Reclaiming 'Mithila women's identity in Rani Jha's selected paintings

Abstract

This paper focuses on reclaiming Mithila women's identity keeping into consideration Rani Jha’s five selected paintings: Changing Women, Together Tearing the Veil, Husband Leaving, Abortion Clinic and Two Women from the feminist perspective. Painting, in general, works as a piece of art through which one expresses ideas, opinions, and information. For Maithili women, paintings work as a tool for representation and recognition. Although women of the Mithila society are known for their prominence in artistic creativity, the prevalence of patriarchy has eclipsed women’s identity and introduced artistry with the names of male figures. Maithili women do not take paintings merely as a decor tool but rather they have adopted the paintings to present the dominance of patriarchy that has been silencing the voice of women in society. Through her paintings, one can understand the reality of society and how women try to revolt against societal values. It focuses on the role of Mithila women to reclaim their identity so that they substantiate their position in society using Simone de Beauvoir’s notion of females and Virginia Woolf’s concept of the possibility of women’s liberation. Reclamation of identity is a resistance to the domination of males in suppressing the position of women in Mithila society because males are used to snatching the assets of women and imposing their power. Amidst this oppression, for the projection of their aspirations paintings have been the significant apparatus to narrate their life through which they can liberate themselves, redeeming from the rupture of patriarchal preaching doctrines. Mithila painting, therefore, including Rani Jha's paintings, is a means through which Mithila women are revealing, representing, resisting, and reclaiming their position in society. Keywords: Women’s Identity, Patriarchy, Mithila, Painting, Resistance