TINJAUAN TEORI DAN KONSEP: PERJUANGAN WANITA DALAM POLITIK DI TANAH MELAYU

This article aims to analyze some feminist theory to understand the form of participation of women in politics, and how they integrate into informal politics and formal politics. These theories assert gender is a social construct, and they have adapted to politics to play a role and serve their agenda in the community. This study identified a number of basic categories of feminist theory such as liberal feminist theory, feminist theory and radical socialist feminist theory to explain a number of approaches and practices that are used by women to get involved in politics before independence. In addition, the Third World feminist theory is also used to explain how women in Malaya simultaneously play two roles in the success of the agenda of feminism and nationalism during the struggles. Previous findings have shown that female political activists in Malaya adapted rightist and leftist approaches. During British rule, female political activists were adapting the maternal thinkers using their identity as a mother and based on female attributes to strive and provide interest in their struggle. Whilst female political activists follow the leftist, there was no emphasis on maternal thinkers but rather, the non- feminine attributes to strive against colonialism.