Marxist Feminism : Emancipation of Women

Abstract

This research investigates the intersection of Marxist feminism and women’s emancipation, focusing on how capitalism and patriarchy operate as mutually reinforcing systems of structural oppression that sustain gender inequality. Drawing on the foundational works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, alongside contemporary feminist theorists, it argues that women’s subordination is not incidental but embedded within the economic, social, and ideological frameworks of capitalist societies. Women’s liberation cannot be fully realized within capitalist systems, which are predicated on the exploitation of both paid and unpaid labor, the systematic devaluation of reproductive work, and patriarchal norms that restrict women’s autonomy. By integrating theoretical analysis with empirical observations, particularly in the South Asian context and Bangladesh, the study examines the socio-economic, cultural, and legal mechanisms that perpetuate women’s subordination and outlines pathways for genuine emancipation. It critically engages with Marxist feminist theory to explore how capitalism depends upon gendered divisions of labor. Women’s unpaid domestic and reproductive labor caregiving, household management, and emotional support is essential to maintaining the labor force and sustaining capitalist production, yet it remains largely invisible and undervalued in conventional economic models. This systemic undervaluation contributes to women’s economic dependence on men, reinforcing patriarchal power both within families and across broader social structures. Understanding women’s oppression requires an integrated perspective that recognizes the interconnection between economic exploitation, social norms, and gendered expectations. In this framework, women’s subordination is not a result of natural or inherent differences but is produced and maintained through historical and structural mechanisms embedded in capitalist and patriarchal systems. The main component of the study is the analysis of women’s property rights as a critical determinant of economic independence and social emancipation. It demonstrates that women’s exclusion from ownership, inheritance, and access to financial resources serves as a key mechanism of economic subordination. By limiting women’s control iii over property and capital, patriarchal and capitalist systems maintain social hierarchies that prevent women from achieving autonomy and equal participation in society. The thesis, in the context of Bangladesh, highlights the ways in which economic structures, cultural practices, and legal frameworks intersect to limit women’s access to property, thereby reinforcing patterns of dependence and subordination. Ensuring women’s property rights and economic independence is essential for achieving both gender equality and broader social justice. Representing the contemporary feminist theorists such as Angela Davis, Silvia Federici, and Tithi Bhattacharya, the study illustrates how women from marginalized social, ethnic, and economic backgrounds face compounded forms of exploitation. Women’s oppression cannot be adequately understood through a single-axis analysis of gender or class alone; rather, it requires a nuanced understanding of the intersecting structures of inequality that affect women differently depending on their social positioning. This intersectional perspective strengthens the argument that the struggle for women’s emancipation is inherently linked to broader struggles against economic exploitation and social inequality. As a social institution, family functions as a site where patriarchal and capitalist systems converge to reproduce gender and class hierarchies. Family structures have historically emerged alongside private property and capitalism as mechanisms of male control over women’s labor and resources. Women’s unpaid labor within the household—childcare, domestic maintenance, and emotional support—subsidizes the labor force and contributes to capitalist production, yet it remains unacknowledged both socially and economically. By conceptualizing the family as a microcosm of societal inequality, the thesis argues that addressing gender oppression requires interventions not only in the public and economic spheres but also in domestic and cultural contexts where patriarchal norms are internalized and reproduced. While liberal feminism focuses on legal equality and policy reform, and radical feminism emphasizes patriarchal structures and cultural change, Marxist feminism is distinguished by its attention to the material conditions underpinning women’s oppression. This perspective highlights the centrality of class and economic exploitation in perpetuating gender inequality and advocates for systemic social transformation. Socialist feminism, closely aligned with Marxist feminism, reinforces the argument that women cannot achieve full liberation under capitalist conditions, emphasizing the necessity of collective action, social ownership, and structural iv reforms to address both gender and class inequalities simultaneously. Marxist feminist analysis provides a holistic and integrated framework for understanding and addressing the complex interrelations between economic exploitation, gender subordination, and social hierarchies. Capitalist exploitation, alienation, and economic dependence are fundamental barriers to women’s emancipation. Capitalist production relies on the appropriation of surplus labor, creating structural inequities that disproportionately affect women. Women’s work, particularly unpaid domestic labor, is essential for the reproduction of labor power yet is systematically undervalued, contributing to persistent economic and social inequalities. By pointing out the ways in which capitalist structures perpetuate both material and ideological forms of oppression, the thesis argues that true gender equality is unattainable without a comprehensive criticism and transformation of these systems. It emphasizes that women’s liberation is inseparable from the broader struggle against capitalist exploitation and social inequality, and it situates women’s emancipation within a wider socio-political project of systemic change