Patriarchal Hegemony and Violence in Vijay Tendulkar’s Sakharam Binder

Abstract

The plays of Tendulkar present women as victims, and in his plays one can observe gender stereotyping. The women play domestic roles as daughters, mothers and wives in an Indian society. A female child takes the negative reinforcement of her vulnerability for granted. According to Manu - a girl in her childhood is under the protection of her father, then she is under the protection of her husband, and then she is taken care of by her son. Even from her childhood, the female child’s mind is set to believe the importance of ‘family values’. She accepts herself to be passive and patient, and unselfish. This kind of sociological conditioning ultimately restrains the growth of women.

Women are subjected to violence in the male chauvinistic society. The socio-economic conditions of women are poor and only if women are economically free, their intellectual creative ability will be recognized. Women may be subjected to physical and sexual violence at home. T.V. shows and films project women as the weaker sex and often they are showcased as sexual objects. Media also presents women’s issues ruthlessly sensational.