Intersections of Caste and Gender

Colonial rhetoric on India had an important influence in the early colonial discourse on women and caste since empire was considered a civilizing project that used Western post-enlightenment modernity as the paradigm for the betterment of other inferior civilizations. Consequently, Indians fared poorly in this debate about culture. Because of this harsh Western criticism, Indian intellectuals in the first half of the nineteenth century began to focus their attention on female reformers. Thus, female genital mutilation, sati, and widow remarriage were forbidden. Even so, it is well-known that these reforms had little effect on the general populace.