UNVEILING THE SOURCES OF WOMEN OPPRESSION: A STUDY OF THREE CASES

In India women of different states, districts, villages and families are suffering from different sources of patriarchy. If someone is not allowed to work outside the home, someone is exploited at the work place and if someone is suffering because of her inability to give birth to a child, someone is suffering because of motherhood. Therefore, we cannot take all the women as a group to solve their problems as they are not suffering from same problems. In Assamese society women are suffering from different sources of patriarchy. These sources prevail from the folk lore to capitalism, motherhood to widowhood etc. Each and every woman are suffering from different factors. Therefore, it is very important to unveil and discuss these sources in order to change the society. Unless we determine the sources of women's oppression, we don't know who or what needs changing. In this case study an attempt is made to highlight certain major sources of oppression of women in Assamese society with special emphasize on family, motherhood, marriage and loyalty and capitalism. An attempt is also made to show how problems of all women are different from each other. The role of family in the process of gender socialization and the relationship between economic independence and empowerment of women has also been discussed. These sources were selected as they play a very dominated role in the systematic victimization of women which needs to be revealed.