Gender Justice through Culture and Traditions in One Part Woman by Perumal Murugan

Abstract This research paper investigates the theme of gender justice in Perumal Murugan’s cultural novel One Part Woman which portrays the struggles of Ponna and Kali, a rural South Indian couple burdened by the stigma of childlessness. The novel situates personal relationships within the larger framework of caste, kinship, and ritual practices, exposing how “tradition” becomes a powerful mechanism of social control. Ponna’s identity as a wife is defined primarily through her reproductive capacity, while Kali’s masculinity is judged by his virility, revealing how patriarchy produces parallel yet unequal vulnerabilities for men and women. The sanctioned “night of license” during the temple festival becomes central to Murugan’s interrogation of consent, choice, and coercion, raising crucial questions about women’s agency in contexts where refusal is socially costly. This study employs qualitative textual analysis informed by feminist hermeneutics, intersectionality, and Martha Nussbaum’s capabilities approach. It examines how communal surveillance, religious sanction, and kinship pressures converge to discipline the body, silence dissent, and commodify fertility. At the same time, Murugan highlights the couple’s mutual care and affection, suggesting an alternative ethic of dignity that contrasts with the oppressive honor-based order of the village. The paper argues that true gender justice requires recognition of women’s dignity beyond motherhood, non-coercive religious and cultural practices, and a redefinition of masculinity grounded in care rather than ownership. By exposing how coercion is disguised as custom, Murugan compels readers to rethink justice as the protection of bodily integrity, genuine choice, and relational equality.