Vol. 23 No. 3, September 2004

In God's Image is an Asian Christian women's effort to provide a forum for expressing our reality, our struggles, our faith reflections and aspirations for change.

Editorial

Not too long ago the world rejoiced with India at the recent electoral defeat of a fundamentalist government. The role of Sonia Gandhi in this electoral process and the subsequent reinstatement of a ‘secular’ party cannot be overstated. While this is definitely not an ultimate solution to India’s woes, it signifies a reprieve in the violent and repressive events of the last five years. During the past six years, India paid the price for putting into power a fascist and fundamentalist force. 

The yearning for peace with justice is India’s present throb. This Indian edition of In God’s Image focuses primarily on Indian women’s perspectives on peace, harmony and justice. Through the prisms of varied issues and perspectives, writers have articulated the ongoing attempt of Indian women to weave peace and justice. 

The absence of war, violence and hate is a space for peace to set in. But the mere absence of violence is not true peace. Indian women in this edition of IGI have delved into other aspects of life, culture, and faith that also need analysis and re-hauling. 

The ugliest scar in India’s tryst with a fascist power is the communal pogrom that took place in the state of Gujarat two years ago. Articles in this issue touch on this barbaric pogrom and describe how women and children were the worst sufferers and that their struggle for peace and justice is still ongoing. An analysis of the psychology and politics of communal violence is also included. 

Another disturbing and continuing trend is the tragic starvation deaths and suicides of whole families of farmers and agricultural labourers. Competitive agro-technology and businesses, inability to repay loans, failure of crops, and monsoons are some reasons for this unabated trend. The liberalization of India’s economy resulting from the globalization process has affected the agricultural sector, especially women. Thus, the need for a just and equitable system of food production and distribution is an imperative in the realization of peace with justice in India. 

The oppressive and unjust elements within Asian religions and cultures often lead to injustice for women. Several stories of Indian women show how the pervasive patriarchal under-girding of our culture keeps a woman an alien and a stranger even in her own home. Weaving peace and justice requires a closer look at patriarchal elements in our faith traditions. Hence, personal perspectives that look at patriarchal elements within our religions and cultures that deny women the right, ethos and space to function as ordained ministers find space in this issue. The concept of ‘Authority’ and ‘power’ in church structures too often pose a hindrance to just and peaceful relationships, and a better understanding of these are sought through the study of Philippians. The stress on virginity for women and the prescribed nature of female sexuality in both culture and scriptures are exposed and the implications of these on women’s struggle to weave peace and justice are also discussed. 

The long drawn struggle of North East Indian peoples for peace and justice is a tale that continues to take its toll. The extent to which women in the North East are affected is evident in events that took place just a week prior to the writing of this editorial. Manipuri women took to the streets stark naked protesting the arrest, torture and murder of a Manipuri woman, Manorama, by the II Assam Rifles battalion of the Indian Army, with the slogans, “Indian army rape us! Take our flesh!” The voices of N.E. Indian women as they define themselves, their strengths, their rich tradition and heritage, and their agendas for ethnic peace, loudly reach out to us in this issue. 

This editorial is written just a few weeks after our nation lost 93 little children in a school fire resulting from dangerous and ill-conceived school facilities. In this editorial we wish to record our anger at the conditions that caused this tragedy at Kumbakonam, and our solidarity with the grieving parents, most of whom are illiterate themselves and had great hopes pinned on the little children whom they were struggling to educate, despite hazardous learning conditions.

We thank the writers for sharing their thoughts and stories with the wider family of IGI. Our sincere thanks goes to the artists who created the cover design and gave us appropriate sketches for this issue. We also thank the Editorial Advisory Committee of AWRC for giving us this platform to voice ourselves as Indian women and also to the publications staff of IGI for patiently putting up with our many delays and shortcomings. Though many responded with articles for this issue, due to constraints of space, we had to leave out some. We would like to thank these writers too and assure them that their contributions will be used in forthcoming issues of IGI or womenet as may be appropriate.

As you read this issue we hope you will journey with us, Indian women, as we weave peace and justice. We may not yet have made very tangible impacts, but like the undaunted spiders we will continue to weave every time our web is broken, and we invite you to join us in this struggle to keep weaving! 

Guest Editor

Acknowledgement

This national edition on Indian women was made possible through the able leadership of Jessica Richard, a Coordinating Team Member of AWRC and Rini Ralte, a member of the Editorial Advisory Committee (EAC) of In God’s Image. Conscious of the vastness of India, the EAC invited both of them to share the task of putting together this issue in order to get representative voices of Indian women as well as men who are truly concerned about issues of women. We are therefore grateful for their hard work and leadership. To the writers and contributors of this edition, we are truly thankful for your willingness to share your stories, concerns, and reflections. 

Publications Secretary

If articles listed in the table of contents interests you, and you would like to have a copy of this journal, please write to igi@awrc4ct.org.