Looking at Post-Colonial Feminism: A Reading through the Views of Maria Mies

Abstract

Post-colonial feminism was born as a reaction to Western feminism. Feminist movements created by Western ways of thinking did not address the problems of non-Western women. Therefore, in countries freed from colonialism, a new feminist movement emerged that addressed the problems of non-Western women. This movement, called postcolonial feminism, addresses the problems experienced by women in postcolonial societies from different perspectives, not in a Western and uniform way. Postcolonial feminism criticizes the patriarchal system to which women are subjected in former colonial countries, along with global capitalism, which brings about gender-based labor exploitation, and in this context, it differs from Western feminism. Although Maria Mies was a Western woman, she focused on the problems of "other" women and looked for the source of the problem not only in patriarchy, but also in global capitalism and labor exploitation. The purpose of this study is to look at postcolonial feminism through her feminist approach.