Publication: Burguesas, misioneras, reformistas y alguna aventurera: la presencia femenina británica en la India durante la época colonial
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2009
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Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
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Desde mediados del siglo XIX grupos numerosos de mujeres británicas comenzaron a instalarse en la India; entre ellas se encontraban las esposas de los funcionarios o militares británicos quienes trataron de recrear el ambiente de los hogares victorianos donde debía reinar la calma, el orden y la jerarquía; las misioneras y su intento por educar a la población y expandir el cristianismo y las reformistas, menos numerosas que los grupos anteriores pero mucho más activas en su intento de promover e impulsar medidas y reformas que mejorasen la situación de las mujeres indias. Sin embargo, unas y otras participaron de las creencias de la superioridad nacional inglesa, colaborando con el trabajo ideológico del imperio al reproducir el discurso imperialista en sus objetivos y pretensiones, a veces de manera más directa y otras más velada. El feminismo como el imperialismo se estructuró en torno a la idea de “responsabilidad moral”, donde el progreso de “la mujer” era garantía del progreso social, creencia que desató la idea de sisterhood o hermandad: ayudar a las mujeres indias era un acto de filantropía y caridad indispensable para el progreso del país, idea que apoyaba la necesaria presencia británica en la India.
Starting from the middle of the nineteenth century, numerous groups of British women began to settle down in India. Among them were the wives of government employees and British militaries who sought to recreate the ambience of their Victorian homes where calm, order and hierarchy were common; missionaries and their intention to educate local women and disseminate Christianity; and reformists, a smaller group than the previous ones, but a more active one in its attempt to promote initiatives and reforms to improve the situation of Indian women. :However, all of them contributed to developing the belief of the superiority of the British, thereby fomenting the Empire´s ideological work by reproducing the imperialist discourse in its objectives and pretensions, sometimes in a direct way and other times in a more discreet manner. Feminism, like imperialism, was structured around the idea of “moral responsibility”, in which the progress of women was the guarantee of social progress, a belief supported by the idea of sisterhood: assisting Indian women was an act of philanthropy and charity essential for the country’s progress, idea which supported the necessity of British presence in India.
Starting from the middle of the nineteenth century, numerous groups of British women began to settle down in India. Among them were the wives of government employees and British militaries who sought to recreate the ambience of their Victorian homes where calm, order and hierarchy were common; missionaries and their intention to educate local women and disseminate Christianity; and reformists, a smaller group than the previous ones, but a more active one in its attempt to promote initiatives and reforms to improve the situation of Indian women. :However, all of them contributed to developing the belief of the superiority of the British, thereby fomenting the Empire´s ideological work by reproducing the imperialist discourse in its objectives and pretensions, sometimes in a direct way and other times in a more discreet manner. Feminism, like imperialism, was structured around the idea of “moral responsibility”, in which the progress of women was the guarantee of social progress, a belief supported by the idea of sisterhood: assisting Indian women was an act of philanthropy and charity essential for the country’s progress, idea which supported the necessity of British presence in India.
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Género, Colonialismo, Narrativas humanitarias, India, Gender, Colonialism, Humanitarian narrative
Bibliographic citation
Val Cubero, A. Burguesas, misioneras, reformistas y alguna aventurera: la presencia femenina británica en la India durante la época colonial. RIPS. Revista de Investigaciones Políticas y Sociológicas. Vol. 8, n. 1 (2009), pp. 145-151