The State, Religious Fundamentalism and women-Trends in South Asia

The State, Religious Fundamentalism and Women Trends in South Asia Amrita Chhachhi The growth of state-sponsored religious fundamentalism is one of the crucial issues affecting women. Recent years have seen a shift away from even the liberal rhetoric of equal rights for women with the passing of laws withdrawing legal and political rights which women had already won. These trends, however, go along with government policies and programmes to integrate women into development. This apparent contradiction can be seen as two sides of the same imperative to control and direct women's labour, fertility and sexuality to suit both capitalist and patriarchal interests.