Defending Transnational Feminism

الملخص

Feminism is a movement that endeavors to achieve equality between males and females. Like other movements, many branches have emerged from it. Consequently, some critics have attested that there is no unified feminism, but rather a vast array of feminisms. Different feminist schools perceive women’s issues from different lenses, yet most of these schools appear to be in opposition to Western feminism: black feminism, Marxist feminism, Third World feminism, post-colonial feminism, and transnational feminism to name a few. These feminisms share many beliefs and principles, but do not agree harmoniously on many issues. Transnational feminism is one of these schools that goes hand in hand with the other schools according to certain values, yet contradicts the other feminisms when it comes to specific fundamentals. “Trans” means “across and beyond” in Latin; this prefix denotes the crossing of boundaries. Transnational feminism is distinguished from other feminisms in that it emphasizes the differences among women across cultures and it is tolerant toward these cultural distinctions. This feminist school intersects with other feminist non-Western schools. Because of this, Western feminism’s critique on all kinds of feminisms is almost the same. Moreover, although transnational feminism correlates with many principles that are rooted within other non-Western feminisms, the paradigm of transnational theory embraces even more principles that lead to a real unity among women all over the world. This essay aims to exhibit the Western critiques against transnational feminism and in turn, defend transnational feminism. It will also attempt to show that this school is the most influential feminist school with respect to achieving solidarity among women.

As mentioned above, most of the Western feminist critiques against other feminist movements are virtually the same. Because of this congruency among other non-Western branches of feminism, it is crucial to discuss how these feminisms intersect with transnational feminism. The bonds between transnational feminism and post-colonial studies are very strong because both feminist branches focus on the inequalities generated by imperial governments. In fact, transnational feminism employs many theoretical tools from post-colonial studies to defend itself, and the most significant of these devices are the notions of Orientalism, hybridity, diaspora and border theory. Indeed, post-colonial studies is the most useful field for transnational feminism because it contributes a deep understanding of globalized histories of gender and power. Young states that the key issues of post-colonial feminism are the following:

Post-colonial feminism has never operated as a separate entity from post-colonialism; rather it has directly inspired the forms and the force of post-colonial politics. Where its

feminist focus is foregrounded, it comprises non-Western feminisms which negotiate the political demands of nationalism, socialist feminism, liberalism, and eco-feminism, alongside the social challenge of everyday patriarchy, typically supported by its institutional and legal discrimination: of domestic violence, sexual abuse, rape, honour killings, dowry deaths, female feticide, child abuse. Feminism in a post-colonial frame begins with the situation of the ordinary woman in a particular place, while also thinking her situation through in relation to broader issues to give her the more powerful basis of

collectivity. It will highlight the degree to which women are still working against a colonial legacy that was itself powerfully patriarchal - institutional, economic, political,

and ideological (2013, p. 116).