Shakti as a liberatory and educative force for Hindu women

Abstract

This chapter begins by discussing some common conceptions of gender within the Hindu tradition and the importance of the goddess, particularly the aspect of the goddess related to the idea of Shakti. We use an example from current work in India to demonstrate the use of Shakti to educate and mobilize women. Shakti is creative transformative power embodied in the goddess and thus in women and is often called upon to educate and emancipate women. We describe the work of the Mahila Shanti Sena, a womens peace movement in northeast lndia, as an example of how the concept of Shakti is mobilized in the service of women from some of the most dispossessed communities in India. While the notion of Shakti is not unproblematic, we conclude that an engagement with culturally relevant models of female power in Hinduism is one avenue to freedom and equality for women.