There are many layers to deconstruct in a discussion of nationalism and motherhood. I will try to start at the top and work down, but I may lose steam as I plow through so bear with me.
At the biggest level in my mind is the view of the nation itself as a mother. The “motherland” idea has been around for a very long time. In art, the nation is consistently represented by a woman- like Lady Liberty (France) shown here.
The idea of the nation as mother probably harkens back to the “Mother Earth/Mother Nature” idea- the land itself is a female goddess in many ancient religions. But there is definitely more to it: a woman, and especially a mother, is the very symbol of what should be protected. Soldiers must protect and defend the motherland as they would their own mother- the nation is the mother of all its citizens- but also as they would mothers in general who represent the only hope of their nation/race/cause surviving.
This is particularly interesting in contexts where women/mothers do fight (as in many anti-colonialist or other subversive movements, in Israel, recently in India). It adds a new dimension to the women-as-soldier debate because it implicitly reinforces the gender roles- women are to stay home and produce more soldiers for the nation while men go to fight. In many of the subversive movements, women are permitted to fight but not to hold leadership roles.
An interesting portrayal of this dichotomy can be found in the movie Whale Rider. Although the Maori are not at war, they are fighting a social battle, and their “nation” is in desperate need of protection. Although Paikea shows signs of leadership aptitude, and although she comes from the leading family and bears the prophet’s name which marks her as leader, she is not permitted to assume the role because as a woman she has other duties to the nation.
Then, there is this idea of a “national obligation” that women be mothers. The corollary to the gender roles decreed by this nationalistic ideal is that all women MUST be mothers and produce heirs to the national identity. This ties in with the “baby bust” idea (this article is about China, but it has also been highlighted in Western Europe and among white Americans). If population rates are falling below replacement levels, and particularly if the people in power are not at least replacing themselves, this becomes a national crisis, even though continued high birth rates elsewhere compensate for the species survival. The nation requires a constant input of new citizens by its mothers (and not just by immigration, implicitly). The expectation that women will reproduce gets tied up in these political nationalistic dialogues, reinforcing the social belief of the same.
In the Indian film The Terrorist, Malli finds herself torn between the “man’s role” of being a suicide bomber and sacrificing herself for her cause and the “woman’s role” of bearing the next generation of fighters. Her pregnancy confuses and distracts her from the role of hero/martyr. Although her motives for saving her unborn child’s life may be primarily selfish rather than nationalistic, the fact that she will also be simultaneously fulfilling her obligation to the nation by producing its heir does complicate the picture of the film. In this film as well, the leaders of the movement are men. She is trained by men. She is a very good soldier and loyal to the cause, but we get the feeling in the movie that the cause is a heavily MALE cause.
Malli’s involvment can be traced back to her brother- not necessarily to her own drive- and these factors as well complicate the picture of nationalism. To what extent are women/mothers involved in the planning and conceptualizing of a nation and to what extent are they merely its objects? Can a woman feel identity with an idea which she could not play a role in defining and whose ideals may not always coincide with her own? Is her identity always tied to that of her family- her father, her brothers, her sons? If they are identified with the nation, and she is identified with them as family, is she by extension identified with the nation? Or is her identity with the nation separate from theirs? These questions tie back historically to questions of women’s citizenship.
I am sure that the answers to these questions and the roots at the center of this immense tangled web of nationalism, womanhood, and motherhood, are all tied as well to time and place. I am sure that solving the puzzle for America today would yield a different answer than for India today, and both would yield different answers from either Europe or India 500 years ago. Nationalism is constantly evolving, and womenhood/motherhood have (at least recently) been evolving as well.
