Female Body as the ‘Other’: Rituals and Biotechnical approach using Perumal Murugan’s One Part Woman and Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women

Abstract

The article attempts to show how women’s identities are restricted to the female body, and its procreative function and also highlights the dangerous rituals such as female infanticide. With a focus on the societal demands placed on the female body, this study aims to focus on how much society intrudes into a person's private life. The article also offers a thorough examination using the novel One Part Woman (2018) and the movie Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women (2003) of how the objectification of women has entered our culture and become embedded in our way of thinking, causing us to view the female body as an inanimate object that must adhere to predefined gender stereotypes. It investigates how infertility is linked with the curse and performance of rituals takes place.

Infertility is no longer viewed as a problem owing to advances in biotechnology, which have been particularly focused on the reproductive area. However, cultural customs and beliefs disregard the medical approach, while many harsh rituals are conducted in the hope of causing fertility. The research paper focuses on how cultural behaviours and rituals prevent women from using a medical anthropology perspective. The study piece illustrates the sinister rituals that are practised and how women are objectified by using One Part Woman (2018) and Matrubhoomi: A Nation Without Women (2003).