Being a Speaker at Women ’s International Conference

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B. Jasvinder’s Actions in Fighting Forced Marriage as A Reflection of Third

World Feminism According to Bruno 2006, the encounters between Western and non Western feminist creating the ongoing debate. Therefore, the both sides between Western feminist and Third World feminist expressed the ideas of Third World Feminism. The ideas are expressed in the World Conferences in the 1990s. The ideas are: aSex inequality constitute the main problem faced by women in the Third World, b Patriarchal power takes priority in the analysis of women status, c Other analytical categories such as race, class or position in national structures are less important than gender, d A sisterhood between First World and Third World groups is an effective tool to advance sex equality e Women activism and feminist mobilization is an effective tool to promote changes in the sphere of women‟s rights.

1. Opposing Gender Inequality faced by Women in The Third World Countries

In the Third World countries, the biggest problem faced by women was gender inequality. American Psychological Association 2011 described the term gender as the attitudes, feelings and behaviors that a given culture associates with a person ‟s biological sex. Therefore, gender inequality was the condition in which the position and rights of women were not equal to men. In Third World countries such as India and Pakistan, there are many kinds of action in order to respect gender. One example was honour killing or honour- 41 based violence. According to Papp 2010 honour killing was an ancient practice in which men murder female relatives in the name of family “honour” for forced or suspected sexual activity outside the marriage, even when the women have been victims of rape. Each year, male family members murder thousands of girls and women across the globe in the name of family honour and shame. A girl was expected to protect her virginity before marriage as well as protecting her reputation from gossip and rumours after she was married. In India and Pakistan, every family had to protect their daughter. They prefer to kill their daughter rather than live in shame. Any gossip or rumours about their bad behavior will be detrimental to their marriage prospects. Girls‟ primary function was to marry well and bound by duty. They were to be self-sacrificing wives, providing services and producing sons for their husband. The transfer of a woman, like property, from her father‟s control to her husband‟s, combined with the belief that her destiny is duty to her husband. The potential husbands were chosen by their family. The occurence of rape and other forms of violence in a marriage made it more difficult for women to reveal abuse. It led the number of forced marriages increase day by day. Therefore, gender inequality covered patriarchal power and domestic abuse.

a. Fighting against Patriarchal Power

Napikoski 2012 defined patriarchal as a general structure in which men have power over women. Society is the entirety of relations of a community. A patriarchal society consists of a male-dominated power structure throughout