mauve

20+. indian woman

[mauveliptint]

I think it should be normalised to ask feminists to kill themselves when they are being casteists. I can't be expected to lend support while they actively harm me.

valid asf. they're not a feminist if they're not opposed to the system that is built on oppression. dalit women face oppression not js at the hands of uc men and men from their community but also by uc women.

[mauveliptint]

Happy Ambedkar Jayanti!

[mauveliptint]

If you Google "India rape news" these are the top articles that show up (they're all from today btw). And these are just the reported cases.

According to a report, 99% of sexual assault cases against Indian women go unreported.

Indian women are subjected to the worst kind of abuse by men. Misogyny is so deeply rooted here that honestly, I don’t think there’s any hope for us.

And the truth is, nothing we do matters. I could read all the feminist literature in the world, I could make endless lists of everything that’s wrong with this country, I could create space for women online and offline - but men would still continue to hurt us.

And my main issue is with men. Especially with the ones who understand exactly what’s wrong and still choose silence. The ones who laugh off their friends' remarks towards women, ignore how their fathers treat their mothers, and think they’re somehow better just because they’ve “never abused a woman.”

Their silence is our abuse. Their refusal to speak is our abuse.

And then there are women who’ve internalised misogyny so deeply, they defend and uphold the very systems that destroy us. That’s our abuse too.

And as a woman who doesn’t have the privilege to leave this country, I will continue to bear this abuse because I have no choice.

[mauveliptint]

Indian mainstream feminists are pretty casteist. I can never expect class solidarity from them. Class solidarity goes 2 ways. It should be reciprocal.

I had a brahmin friend who was very much pro reservation for women in parliament but turned her back when it came to SC/ST reservation and calling them slurs. Why do they act as if it isn't hurting dalit and tribal women? Or do they even acknowledge the existence of these women? I wish we had anti caste radical feminists as well.

Yes, the barely-existent Indian feminists are very casteist. This reminds of the news where during the protests for the Kolkata case, Bahujan women were asked to leave the protest bcs "their issues are different".

What’s extremely disheartening to me is that the only time women come together against sex- based violence, it’s usually when the victim is an upper-caste woman - when in reality, Dalit and Muslim women are far more likely to face violence.

Your 'friend' is an asshole tbh. An anti-reservation stance is casteist, period. There’s no room for debate. If someone tries to argue otherwise, they were never an ally to begin with. Even indian academia groups and subreddits (like CATPreparation, UPSC etc.) are deeply casteist too. These are grown ass, privileged and supposedly “educated” people - yet they act like casteism is a thing of the past, all while actively upholding casteist values in the name of “culture” and “religion.”

What really breaks me is the divide among women based on caste and religion. Our oppressors - men- would never defend us or take our side. In fact, they’re the ones who harm us. All we have is each other, and yet women still choose to uphold the very practices that oppress us. In some ways, can if not understand then sympathize when these when older women uphold this bigotry - they didn’t have access to education and were shaped by years of conditioning. But watching privileged, younger women do the same is just gutting.

I agree. I truly wish we had a strong, anti- caste radical feminist movement.

[mauveliptint]

Hi! Firstly, I want to thank you for what you are doing. You are bringing up topics that Indians online are often negligent about, and this helps with the elimination of desensitisation to casteism. So, thank you.

I'm 18 years old and a lesbian woman who was brought up in a diaspora Hindu Brahmin household, raised to be "empowered," unless the empowerment would lead to speaking out against the caste system. Within the Brahmin community, the women are nothing more than glorified servants to their husbands and extended families. Every single woman in my family is always and constantly talked down to, made to perform tasks considered to be beneath the men, and they raise their daughters in this way too. The indoctrination begins early. I was maybe 7 when my own mother said to me that one day, the men would laugh at me because I didn't know how to clean the space where they ate correctly. As someone who was a part of this and didn't know any better until I turned 17, it is a cult of arrogant, indefensible men and complicit women who are victims of their husbands and sons and aggressors to their daughters. Outside of the cult, these women, under the pretext of being 'devotees', commit atrocious aggressions anyone not part of their weird little coup. Plenty of examples of this exist.

I have considered myself an atheist since I was 12, because the liberation of women is more important to me than faith and I believe that you cannot fully commit to being a feminist if you still put stock in any religion in the world. I only have experience with Hinduism, so I will speak on Hinduism. Hinduism is often packaged neatly as the religion of peace. It is a perfomative statement to its core, and women and those on the lower end of the caste system pay the price. The package fails to mention that this 'peace' comes at a hefty, hefty price.

Sorry, this is a huge Ask, but I just wanted to speak out on this and your page seems to more or less align with my principles. Thanks!

I'm so tired of people abroad (and in india as well) romanticizing Hinduism as some kind of savior religion and praising its so-called tolerance. That "tolerance" only extends to men - whose atheism, arrogance, and infidelities are either ignored or even encouraged by Hindu patriarchy. But this leniency doesn’t apply to women; even the youngest girls are forced to carry the burden of their religion and their family's honor on their shoulders. It’s disheartening to see so many women not only embrace Hinduism but also actively uphold and promote it, despite its deeply misogynistic and casteist foundations.

By choosing to uphold the religion, Savarna women become oppressors of Dalit and Muslim women.

I'm so sorry your mother said those hurtful things. A man does not determine your worth, and I hope you know that.

No, don’t apologise - I agree with everything that was said in this ask, and it was a great read. I’m so glad you broke free from this religious mindset and decentered men.

[mauveliptint]

You could say "Porn is bad" and instantly, five guys would jump in with, "But masturbation is healthy!" Okay and? when did I ever say masturbation is bad? What’s actually bad is that you can’t get off unless you’re watching a woman being abused.

What’s bad is that you don’t see a problem with consuming content from an industry built on trafficking and raping women. There is no such thing as ethical porn. And this does not exist in a vacuum btw, this translates into real life.

You see a woman being abused, get off to it and then bring that same dynamic into your relationships without ever questioning how fucked up it is that hurting your partner gets you off. But ofc, kink shaming is the real problem, right?

[mauveliptint]

I've heard that porn isn't the reason why sexual harassment and violence is prevalent in India. Like, I'm so tired because even though India did 'ban' porn (idk, some say it's banned, others say it's not 🤷🏻‍♀️) it's still one of the countries with the most number of people to view that filth. Indian men have ways to view porn, including using VPNs, and it's so pathetic and outrageous. Indian men who view porn are the most sex-starved people.

Also, I'm so fucking tired of these people who say that India has some of the lowest rape cases, like I wanna grab something and hit that person on the face with it. Do you even check the number of unreported rape cases? They're higher than the reported ones, ig even higher than the fake ones. Government isn't doing good shit with it. That's why I have the Indian government so much, it just deranges me. I say this as an Indian rad-fem.

Some porn sites are banned in India but honestly, that means nothing because VPNs exist, and now everywhere you look, there's porn (Reddit, Twitter etc) Porn has completely deranged people’s minds. After the Kolkata rape case, people literally searched for the victim's name on porn sites.

Indian women are so hated and it’s sad tbh. Porn is also where the fetishization of white women comes in, it's also an extension of their hatred toward Indian women.

Anyone who willingly consumes porn is a misogynist, and I refuse to even be friends with such people.

Literally 99% of sexual assault cases go unreported according to govt data. Marital rape isn’t even recognized as a crime in India. And I’m so exhausted by men pretending to be the victims when, in reality, they’re the ones committing the worst acts imaginable.

Also, fake rape cases are not as huge deal as made out to be by these MRAs. A tiny fraction of reported cases are false, and that’s true for every crime- not just rape. But Indian men hate women so much that they cling to these rare instances just to dismiss our lived experiences. It’s vile.

[mauveliptint]

"Ex boyfriend" "former partner" - call him what he is: a pedophile and a rapist.

[mauveliptint]

"patriarchy hurts men too, we're not able to cry"

Boho cry me a river over the system men built, a system designed to oppress half the population, denying us education, barring us from workplaces, stripping us of autonomy, exploiting our labour and bodies, and still finding new ways to do it. This system exists solely to benefit men, so I don't really give a fuck if men aren't able to cry.

[mauveliptint]

It’s v normal for the oppressed to feel resentment/hatred toward their oppressors. We’ve spent our entire lives being cautious of men. Every single woman I know has had at least one bad experience with a man, it’s a shared reality we can’t escape.

If the generalization of all men feels unfair to them, then it’s on men to change that narrative. It’s not our burden.

[mauveliptint]

Anytime a dude makes communism his entire personality, it's usually to hide the fact that he comes from an oppressor background. You can claim to be an atheist and a leftist in India, but that doesn’t change the fact that you still enjoy gender and caste privileges in society. This communism/leftism is often limited to online spaces - irl, they pass as oppressors, rarely speaking up when we face discrimination because doing so would threaten their privilege. Dalits, Women, Muslims and Queer folks rarely have the luxury of hiding their identities in public.

As for misogyny, most people and spaces fail to acknowledge or even care about it because they are dominated by men. But the truth is, even the most marginalized man in this country still gets to oppress or exploit a woman.

Marginalized women don’t just face discrimination from men at the top of this made-up hierarchy, they also experience it from uc/Hindu women (in the case of Dalit and Muslim women), straight women (in the case of queer women), and men within their own communities.

But ofc if you try telling a dude this, all you're going to get is -

[mauveliptint]

I'm really sorry for asking but what is the "c slur"? I'm Indian by ethnicity but live in a different country. Most casteist nonsense doesn't exist in the majority of Indian communities in my country (although I'm sure there still are some Indians here like... that). I feel completely alien to the things I hear coming out of India and I want to understand what's going on there these days. It's okay if you'd rather not explain though, I wish you well either way.

I'm attaching an article that expands on the slur.

The idea that non residential Indians aren’t casteist is flawed. While I do agree that caste may not be as culturally ingrained in them, they still practice it if they associate with Hinduism or identify as Hindu.

1) Believing that vegetarian and non-vegetarian food should not be cooked near each other and using terms like ‘pure veg’ is casteist.

2) Celebrating Diwali is casteist.

3) Being proud of one’s caste or community, when it’s an oppressor caste, is casteist.

4) Indulging in arranged marriages reinforces caste based segregation and promotes caste hegemony.

5) Being against caste-based reservations directly upholds caste privilege.

6) Using casteist slurs is also obv casteist.

I’m sure there are many more casteist practices I haven’t listed, but casteism isn’t just about practicing untouchability—it runs deep in cultural norms and everyday behaviors.

Anyway, I hope this was helpful and take care!

[mauveliptint]

Being against caste based reservation is just another form of casteism. Hope that helps.

[mauveliptint]

speaking of problematic indian vocabulary…there’s a tamil word called “theetu” which translates to impurity and is commonly associated with menstruation but it’s also used to dehumanize dalits i.e if any dalit person touches something it becomes “theetu/impure” 🙃

indian feminism absolutely has to be anti-caste otherwise it means jackshit lol

I had no idea about this until I looked it up, and it's disgusting. It’s wild how deeply casteism and misogyny are woven into our society - once you start noticing it, everything feels problematic(because everything is).

And yes, I couldn’t agree more. If Indian feminism isn’t anti-caste, then what’s the point?

[mauveliptint]

Every time I post something about Indian men here, I get responses - mostly from white women (I assume) - and it’s always the same tired notion: “I’m not a racist, but Indian men deserve the racism they face because they treat their women badly or are casteist in their own country.” and honestly, shut the fuck up. Stop hiding your racism behind the guise of feminism.

Bcs let’s be real, your people don’t care about gender when you are being racist towards Indians. You’re not some white savior standing up for our rights, you’re part of the problem, part of the oppression. Just admit you lack critical thinking and can’t grasp nuance. Racism and misogyny, sexism are entirely separate issues. Both can exist at the same time but one doesn’t excuse or justify the other.

Also, if your argument starts with, “I’m not a racist, but” you’re already outing yourself as one. Take your bigotry outside and get away from my blog.

[mauveliptint]

Im glad to see anti caste feminists here.

I'm very tired of casteist bullshit in Indian media. Especially about reservation. And they use it as a chance to use the "ch***" slur. It's very disturbing...

Omg hi! Honestly, almost every practice or action by the people around me is casteist, and it’s so exhausting.

Anti-reservation rants are nothing but casteism. You know what’s truly unfair? Restricting the majority of the population to only 50% reservation. Keep increasing reservations until these casteist assholes stop crying.

I also hate how casteist slurs have become part of everyone’s daily vocabulary. The “c” slur is so common and disgusting, and whenever you call people out for using it, it’s always, “I didn’t mean it like that” or “It’s not that serious.” okay and? It's still a slur. Talking with these folks is like talking to a wall.

This casteist sentiment is also so prevalent on all our social media apps, it’s incredibly frustrating.

[mauveliptint]

I came across multiple discourses where people were discussing how this case wouldn’t be talked about because the perpetrator is Hindu, and it doesn’t fit the narrative where Muslim men can be unfairly vilified. While this is true, the Indian Muslim men are often demonized by the Hindus as a pretext for committing hate crimes and bulldozing their homes; what is always ignored is that the victim is a woman. It’s always a woman.

The most marginalized man still gets to exploit women. While Brahmin men oppress all women, Muslim men oppress Muslim women. It’s always a woman who is at the bottom of this hierarchy.