The Catholic Church in Kerala has launched an offensive against the school of feminist writing and its proponents for their alleged refusal to show respect to religion-based value systems just when cries for freedom are coming out from nuns belonging to it.
A column in the latest issue of Catholica Sabha (Catholic Church), the monthly publication of the Thrissur Archdiocese of the Church, describes feminist writers as proponents of anarchism with no respect for normal social values and institutions. The Archdiocese is headed by Archbishop Andrews Thazhath, president of the Kerala Catholic Bishops’ Council (KCBC).
Though there have been several woman poets and novelists in Kerala — including a Catholic nun — in the past who had respect for religious systems, the new brigade of feminist writers had come into being with poet-novelist-short-story writer Madhavikutty (Kamala Das) who had written “openly”, says the article.
It is obvious from the article that the ire of the Church is not against feminist writers but the objections to them is the result of a concern in seeing writers from the Christian community joining the brigade as the focus of attacks is Sara Joseph, a Thrissur-based novelist decorated with several esteemed awards and a social activist.
“It should have been Madhavikutty who had laid the foundation for feminist writing (in Kerala). The new woman writers have been following the model of her Ente Katha (My Story),” the article says. “Whatever Madhavikutty, someone who was brought up in large cities, wrote “openly” in English and Malayalam were creations of anarchism,” complains the publication.
“Her writings had rejected with total contempt the concepts of family, marital relationship, moral values, traditional husband-wife relationship and customs, and these possessed the new-generation feminist writers like a ghost. It is such poems and stories that are reaching the market now with the label of feminist writing,” the article says.
Directing the attack particularly against Sara Joseph, the author says that she thinks that religion is the root cause of all social problems. “She even indicates that there is a conspiracy of religion
behind the atrocities and tortures against women,” says the author, adding, “Sara
Joseph is dreaming of a world where anarchy reigns supreme,” says the author.
A Thrissur-based social activist close to Sara Joseph said that the Church’s criticism was not actually against her writings but it was the position she had been adopting over social issues that was worrying it. “There are several contentious social and environmental issues in which the Church has explicit interests. They can’t tolerate her activities on that front,” he said.
Sara Joseph herself refused to consider the Church’s attack against her seriously. “I will listen to criticisms if they are coming from people who read and can understand literature. I don’t want to respond to people who can’t understand the importance of democratic values within families,” she said.
The Catholic Church in Kerala has been witnessing more and more calls for freedom and expression of dissatisfaction from among its nuns in recent times. Sr Jesme, a nun who had served the Church for 30 years had in 2009 shocked it with her autobiography, “Amen”, which described the sexual repressions, intimidation, harassment and more in the church and convents.
Just a year ago, Catholic nun Sr Mary Chandy had written a book detailing the mysterious goings-on inside the Church. The book had said that there were sections in the Church which would do anything for money and sexual gratification and had termed nuns who died in suspicious circumstances like Sr Abhaya as victims of moral decadence of priesthood.