Challenging the anthropological representations of feminist legacy appropriated by capitalism benefitting from Hermeneutical injustices of critically neglected women's history

Abstract (English)

Epistemic agents get to know the world and communicate the knowledge gained by them to it. In Hermeneutical Injustice (HI), the devices and tools that should help in interpreting and communicating knowledge are insufficient (Falbo, 2022). The knowledge of the history of women’s movements and support systems has been historically obscured from the epistemic systems (Hannam, 2012). Western Epistemologies of English-speaking countries neglect the history of critical literature written by women from several places. Padma Anagol writes about certain forms of Indian literature occupying prominence in Western Epistemology. It represents women from only one region, neglecting the feminist history of other places, thus assuming Indian women’s historical contribution to be passive (Anagol, 2005). This ignores the history of autonomy, agency and achievements of women from other Indian urban regions. The HI described above ensures that representation is controlled by capitalist agendas using rhetorical devices. Scholars such as Eva Chen and Rosamund Gill write about the terms ‘choice’, ‘freedom’ and ‘agency’ being liberally appropriated by women’s cultural genres (Gill, 2007; Chen, 2013). These terms having a feminist legacy are used by capitalism to celebrate commodity consumption as an answer to severe socio-economic problems (Dow, 1996; Faludi, 1992). Baudrillard’s term hyper-reality describes a world in which the false representations and simulations of reality blur the line between authentic and artificial (Baudrillard, 1980). Hermeneutical injustice has ensured that the representations of feminist legacies are dictated and controlled by capitalist forces creating a hyper-reality. The paper will examine the history of women’s critical literature in Mumbai, a prominent Indian city to understand their ideas of ‘choice’, ‘freedom’ and ‘agency’. Women’s epistemic challenges in highlighting neglected feminist history paradoxical to its capitalist & academic representations will be discussed amidst the hyper-reality of urban areas.