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THE CONDITION OF INDIAN, VIETNAMESE AND KOREAN WOMEN

INTRODUCTION
The colonial time period had been cruel to the colonies in many aspects may it be socially,

politically or economically, especially for the women of respective aforesaid countries, there

has been a period of stagnation and an iceberg picture of ‘what it would have been without

the colonial rule’. India, Vietnam and Korea being under the British, French, Japanese

colonization respectively had gone through various changes that had shaped the modern

framework and development of these countries. Among these nations, India being a colony

for the longest period has shown various transition in the life of women over those 200 years

of colonial rule, specifically highlighting the time of 19th century we can witness the period,

where the condition of Indian women had inflamed as well as the reforms were visible in

almost every sphere of their life.

In the past women in India were dependent on men. Their religious practices and traditions

ascribed for their subordination to men in all matters. They were denied education, access to

social justice and equality. They were also unaware of their basic rights due to their

ignorance. The struggle for equality, justice and liberty is prevalent since ages only the nature

of women’s movements has been changing over time. Women have been subjected to

implicit as well as explicit forms of discrimination. However, the pre- independence issues

were quite different from the post independent ones because of the different level of growth

and development of the society. Hence, the form of struggle was also different from each

other. The struggle in the colonial period consisted mainly against the rights of women from
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the inhuman practice of sati, where the wife was supposed to burn herself alive in the funeral

pyre of her husband. Adding to this was the ill-treatment of widows, child marriage and other

social evil practices. In the colonial period women were dominated by men but, only to the

extent of satisfying their male ego. The women understood their place and created

prominence for themselves in domestic and home front. There were also exceptional cases of

women who stepped beyond the comforts of the house and worked in various fields including

fighting for independence and making a mark in history.1 Not only social evils but lack of

formal education, clashes between the traditional and western medical practices, women

became both the knight of the reforms as well as the recipient. Although Indian women were

not politically and economically active in the past years but they started participating more

in freedom movement with their efforts for financial stability and electoral rights for all have

waived since the early 20th century .

The vulnerable state of women had been a marker of ‘inferior’ civilisation of India

throughout the nineteenth century. The British administrators and the missionaries along with

the ‘liberal’ and ‘national’ Indian reformers discovered women as an object of reform. All of

them found in women an uncultivated ground for imparting their beliefs and ideology. In

later years the notion of middle-class woman as an inviolable physical entity made a

profound impact on the political rhetoric in a period when the participation of women in all

kinds of movement--whether open mass resistance or clandestine revolutionary activities--

was felt necessary by the male leaders and ideologues. The notion of inviolability was used

politically as a tool for mobilisation of women in the material struggle against the foreign

rulers. Hence, the participation of women in the anti-colonial struggle is not all about how

1
Sangeetha J., Status of women in colonial and post-colonial India. C 2018 IJCRT l Volume 6, 2nd April 2018 ISSN
2320-2882
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‘women from the new middleclass became the active agents in the nationalist project’. It is

also a story of how anti-colonialism became the political agency of expressing women’s

autonomy.2 This dissertation with help of archival records, secondary sources, reports,

journal and analytical articles aims at analysing the condition of women in 19th and 20th

century marking the transition period, showcasing the changes in the participation of women

in various frameworks during that time also tendering their role in the nation building post

colonial rule.

The French colonization of Vietnam began with a first military campaign led in 1858 near

what is present-day Da Nang. By 1862 the ruling Nguyên dynasty was convinced of France’s

superior military power and chose to sign a treaty giving France control of six southern

provinces. In spite of the accord, Vietnamese resistance was immediate and was not limited

to the Imperial army. A significant number of Vietnamese scholars, the nation’s

administrative elite, chose not to collaborate with France. As France consolidated its rule in

Vietnam, Vietnamese resistance not only continued, but actually intensified. This situation

would last until 1954, when France finally gave up colonial rule in Indochina following a

stinging defeat in Diên Biên Phu. Before the conflict with the United States officially began

in 1964, Vietnamese historians had begun the work of forging a Vietnamese national identity,

one that placed the nation’s numerous independence struggles at the centre of Vietnam’s

collective memory. Vietnamese historians were quick to point out that in the course of the

nation’s armed struggles Vietnamese women had played an important role, sometimes even

taking up arms in order to fight enemy armies. As a result, “Vietnam’s historical memory

includes a pantheon of heroic Vietnamese women apparently willing to sacrifice their lives

for the sake of national independence. In the early years of French rule, a Vietnamese woman

2
Banerjee, Gopa, Middle class women in politics in colonial Bengal 1930_1947, Bengal, 2007.
http://hdl.handle.net/10603/160651
 Page |4

referred to as “Sister Tam” allegedly risked her life by carrying weapons on sampans along

rivers in order to arm the partisans of Vietnamese patriot Phan Dinh Phun.These women

represent an important element in the formation of Vietnam’s national identity. Their

participation in armed battle places emphasis on the fact that Vietnam has often had to

contend with enemies whose armies were larger and more powerful than its own. Under such

circumstances success could only be achieved by pooling all of the nation’s resources,

including women. Traditional Vietnam marriages were, more often than not, arranged by the

parents. Polygamy was allowed and Vietnamese women were under tremendous pressure to

produce male descendants. Claiming that, prior to the first Chinese conquest in 111 B.C.E.,

Vietnam did not have a patriarchal social structure, Vietnamese nationalist historians of the

1950s argued that Confucian norms had been “imported” by foreigners and that the lowly

status of women had been the unfortunate result of the Chinese presence in Vietnam.3 The

colonization of Vietnam by the French significantly altered the status and daily lives of

Vietnamese women. Traditional Confucian values, which dictated gender roles, were both

reinforced and challenged by colonial influences. French colonial rule reinforced patriarchal

structures through legal and economic policies. Women were often excluded from formal

education and governance while being subjected to exploitative labor practices, particularly

in agricultural and industrial sectors. The introduction of Western education, however,

created new opportunities for women from elite backgrounds.4 This paper explores the socio-

economic, political, and cultural conditions of Vietnamese women under French colonial rule

(1887–1954). It examines the impact of colonial policies on gender roles, labor, education,

3
Michelline Lessard, The Colony Writ Small: Vietnamese Women and Political Activism in Colonial Schools
During the 1920s, Journal of the Canadian Historical Association, volume 18 numero 2, 2007
https://id.erudit.org/iderudit/018221ar

4
Andaya, Barbara Watson. The Flaming Womb: Repositioning Women in Early Modern Southeast Asia.
Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2006
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and resistance movements. The paper highlights how Vietnamese women navigated the

oppressive structures of colonialism while also contributing to national liberation efforts.

The issue of women's status in Korea has been a steady and slow fight to equality; women in

Korea suffered under a patriarchal society for centuries, and their status declined under the

Japanese colonial rule, but has been slowly improving in the post-war era. Korean women are

treated as second rate citizens that have to depend on a man for their social status. The

Japanese colonization of Korea (1910- 1945) is at the foundation of post war tensions

between Japan and Korea. The Japanese mistreatment of Korean women is an important

element in many of these disputes. Specifically, the Japanese government took advantage of

the Korean women's low status within Korean society to erect a sexual military system.

Traditional Korea was a strict patriarchal society. Korean women were subjected to their

fathers, then their husbands, and then their eldest sons over the course of their life. This

burden was not lifted during the colonial era. When the Japanese took control of Korea, a

"woman's life became doubly hard after the Japanese annexation. Women now laboured

outside their homes, while at the same time they were urged to retain traditional 'virtue' which

came to be identified with "Korean way." Women had to do whatever they were told

regardless of who told them. The women of Korea suffered many ailments because of

Japanese rule "widows who lost their husbands in Japanese military or economic service

suffered not only from the loss of their husbands but also, and more significantly, from

oppression and abuse inside the home by their in-laws, who regarded the bride as a domestic

labourer and tacitly blamed her for the loss of their son." Women had to follow the rules of

Korean men. In Confucian society there was a hierarchy in the family that women had to

follow. The women had to first obey and respect their husbands then their first born son and

then their mother-in-law. Women did not have the free will to act and do as they wanted in a

Confucian Korean society. Korean culture placed, and still places, a high value on female
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purity and chastity. If a Korean woman had sexual relations before marriage and it was

discovered, she was considered unmarriable. Many Koreans suppose the Japanese purposely

picked Korean women as comfort women due to they were sexually inexperienced.5 Despite

these hardships, many Korean women actively participated in anti-colonial movements.

Figures such as Yu Gwan-sun became symbols of resistance, leading demonstrations and

advocating for Korean independence. Women's organizations played vital roles in mobilizing

nationalist sentiments, demanding equal rights, and preserving Korean cultural identity

amidst colonial repression. The condition of Korean women during Japanese colonial rule

was marked by economic exploitation, social repression, and political activism. While the

colonial government imposed significant restrictions, Korean women also found ways to

resist and challenge their subjugation. Their resilience laid the groundwork for future feminist

movements and the eventual transformation of gender roles in post-colonial Korea.6

This paper examines the condition of Korean women under Japanese colonial rule (1910-

1945), highlighting the profound transformations and challenges they faced. The colonial

administration imposed economic exploitation, limiting women's financial independence

while subjecting them to forced labor. Education, though expanded, remained a tool of

imperial assimilation rather than empowerment. Social and cultural restrictions reinforced

patriarchal norms, and thousands of women suffered under the "comfort women" system, one

of the most egregious human rights violations of the period. Despite these adversities, Korean

women played crucial roles in resistance movements, advocating for independence and

gender equality. Their resilience set the stage for future feminist and nationalist movements

in Korea.

5
Rebekah Thomas, The Evolution of the Status of Women in Korea: Colonial Times to the Present, Coastal
Carolina University, 2012
6
Kim, Hyun Sook. Cultural Politics in Colonial Korea, 1910-1945. Harvard University Press, 2003.
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CHAPTER 1

CONDITION OF INDIAN WOMEN DURING 19TH CENTURY

In the history of India the struggle of women for liberation, equality and justice is the

most happening period is the Nineteenth Century period, this period saw the beginning

of a new India with liberalism and utilitarianism as its basic principle. Although in the

earlier period some attempts were made for the women but the real serious concern was

showed only in the nineteenth century. The social degradation of women made the

social reformers to think regarding, emancipation of women, these social thinkers and

reformers appealed to the masses for the social change in India, the first serious steps were

taken by the social reformers to awaken the masses. The period prior to the Nineteenth

century, eighteenth century was considered as the darkest period in the history of India,

especially if we consider the position of women, Illiteracy was the common lot of all

Indian women. Sati, child marriage, polygamy and prostitution flourished as never before.

Widow-remarriage was strictly prohibited. Indian women were living in a most deplorable

condition. This oppressed situation of Hindu women was regarded by the British as

an example of the uncivilized Indians. Interested British scholars, missionaries and

bureaucrats had applied European standards and values in judging the position of Indian

women. Women were described as tradition bound, religious and submissive, who functions

in the limited, oppressive and inhuman environment.7The medical facilities were also based

on orthodox traditional norms and thinking, which somehow suppressed women voice and

choice over their body, womb and lifestyle, it was not just this but women mental health was

at its worse as no proper treatment were given due to unacceptability of the concept of mental

health, the Indian society was drown in the deep well of superstition often terming such

7
Bayly C.A.(1992).Recovering Liberties: Indian Thoughts in the Age of Liberalism and Empire, Introduction: the
meaning of liberalism in colonial India.Pub:Cambridge University Press, pp.94-99
 Page |8

women as “bhootbadha” and “chudail”. Indian women towards the end of 19th century began

to walk on aisle of political integrity and economical stability though it was not that effective

but was a stepping stone which in 20th century was turning positively for women.

The programme of reform societies was designed to protect and provide for the needs of

Indian women. Societies such as the Brahmo Samaj and the Arya Samaj established schools

for girls. The motivation for starting these schools arose from a desire to defend women of

their families against the influence of the Christian missionaries. The women's

movement in the early nineteenth century was chiefly concerned with the problems of the

upper-class women. The life style of elite Hindu women, their conventions and practices of

marriage and widowhood had received wide publicity. While reformers aimed at an overall

transformation in the Hindu society, specifically attention was paid to eliminating

social evils and inhuman practices which were the cause of the disgraceful condition

of women. The reformers of this period concentrated their attention on three important

aspects of a woman's life: age of. Marriage, the life of widows and their right to remarry and

education.8

1.1 THE SOCI-CULTURAL LIFE OF WOMEN IN 19TH CENTURY AND REFORMS

Some time the socio-cultural scenario show the pictures where women got the prominent role

and sometimes negligible and curtailed the freedom in society. The progress or development

of any society has direct positive relation with the status of women in that society. In the

history of Indian civilisation, women dominated the social scene for a long period and were

the virtual head of the families while men were busy with their nomadic life and hunting

pursuits. As per the traditional bio-social theory regarding the wok and responsibility division

between male and female, the female are entrusted with the work of care taker, family

8
Saxena, G,(2017).Arya Samaj Movement in India, (1875-1947), South Asia Books, pp.68-77
 Page |9

manger, give birth to child and male are produce and controller of economic affairs. As a

result the social respect and values are differenced and favours the male. Women are

perceived as devalued social group in India. This devaluation has its own religious driven

socio-cultural explanations and inherited patriarchal family system. In Rig Vedic era, women

were admitted to full religious rights and were also having complete educational

opportunities for the development of their personality. Due to the lack of self-confidence and

economic backwardness of the women, male chauvinism has been completely established in

the orthodox Hindu society. Most of the families as well as the society considered the female

folk as material object. They did not get any regard and freedom in daily life.9 Women in 19th

century had to struggle against the practices like sati, a heinous practices where the wife was

supposed to burn herself alive in the funeral pyre of her husband. It was to some extent forced

in later times for various reasons such as husband’s families greed towards inheritable

property, possibility of women re- marrying etc. “But in the nineteenth century the

government could not remain indifferent and the person who activated off the official reforms

was Rammohan Roy. Roy has been rightly called the father of modem India. He worked

ceaselessly to abolish this social evil by law. The number of widows who perished annually

in flames was quite considerable and Lord William Bentinck decided to abolish the

institution by legislation. Bentinck's convictions were shared not only by Englishmen

but also by a good number of enlightened Indians of whom the most important were

Rammohan Roy and Dwarkanath Tagore. In opposition to a large number of orthodox.

Hindus who made a daunting representation to the Governor-General against his

interference with their right to burn their women, Roy and his associates sent a petition

supporting the proposed legislation, stating that sati had no religious sanction but was a

9
Partha Sarathi malik, Socio-cultural status of women in India: a Historical Perspective, Gangadhar Meher
University, 2019
 P a g e | 10

growth of the middle ages, and physical force was often used in burning unwilling

widows. On the 4thDecember 1829, the famous resolution was passed by which sati was

made a crime of culpable homicide punishable with fine, imprisonment, or both.”10

10
Ranshure, Premsagar, Women and Social Change in Nineteenth Century India, volume 2, Journal of
Humanities and Social Sciences Studies (JHSSS)Website: www.jhsss.org ISSN: 2663-7197, 2020