The Kling Kling Woman by
K.S Maniam
Feminist Perspective
“The
Kling Kling Woman” brings the audience back
to the British colonial era of Malaysia where the Indian, Chinese, and
immigrants from other South East Asian countries were imported as labourers because they were
considered as “more controllable” compared to the indigenous Malay. Unlike most
of the female protagonists in the Modern Malay literature, this short story
features a strong independent Indian woman who fights her way towards creating
her own destiny, going against the traditional expectations of women in her
culture. The story revolves around the protagonist who struggles with issues
such as exploitation of manual labourers in the railroad and sexual
objectification of women. This analysis will be viewed from a perspective of
feminism that highlights exploitation of women at work place and the sexual
objectification of women in general.
Modern Malay literature has been
criticized for its weak representation of female protagonist. The heroine in
Maniam’s story, however, is a powerful woman who paradoxically takes control of
her own destiny within the confinement of tradition. Due to traditional double
standard, it is common in the modern Southeast Asian fiction, that women were
portrayed as weak which makes Maniam’s story relevant to be
analysed under the light of feminism. Therefore, it is important to first
understand the definition of feminism and its origin.
Women have always been considered
as the second lead after man in society. Feminism highlights the
inequality between man and woman. Feminists opposed the tendency of society in
downgrading women and giving unequal treatment to them. Even though feminism
has many types, the people who practise this ideology identify themselves
generally as ‘feminists’. It began to take place even before the 21st
century that indicates the justification of treating women has long ago existed
and that this topic is not something new.
There are several types of feminism but all types of feminism definitely have one thing in common although they have different ways of practising their understanding on this issue and vary in terms of the methods they use to address this problem and its solution. The similarity that is generally shared by all feminist would be that they all are seeking justice for women and fight for their rights. Eliminating gender stratification would be one of the key elements in feminism as they oppose the limit and restriction of education, income and job opportunities of women. In the Kling Kling Women for example, women were confined to their tradition and customs, therefore they were expected to only act and behave in certain ways. For instance, the story shows the audience that women and girls should only stay at home, do the cooking and cleaning, and after they have grown up, they should all get married, and serve their husbands for the rest of their life, even if they do not love him. Also mentioned in the story was the horrible practice of preserving the husband’s honor by pretending not to starve when there is nothing to eat.
The protagonist in this story which was not named and only known as Sumathi’s great grandmother, however, chose to break out from the tradition and go out to work on the railroad. She went through horrendous journey and faced many challenges before she could finally live the life that she had always wanted. This shows that the role of a woman back in the days was so limited that it actually prevented them from finding their true potential and exploring their passion. In feminism, women are equal to men. Therefore, they have every right to choose whether to work or not to work, and the same goes for marriages and every other thing.
Emma Watson once quoted, “Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality”.
There are several types of feminism but all types of feminism definitely have one thing in common although they have different ways of practising their understanding on this issue and vary in terms of the methods they use to address this problem and its solution. The similarity that is generally shared by all feminist would be that they all are seeking justice for women and fight for their rights. Eliminating gender stratification would be one of the key elements in feminism as they oppose the limit and restriction of education, income and job opportunities of women. In the Kling Kling Women for example, women were confined to their tradition and customs, therefore they were expected to only act and behave in certain ways. For instance, the story shows the audience that women and girls should only stay at home, do the cooking and cleaning, and after they have grown up, they should all get married, and serve their husbands for the rest of their life, even if they do not love him. Also mentioned in the story was the horrible practice of preserving the husband’s honor by pretending not to starve when there is nothing to eat.
The protagonist in this story which was not named and only known as Sumathi’s great grandmother, however, chose to break out from the tradition and go out to work on the railroad. She went through horrendous journey and faced many challenges before she could finally live the life that she had always wanted. This shows that the role of a woman back in the days was so limited that it actually prevented them from finding their true potential and exploring their passion. In feminism, women are equal to men. Therefore, they have every right to choose whether to work or not to work, and the same goes for marriages and every other thing.
Emma Watson once quoted, “Feminism is about giving women choice. Feminism is not a stick with which to beat other women with. It’s about freedom, it’s about liberation, it’s about equality”.
Another important element that is highlighted in the story is the sexual objectification of
women and sexual violence committed against them. As mentioned in the
short story, the Kling Kling Women, the
women working in the railroad are no strangers to lewd remarks and sexual
harassment by the male railroad workers. It was stated that the
men fantasize about the women in an obscene manner, which means that they saw
the women as a sexual object or the object of pleasure rather than an actual
person. This explains why they thought of women as inferior to them which in
reality is false and distorted. They even went so far as to follow the women
into the forest, just so that they could peek on them and even harass them and
see it as a normal and acceptable action.
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