Understanding Feminism Under the Lights of Marginalization and Epistemic Injustice

(With Unique References of Miranda Fricker and Chandra Talpade Mohanty)

Abstract

An attempt has been made to examine how the status of women in communities is understood and what steps are necessary for their development. The Constitutions of the different countries promised their citizens equality in all aspects. Everyone should be treated equally in the eyes of the society and law. However, the reality is slightly different from what has been reflected in the Constitution.  So let us examine how certain community sections are marginalized. Epistemic injustice can be considered the main reason for the exploitation of women in all societies, due to which the status of women has declined today. In such a situation, the question arises what is epistemological injustice? And why is it important? Simply put, Gnostic injustice is a concept where knowledge is exploited on an individual or group in such a way that the society or group continues to dominate and the abilities of others become insignificant. Because of this, he is bound to suffer from all the prejudices he doesn't want to feel, and the situation gets worse when it comes to women; They consider those rules of the society as legally binding, which the leading person or group of the community gives the name of tradition. Understanding marginalization: Marginalization is when those in power make a particular person or group less critical. As a result, marginalized persons are forced to move to the margins or fringes of society, depriving them of facilities and opportunities enjoyed by non-marginalized sections. Marginalization begins as a chain of events that only furthers the plight of the underprivileged. Their demands usually go unheard, and their wishes and dreams are ignored by society. The Indian Constitution strictly asks us to treat all our citizens as equals and celebrate the diversity of our population. However, certain sections of our community have been marginalized by us. Let us talk about them in our attempt to understand marginalization. When discussing marginalization, we must focus on the minorities in India. A minority refers to a group of people who live within a society that is different from the majority based on religion, race, belief, language, etc. They are smaller in number than the majority. Minorities in India (based on religion) include Muslims, Jains, Buddhists, Sikhs, Christians, and others. The Indian Constitution has a clause on the Fundamental Rights of citizens, which provides protection and security to minorities against discrimination. But still, in our society, sometimes, these minorities are marginalized in certain classes and statuses. They lag in literacy, with only 57.3% literate as of 2015. Even when it comes to features, they are fading. They live in substandard homes that sometimes lack basic amenities such as indoor plumbing. The poverty rate is also high among Muslims. Another worrying figure is the number of Muslims employed in public and government jobs. So, while our Constitution gives us protection, minorities, tribals, and scheduled tribe people are often marginalized in our society; understanding marginalization is the first step in tackling and fighting against it. Here we will try to see the reasons for women's marginalization and epistemic injustice in the communities with the help of different philosophies and theories.