Examination of "global sisterhood" concept in the context of postcolonial feminism: Indian case

This thesis examines the possibility of Feminist International Relations Theory that may reach women in the third world through Postcolonial Feminist criticism of ?global sisterhood?. Feminist Theory, making its first appearance in International Relations during the collapse of the Soviet Union, claims through the concept of ?global sisterhood? that women all over the world have common experiences and they are subjected to a common form of oppression, i.e. patriarchal oppression. In this context, Feminist Theory assumes that women all over the world are sisters who are able to understand each other. However, this perspective is considered as deficient by postcolonial feminists although not being ruled out entirely. In order to improve the mentioned understanding, Postcolonial Feminism criticizes, in different aspects, the ?global sisterhood? concept of the Feminist theory. According to Postcolonial Feminism, Western Feminist Theory?s definition of woman profile placed beyond history and degraded into a single category is defective. Conversely, In fact, according to Postcolonial Feminist Theory, the woman profile should be regarded as a category that changes according to the society and the time it is in. Within this context, the thesis study makes an argument on the possibility of a Feminist International Relations Theory that may unite the assumptions of both theories within a dialogue framework and compass non-western women, as well. KEY WORDS: Feminism, Feminist International Relations Theory, Postcolonial Feminism, global sisterhood.