Malladi Subbamma

From Philosopedia

Subbamma, Malladi (20th Century)

Subbamma [original name in Telugu: Mahila Abhyudaya Samstha], who wrote Women and Social Reforms (1994), is editor of Stree Swetchcha in Hyderabad, India, and head of the Institute for the Advancement of Women. She is the wife of M. V. Ramamurthy, and both have been active in the Indian Rationalist Association.

Subbamma is one of the few humanist-feminist activists in India, working in many developmental activities for the empowerment of women. Specifically, she is concerned about the following subjects:

• the anti-women agenda which is apparent in Muslim countries, as exemplified by an Afghani Mujahideen’s statement that it is time to send women “back to the bag.”

• sati, a custom in which childless widows allow themselves to be burned along with their dead husbands because of tremendous social pressure and the veneration shown toward a person who commits sati. In the period 1815–1825, at least 8,142 widows burned themselves. The practice was abolished by the English government at the instance of Raja Rarn Mohan Roy.

• kanyasulkam, a custom designed to enable the parents to sell away in marriage their daughters to the person offering the highest amount of money, whatever his age, the result of which was an increase of widows.

• dowry, a universally practiced system by which the prospective groom is willing to marry only that girl whose parents pay the highest amount in dowry and also tender valuable gifts. The default in paying a dowry either in full or in part has often resulted in what is called dowry deaths or bridge burnings. In 1985, at least 989 were reported. In 1987, the figure increased to 1,793.

(See entry for G. Vijayam.)