The women's movement in India (I): Feminist figures before and within its first phase and second phase (original) (raw)
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WOMEN AND SOCIAL MOVEMENT IN INDIA: HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY DIMENSION
Addaiyan Journal of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, 2018
Indian society represented a conflicting position of women vacillating between extremes of patriarchy and matriarchy. In this Indian society, the coming of British rule again led to usage of the women question which figured prominently in their colonial discourses. The colonized society was considered to be “effeminate” in character, as opposed to “colonial masculinity” which was held to be a justification for its loss of independence. The journey of confluence and conflict of gender and colonialism in India was multidimensional and multilayered. Indian women congested for their legitimate space in society challenging the overarching patriarchal set up and also participated in the national struggle for independence. Women’s participation in the Indian national movement expended base of women’s movement in India. The freedom struggle saw the participation of women from passive to active to an activist’s role. The involvement of a really large number of women in freedom struggle began with Gandhi who gave special role to women. The participation of women in public domain started during Non-Cooperation Movement (NCM), 1920 when Gandhi mobilized a large number of women. Though the domestic sphere and its fetter proved detrimental for women to participate in public space but this very segregation helped to organize their activities in the domestic sphere. In the absence of the male who would be jailed for his involvement in nationalist activity, women become the emotional support. The female activism in Quit India movement was visible most significantly. Sucheta Kripalini coordinated the non-violent Satyagraha while women also participated in underground revolutionary activities. Aruna Asaf Ali provided leadership for these activities. Mahila Atmaraksha Samiti or Women Self Defense was formed in 1942 in Bengal by leftist women leaders who mobilized the rural women to fright against colonial policies. Subhash Chandra Bose also added a womens regiment to his INA(1943) called the Rani of Jhansi Regiment. Muslim women leaders like Bi Amman, mother of Shaukat and Muhammad Ali, who participated in Khilafat & Non Cooperation Movement at a meeting in Punjab. In 1938, Muslim league started women Sub-Committee to engage Muslim women.
Mumbai (Women's Feature Service) - Mumbai has, in many senses, been the birthplace of the Indian women's movement. The last quarter of the 19th century saw the seeds being sown in what was then the Bombay Presidency. Social reformers like Jyotiba Phule and Savitribai Phule fought female infanticide, widow-burning and the segregation of women from the public life, among other concerns. They also organised public functions for widow remarriage and worked for legal reform. Interestingly, as the new century dawned, many women from Bombay's wealthy families turned philanthropists, helping to set up educational institutions, shelter homes and vocational training centres. It was from such institutions that the first generation of women professionals emerged: Teachers, nurses, skilled workers and white collar employees, such as typists, clerks, accountants and secretaries. There is an enormous amount of literature from that time in Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati and English that bears witness to these path-breaking efforts. The first generation of English-educated Mumbai women became founders of the nascent women's movement in pre-independence India. Most of them channelised their energies into building pioneering organisations like the All India Women's Conference (AIWC), the Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) and the Anjuman-e-Islam. They fought against child marriage, promoted women's education, mobilised public opinion in favour of voting rights for women, and established institutions to impart basic professional and domestic skills. The beginning of the 20th century saw women's wide-scale participation in the national independence movement under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. During the Quit India Movement of 1942, for instance, even women from conservative families gave up the 'purdah', came out on the streets, courted arrest and faced imprisonment. But it was the post-independence period that saw Mumbai's women coming forward in large numbers to help build the new nation. They contributed to various fields, from politics to films, from music to scholarship. It was their pathbreaking contributions that laid the foundation for the Indian women's movement as we know it today. There are many women who could figure in the list of greats. For this piece, I will focus on three near contemporaries: Mrinal Gore, who was at the forefront of the first initiative of what came to be known as the "new women's movement" - the anti-price rise struggle of 1972; visionary academic, Dr Neera Desai, who saw the importance of framing women's action and experience in academic and policy terms; and outstanding educationist Madhuri Shah, who went on to institutionalise Women's Studies as a discipline within the university system in India.
Changing status of women in Indian politics (1917-1947): the role of civil society
The role and status of women in politics has been radically changed in the last century. The political activities of Indian women can be traced back to the second half of nineteenth century, which got a remarkable shape in the early twentieth century, more specifically during the Non Co-operation Movement in 1920’s. The various social movements throughout the nineteenth century promoted the incorporation of women in Indian politics. It may be argued that these civil societal movements took an enormous role in promoting or enhancing the mode of mass participation in politics irrespective of men and women. Since mass participation is regarded as one of the most important ingredients of any political system, the significance of civil society in promoting the women questions should be acknowledged from this point of view. The main object of this paper is to focus on the role of various civil societal associations in pre-independent India to promote women’s participation in politics. Key words: Women in politics, Indian politics, Civil Society Pre-independent India, Social movements
The Indian Journal of Public Administration, 2015
The women s movement in India has had a chequered history. It has evolved over time from being hand-held by men to finding and devising its own praxis and momentum. The movement is also layered with multiple narratives, some of which are dominant and some marginal, some national and some local, which are, however, not exclusive but also often speak to each other. This article attempts to make sense of the multiple meanings and trajectories of the women s movement in India from various historical, empirical and theoretical vantage points. It tries to capture the range of issues that the women s movement in India has been associated with as also the debates that have animated the activists and commentators. Finally, it locates the women s movement within the context of economic libera/isation mapping its responses and use of various resources to deal with a new political economy and its concomitant effects.
The History of Feminism and Doing Gender in India
Seção Temática, 2018
The present paper looks at the historical background of the rise of feminism and women’s movement and doing gender in India. Not only in India but all over the world there has been a close link between feminism and the women’s movement, each inspiring and enriching the other. In the Indian context, while the women’s movement is a much earlier phenomenon, the term Feminism is a modern one. Feminism comprises a number of social, cultural and political movements, theories and moral philosophies concerned with gender inequalities and equal rights for women. In the pre-independence era, the women’s movement began as a social reform movement in the 19th century. At this time, the western idea of liberty, equality and fraternity was being imbibed by our educated elite through the study of English and the contact with west. This western liberalism was extended to the women’s question and was translated into a social reform movement. In the post-Independence period during the first few decades, the major concern was for overall economic growth. This was immediately followed by another decade, which witnessed an increased concern for equity and poverty alleviation. Gender issues were subsumed in poverty related concerns and there were no such specific programs, which aimed at women. In the postindependence period, the women’s movement has concerned itself with a large number of issues such as dowry, women’s work, price rise, land rights, political participation of women, Dalit women and marginalized women’s right, growing fundamentalism, women’s representation in the media etc. and a large number of Non-Government organizations have taken up this issue. Women’s studies and now Gender studies is also an off shoot of the long history of women’s movement in India. Various women’s studies Centres have been set up and today again these are at the brink of disappearing from the radar and there is a struggle which is now going on. Though a lot needs to be achieved and there are various impediments in making this reality available to a large section of women, the women’s movement has brought women’s issues center stage and made them more visible.
FEMINIST MOVEMENT IN INDIA ANAMIKA 1 & GARIMA TYAGI 2
Impact Factor(JCC): 1.3648-This article can be downloaded from www.impactjournals.us ABSTRACT In India, feminist movement was started as a reform movement for women and its credit goes to some great social reformers who were mainly men e.g. Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Mahatama Gandhi, Justice Ranade & Ishwar Chand Vidhyasagar etc. Later on it was joined by some great women icon of India as Sarojini Naidu, Indira Gandhi & many more. In the end of the nineteenth century, when women in India were suffering a lot from disabilities like Child Marriage, practice of Polygyny, sale of Girls for marriage purposes, severe restrictions on widows, non-access to education & restricting oneself to domestic & child rearing functions, these social reformers raised their voice against those social taboos, fought for women right of inheritance, pleaded for educating women & to treat daughter & sons equally. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi addressed the All India Women's Conference in 1980 & said, " I have often said that, I am not a Feminist, yet, in my concern for the unprivileged, how I can ignore women who, since the beginning of History, have been dominated over & discriminated against in social custom & in-laws. We need women to be more interested, more alive & more active, not because they are women, but because they do comprise half the human race. " Though the social status of Indian women has witnessed a great deal of change in the past few decades, still there are various issues mainly concerned with the equal status of women in society and need more severe dialogue. Time is the most volatile element in the human life and this 'volatile' time is marching ahead changing the itinerary and flow of the living beings on this planet and has sown the seeds for a new culture in Indian society & years of lengthy speeches by feminists on women empowerment & equality have finally started to reap a few fruits. Surely it is a welcome change for Nation to be cheered about.
Feminism In India : Post- Independence Status of Women
Career is the sphere in which a person's individuality is expressed and rewarded. A woman's commitment to a career reflects her desire to fulfil her own potential. It amounts to the rejection of an identity based solely on a relationship-as a mother, wife or a daughter. An Indian woman, in the past, has been denied of opportunities to come up professionally in life. Early marriage and Purdah system confined her to her home. Her identity is deeply embedded in the entire family and her roles as wife and mother were given importance. During the Period (1850-1915), the colonial venture into modernity brought concepts of democracy, equality and individual rights. The rise of the concept of nationalism and introspection of discriminatory practices brought about social reform movements related to caste and gender relations. This first phase of feminism in India was initiated by men to uproot the social evils of sati (widow immolation), 43 to allow widow remarriage, to forbid child marriage, and to reduce illiteracy, as well as to regulate the age of consent and to ensure property rights through legal intervention. In addition to this, some upper caste Hindu women rejected constraints they faced under Brahminical traditions. However, efforts for improving the status of women in Indian society were somewhat thwarted by the late nineteenth century, as nationalist movements emerged in India. These movements resisted 'colonial interventions in gender relations' particularly in the areas of family relations. In the mid to late nineteenth century, there was a national form of resistance to any colonial efforts made to 'modernise' the Hindu family. This included the Age of Consent controversy that erupted after the government tried to raise the age of marriage for women. During the period (1915-1947) the struggle against colonial rule intensified. Nationalism became the pre-eminent cause. Claiming Indian superiority became the tool of cultural revivalism resulting in an essentialising model of Indian womanhood similar to that of Victorian womanhood: special yet separated from public space. Gandhi legitimised and expanded Indian women's public activities by initiating them into the non-violent civil disobedience movement against the British Raj. He exalted their feminine roles of caring, self-abnegation, sacrifice and tolerance; and carved a niche for those in the public arena. Peasant women played an important role in the rural satyagrahas of Borsad and Bardoli. Women-only organisations like All India Women's Conference (AIWC) and the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) emerged. Women were grappling with issues relating to the scope of women's political participation, women's franchise, communal awards, and leadership roles in political parties.