Феминизм и национализм в странах третьего мира: Исторические исследования Кумари Джаявардены.

Book by Kumari Jayawardena

Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World is a 1986 publication by Sri Lankan author Kumari Jayawardena. Kumari's book has been described as a feminist classic and widely used in gender and women's studies to date as a primer of Third World Feminism. The book follows case studies about women at the front line of feminist, socialist and political movements across eleven countries in the East: Egypt, Iran, Turkey, India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia, that share a history of direct assault and hostility by imperialist regimes interested in subjugating their territory and indirect exploitation in instilling the enslavement schemes of these regimes. These case studies are set against a background of growing nationalism – liberation struggles of the Eastern world to free themselves of their colonizers, which created a common struggle for emancipation between feminist and nationalist movements.

In the 1980s, Kumari was arranging teaching material for the women and development program at the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS), Netherlands as a visiting scholar. Kumari felt the lack of a parallel account of women's historical struggles in the 'third world' noting that, "There was a gap about our part of the world" and while Kumari had originally wanted to add pictures, it was printed as a small book and subsequently, used by her students at the ISS.

Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World begins by introducing the countries it selects to focus on: Egypt, Iran, Turkey, India, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, China, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. Kumari analyses how the common history of colonial rule has shaped these countries through similar experiences but also points out the differences in their belief systems: Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan share Islamic history; India and Sri Lanka err towards beliefs based on Buddhism; Chinese, Japanese and Korean ideals are rooted in Confucius's philosophy and the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia have been dominated by both: Indian and Chinese influences. owing to the scrutiny and applaud she faced as the daughter of a notable palace official opposing the system. Huda Sharawi, founder of the Egyptian Feminist Union, cast off her veil into the sea on her return to Egypt in 1924 from the International Conference of Women in Rome – a move that caused a scandal among the nobility of Egypt as she was the wife of a prominent pasha. She launched the French journal L'Egyptienne in 1925. On her return to India, she broke societal norms of marrying within caste and state by marrying a South Indian doctor. In a few years, she established herself as a noteworthy poet and rhetor. In 1914, she met Gandhi in England and became his devout follower in the following years. She served as a prominent speaker for the Indian National Congress for years, and campaigned alongside Gandhi during significant moments of sub continental history: Gandhi's non cooperation movement in 1920, the Salt March in 1930, the Round Table Conferences in London in 1931 and was one of the activists jailed during the 'Quit India' movement of 1942. In January 1931, Isteri Sedar participated in a convention of Asian women in Lahore and in June 1931, hosted a conference in Jakarta which was focused on inspiring action against the issue of polygamy – calling the attention of the Muslim world to emulate the modernisation practices of Mustapha Kemal in reforming Turkey and protecting the rights of women through abolishing polygamy. The Federation of Indonesian Women's Association acknowledged the influence of Indian, Persian, Turkish and Chinese feminist movements on liberation movements in their country at the conference in Lahore in 1931. The interconnectedness of these movements has been impressed upon throughout Kumari's work.

Kumari explores two central themes through this comparative narrative; first, she debunks the Eurocentric belief that feminism is not indigenous to Asia and Africa but rather a western 'import'. and the women of these countries who are unaware of the role in liberation struggles of their ancestors and great grandmothers.

Kumari Jayawardena was born in 1931. The review points to the historic significance of upper and middle class women's access to literature in influencing the contents of the book and the work is further criticized for a lack of explicit explanation regarding the interconnected of the economy, the politics and the family. Feminism and Nationalism in the Third World "remains the best introduction to the history of women's movements in Turkey, Egypt, Iran, India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Philippines, China, Vietnam, Korea and Japan". It was published by Verso as a part of its feminist classic series in 2016 with a foreword by Rafia Zakaria.