Whether women are judged for being women or not being women?

The societal definitions attached to the word ‘women’ itself come along with the demands of conformities, stereotypes and discrimination.

Women are always defined by the stereotypical concepts of ideal mother, wife, daughter and so on. They are forced to satisfy the expectations of the society and gender roles which are imposed on them for decades.

They are always forced to live up to the definitions, attributions, characteristics and roles made by the society and they are confined from exploring the true essence of being women and who they really are.

According to Edward Said, Orientalism is a concept which is a constructor or framework of thinking created by outside agents. It is created through the domination of one culture i.e. the occident over the other, oriental.

In the book, “Beginning Postcolonialism” by John McLeod, Edward Said’s ideas about orientalism is widely discussed. Firstly, Orientalism is being described through western lens. A westerner’s ideas and his knowledge of orients misrepresents their culture, ideas and who they really are.

For example, Marco Polo claims that all Indians used to chew paan and spit it which is considered to be a barbaric act. The misrepresentation and generalization of Indians misleads the ideas about Eastern Culture.

Secondly, Orientalism is legitimating where the representation of western colonial rule in the eastern lands is often mentioned. The imperialistic ideas are reminded constantly to claim that the eastern countries were once ruled over or dominated by the westerners. This statement is still on going even after the eastern countries had their freedom and independent nation.

Thirdly, Orientalism is literary. In the literary world, the writers and artists exhibit their oriental knowledge which are misleading the readers and their perception about oriental countries.