarity with all the struggles of the oppressed classes against exploitation and injustice. It will be in the forefront of the struggles carried on against feudalism, unemployment, suicides of farmers, closure of industries and struggles for equal pay for equal work, etc..
Thus the CPI( ML) is striving to organise and build up the women liberation movement in our country with a clear perspective, tasks and objectives.
The success of the new democratic revolution alone can liberate the people from the existing semi-feudal and semicolonial system in India It alone can ensure the necessary basis for the emancipation of women. The CPI( ML) is striving to achieve this objective through an appropriate activity.
An activity different from this understanding is also in the practice. There are certain reformist trends which say that women can be liberated with some reforms within the limits of the present system. Those under the influence of this trend seek to convince or pressurise the
Class Struggle