ASTHA SHARMA
Once upon a time, knowledge was a fortress guarded by rigid traditions and exclusionary norms. It was a world where the voices of women and the marginalized were echoes barely heard in the vast halls of academia and science. Yet, like cracks forming in a seemingly impenetrable wall, challenges to this status quo began to emerge as small but persistent acts of questioning that evolved into powerful currents of resistance and reimagination.
The Challenge to Traditional Knowledge
Imagine a society in which knowledge is declared objective and universal, but its guardians are a narrow few. ChimamandaNgoziAdichie in her recent popular “We all should be feminists” recounts multiple of these concepts. The rules of this fortress are that reason and empiricism belong to a domain defined as “masculine,” while intuition and experience, often labeled “feminine,” are dismissed as irrelevant. In this setting, the intellectual landscape is skewed, favoring those in power.
One day, a group of thinkers starts questioning that creating a disturbance in this structure of knowledge. They ask why some forms of understanding, such as the deep knowledge of a mother about her child or the collective experiences of a community, are undervalued. They propound that knowledge cannot be an isolated affair because it is molded by the very standpoint and prejudice of those who create it. This leads to a call for a reconceptualization of knowledge production and verification, creating space for inclusion and plural perspectives.
A Continuing Shadow: Biology and Determinism
Meanwhile, another story plays out in the science world. For two thousand years, stories about biology have been told to explain why women should not be equal. Women, so the stories go, are slaves to their biology their bodies too fragile for serious mental work, their emotions too mercurial for high office. These stories are told not as opinions but as “facts,” stitched into the tapestry of scientific discourse.
But even here, counter-narratives begin to emerge. “Is biology destiny?” Linda Birke questions the ‘natural occurrence’of gender divisions. These challengers refuse to accept that science must perpetuate oppression. Instead, they explore a new path: one where biology is not a fixed script but a story of transformation and possibility. They argue that biology and culture are intertwined, each shaping the other in a dance of complexity. By rewriting the story of biology, they open new doors to new understandings of women’s bodies, not as liabilities but as sources of resilience and strength.
A Debate of Liberation
Let’s understand this gender debate through a story from the Sulabha-Janaka debate in the
canonical Sanskrit Mahabharata is an important example of that ongoing discussion. Far away in a kingdom of ancient wisdom, a young woman steps forward. She is a seeker, unbound by the conventions of marriage or societal expectation. In her journey, she encounters a philosopher-king who questions her right to exist as an autonomous thinker. “Can a woman be my equal?” he asks, his tone both curious and skeptical.
The lady smiles, but her mind sharpens with conviction. She begins to speak on the self that, beyond gender lines, is firmly rooted in the universal. “Do not equate the body with the soul,” she argues. “Free will is given to all regardless of their state of being because it is neither bound by some identity nor restrained by the burden of social constructs.”
Her words are a revelation not only to the king but also to those who witness their conversation. She proved that intellect and wisdom know no gender, that barriers imposed by society are constructs waiting to be destroyed. Her victory is not only hers; it is a testament to the potential of all those who dare defy convention. Ruth Vanitha in the “self is not gendered” says that “I compare and contrast the Sulabha-Janaka debate with another similar debate in the Mahabharata—that between a married woman and the great sage Kaushika. Once again, the woman wins the debate and proves that while following the conventional path of wifely devotion, she is in fact more virtuous than he is. While many women could hope to imitate this model, fewer could aspire to be like Sulabha.” Sulabha being the woman protagonist of our story. As the stories are intertwined, they create a tapestry of resistance and transformation. We remember that knowledge is not static: it grows and shifts because we challenge its boundaries. The fortress of traditional epistemology, once impermeable, now stands with open gates, to allow voices long silenced to enter into the debate.
The rules of this reimagined world of knowledge are different
Context Matters: Knowledge is recognized as a product of its time, shaped by the social and cultural norms of its creators.
Embrace Complexity: The interplay of biology and culture is celebrated, rejecting simplistic binaries.
Honor Diverse Voices: The wisdom of marginalized communities is brought to the forefront, enriching our collective understanding.
Foster Inclusion: Scientific and intellectual practices are reformed to ensure fairness and equity.
The journey is long from over, but the road is clear. Challenging old stories and writing new ones are ways of constructing a world in which knowledge, indeed, belongs to all and where human potential and experience, in all its richness, will be celebrated.
