SOCIOLOGY

PROJECT REPORT OF
SOCIOLOGY

TOPIC - FEMINISM - LIBERAL AND

RADICAL APPROACH

Submitted to:-

Compiled by:-

Mrs. Daizy

Mohit Munjaal
Roll No. 197/11
8th Semester
UILS, PU
Chandigarh
INTRODUCTION
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SOCIOLOGY
The term feminism is derived from the Latin word, femina meaning women,
it originally meant having the qualities of females. It began to be used with
reference to the movement for sexual equality and womens rights, replacing
womanism in the 1890s. Dictionaries define it as the advocacy of womens rights
based on the belief in the equality of the sexes, and in its broadest use the word
refers to everyone who is aware of, and seeking to end, womens subordination to
man.Charles Fourier, a Utopian Socialist and French philosopher, is credited

with having coined the word "feminism" in 1837 1. Feminism is a collection of

movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending
equal political, economic, and social rights for women. This includes seeking
to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment.
Depending on historical moment, culture and country, feminists around the
world have had different causes and goals. Most western feminist historians
assert that all movements that work to obtain women's rights should be
considered feminist movements, even when they did not apply the term to
themselves. While other historians assert that the term should be limited to
the modern feminist movement and its descendants. But, basically a feminist
advocates or supports the rights and equality of women. Feminist theory,
which emerged from these feminist movements, aims to understand the
nature of gender inequality by examining women's social roles and lived
experience; it has developed theories in a variety of disciplines in order to
respond to issues such as the social construction of sex and gender. Some of
the earlier forms of feminism have been criticized for taking into account
only white, middle-class, educated perspectives. This led to the creation of
ethnically specific or multi-cultural forms of feminism. Feminist theory is the
extension of feminism into theoretical or philosophical fields. It encompasses
work in a variety of disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, economics,
women's

studies,

literary

criticism,

art

history,

psychoanalysis

and

philosophy. Feminist theory aims to understand gender inequality and

1 Goldstein, L., Early Feminist Themes in French Utopian Socialism: The St.Simonians and Fourier, (1982), Journal of the History of Ideas, vol.43, p. 92
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SOCIOLOGY
focuses on gender politics, power relations, and sexuality. While providing a
critique of these social and political relations, much of feminist theory also
focuses on the promotion of women's rights and interests.
In the present discussion I would like to discuss feminism in the Indian
context which over a period of time has carved a distinct and separate niche
for itself due to its several distinctive features based mainly on the on the
diversified socio-cultural facets of India. Feminism in India has been a long,
unsettled debate which is still persistently prevalent in various forms. Indian
feminist researchers or Women Studies researchers have not yet been able
to define Indian Feminism. Unlike western feminism, Indians dont have
any clear cut corpus of writing which can categorically be referred to as
feminism or feminist writing/theory. Until the 1990s, Indian feminist
scholars were not engaged in academic conversation within the corpus of
what is a western-dominated international academic feminism. Indian
feminism has always been looked down upon due to the sparseness of
theoretical writings which could grasp the crux of the problems of the Indian
women, its inevitable and unavoidable association with western feminism
and the existence of a recurrent sense of evasion, ambivalence and
ambiguity towards the term feminism itself. Feminism in India can be
defined as a set of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and
defending equal political, economic, and social rights and equal opportunities
for Indian women. It is the pursuit of women's rights within the society of
India. Like their feminist counterparts all over the world, feminists in India
seek gender equality: the right to work for equal wages, the right to equal
access to health and education, and equal political rights 2. From anti-dowry
campaigns in the '80s, to anti-rape demonstrations in the '90s, Indian
feminism has taken a trajectory that has brought it into closer contact with
the spontaneous struggles of women throughout the country. Indian
2 Ray, Raka Fields of Protest: Women's Movements in India, (1999) University of
Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, page 13.
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SOCIOLOGY
feminists also have fought against culture-specific issues within India's
patriarchal society, such as inheritance laws and the practice of widow
immolation known as Sati. Despite the progress made by Indian feminist
movements, women living in modern India still face many issues of
discrimination. India's patriarchal culture has made the process of gaining
land-ownership rights and access to education challenging. In the past two
decades, there has also emerged a disturbing trend of sex-selective abortion.
To Indian feminists, these are seen as injustices worth struggling against.
The above mentioned topic has been discussed in a detailed and analytical
manner in various upcoming sections.

Various phases of the feminist movement in India.

Unlike the Western feminist movement, India's movement was initiated
by men, and later joined by women. The efforts of these men included
abolishing sati, which was a widow's death by burning on her husband's
funeral pyre, the custom of child marriage, abolishing the disfiguring of
widows, banning the marriage of upper caste Hindu widows, promoting
women's education, obtaining legal rights for women to own property, and
requiring the law to acknowledge women's status by granting them basic
rights in matters such as adoption. The 19th century was the period that saw
a majority of women's issues come under the spotlight and reforms began to
be made. Much of the early reforms for Indian women were conducted by
men. However, by the late 19th century they were joined in their efforts by
their wives, sisters, daughters, protges and other individuals directly
affected by campaigns such as those carried out for women's education. By
the late 20th century, women gained greater autonomy through the
formation of independent women's own organizations. By the late thirties
and forties a new narrative began to be constructed regarding "women's
activism". This was newly researched and expanded with the vision to create

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SOCIOLOGY
'logical' and organic links between feminism and Marxism, as well as with
anti-communalism and anti-casteism, etc. The Constitution of India did
guarantee 'equality between the sexes,' which created a relative lull in
women's movements until the 1970s 3. The history of the Indian feminist
movements can be categorized into three different phases with each phases
dealing with the various aspects of the same issues.

First phase: 18501915

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), 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 'modernize' the Hindu family. This included the Age of
Consent controversy that erupted after the government tried to raise the
age of marriage for women4.

Second Phase: 1915 - 1947

3 Kumar, Radha, The History of Doing- Kali for Women, New Delhi, (1998).
4 Gangoli, (2007), pages 8889.
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SOCIOLOGY
During this period the struggle against colonial rule intensified. Nationalism
became the pre-eminent cause. Claiming Indian superiority became the tool
of cultural revivalism resulting in an essential model of Indian womanhood
similar to that of Victorian womanhood: special yet separated from public
space. Gandhi legitimized 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.
Women-only organizations 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.5The 1920s was a new era for Indian women and is defined as
'feminism' that was responsible for the creation of localized women's
associations. These associations emphasized women's education issues,
developed livelihood strategies for working class women, and also organized
national level women's associations such as the All India Women's
Conference. AIWC was closely affiliated with the Indian National Congress.
Under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, it worked within the nationalist
and anti-colonialist freedom movements. This made the mass mobilization of
women an integral part of Indian nationalism. Women therefore were a very
important part of various nationalist and anti-colonial efforts, including the
civil disobedience movements in the 1930s 6. This phase of the nationalist
played a significant role in bringing out the women as feminists. The mass
participation of the women on the freedom movement developed their
critical consciousness regarding their rights and status in the independent
Indian society. This period can be termed as the transitional period whereby
5 Sen, Amartya, The Many Faces of Gender Inequality -The New Republic, 17
September 2001; p. 39
6 Ibid.
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SOCIOLOGY
the women replaced the men as the flag-bearers of the feminist movement
in India.

Third Phase - Feminism: Post-1947

Post independence feminists began to redefine the extent to which women
were allowed to engage in the workforce. Prior to independence, most
feminists accepted the sexual divide within the labor force. However,
feminists in the 1970s challenged the inequalities that had been established
and fought to reverse them. These inequalities included unequal wages for
women, relegation of women to 'unskilled' spheres of work, and restricting
women as a reserve army for labor. In other words, the feminists' aim was to
abolish the free service of women who were essentially being used as cheap
capital.7 Feminist class-consciousness also came into focus in the 1970s, with
feminists recognizing the inequalities not just between men and women but
also within power structures such as caste, tribe, language, religion, region,
class etc. This also posed as a challenge for feminists while shaping their
overreaching campaigns as there had to be a focus within efforts to ensure
that fulfilling the demands of one group would not create further inequalities
for another. Now, in the early twenty-first century, the focus of the Indian
feminist movement has gone beyond treating women as useful members of
society and a right to parity, but also having the power to decide the course
of their personal lives and the right of self-determination8.

7 Supra 3.
8 Ibid.
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SOCIOLOGY

Change in the perspective of feminism (after

1990s) and its impact on the Indian society.
The feminism in the Indian society has come a long way since the
independence. In the due course it has underwent a series of changes
making it more bold and dynamic. The feminist movement that started in
India during late 1990s can be termed more as a radical feminism but still
there certain feminist who deny to this fact.
Radical Feminism was the result of the disillusionment resulted from
the failure of Marxist Feminism. According to radical feminists, in order to
liberate women, it is not capitalism that is to be overthrown but patriarchy.
Above all, they opposed the growing sexual crimes against women. The
analyses of radical feminism points out the need for women to escape from
cages of forced motherhood and sexual slavery. Hence, the immediate goal
of radical feminist politics is for women to regain control over their own
bodies. In the long run, the radical feminists seek to overthrow patriarchy
and to create a new society informed by the radical feminist values of
wholeness, trust and nurturance of sexuality, joy and mildness. Radical
Feminists see mens domination of women as the result of the system of
patriarchy which is independent of all other social structures that is, it is
not a product of capitalism9.
On the other the feminists who deny the fact that the feminist
movement taking place in the Indian society is a radical form of feminism
argue that the particular movement going on in the Indian society cannot be
9 Freedman, Feminism, p. 5.
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SOCIOLOGY
termed as a radical form of feminism rather than it is sort of feminist
movement with the post-modern philosophy forming its basis. Postmodern
feminism emerges from two main sources. First, out of criticisms of
modernist

feminist

postmodern

and

theorizing

and

post-structural

second,

thought.

perhaps

Following

obviously,
this,

from

postmodern

feminists are equally keen to expose the flaws and weaknesses of traditional
feminisms, particularly with regard to their modernist commitments. One of
the significant aspects is the destabilization of the category of woman. It is
certainly the case that postmodernists are keen to develop ideas about the
social

world

that

do

not

rely

on

the

traditional

understanding 10.

Contemporary postmodern feminism thus emerges out of the conflicts within

feminist theorizing and the influence of postmodernist thought. Postmodern
feminism

thus

is

aligned

with

the

deconstructive

strategies

of

postmodernism in general but has a specific interest in gender and the

feminine/female11.
The contemporary Indian womens movement is a complex, variously
placed, and fertile undertaking. It is perhaps the only movement today that
encompasses and links such issues as work, wages, environment, ecology,
civil rights, sex, violence, representation, caste, class, allocation of basic
resources, consumer rights, health, religion, community, and individual and
social relationships. Perhaps the most significant development for women in
the last few decades has been the introduction of 33% reservation for
women in local, village-level elections. In the early days, when this move was
introduced, there was considerable skepticism. Another development to
watch with interest is the diasporic links among Indian womens groups. This
diasporic network is unusual and could become an important source of
mobilization against communal identity politics.
10 Zalewski, Feminism after Postmodernism, p. 17.
11 Zalewski, Feminism after Postmodernism, p. 26.
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SOCIOLOGY

Impact of feminist movement in Indian Society

The feminist thought and feminist movement in the west have some
influence on the womans movement in the developing country like India. Yet,
feminism as it exists today in India has gone beyond its western counter parts.
Uma Narayan rightly puts it third world feminism is not mindless mimicking of
western agenda in one clear and simple sense. Until the 1990s, Indian feminist
scholars were not engaged in academic conversation within the corpus of what
is a western-dominated international academic feminism. Indian feminism has
always been looked down upon due to the sparseness of theoretical writings
which could grasp the crux of the problems of the Indian women, its inevitable
and unavoidable association with western feminism and the existence of a
recurrent sense of evasion, ambivalence and ambiguity towards the term
feminism itself. The impact of the feminism in the Indian society can be best in
the areas of the literature, academics and in the politics. Here, I would like to
cite certain feminist who are in the same line regarded as the best known
feminists of India. Indian writing in English is now gaining ground rapidly. In the
realm of fiction, it has heralded a new era has earned many laurels both at
home and abroad. Indian woman writers have started questioning the prominent
old patriarchal domination. Today, the works of Kamla Markandaya, Narayan
Sahgal, Anita Desai, Geetha Hariharan, Shashi Deshpande, Kiran Desai and
Manju Kapur and many more have left an indelible imprint on the readers of
Indian fiction in English. A major development in modern Indian fiction is the
growth of a feminist or women centered approach, that seeks to project and
interpret experience, from the point of a feminine consciousness and sensibility.
As Patricia Meyer Specks remarks:
There seems to be something that we call a womens point of view on
outlook sufficiently distinct to be recognizable through the countries. 12

12 Patricia Meyer Specks, Feminist Sensuality, Antwerp, 2002, p. .37.

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SOCIOLOGY
Shobha De, a supermodel, celebrity journalist and the well-known author
stands as a pioneer in the field of popular fiction and ranks among the first to
explore the world of the urban woman in India. She has given importance to
womens issues and they are dealt with psychology in her style of intimate
understanding. Her novels indicate the arrival of a new Indian woman, eager to
defy rebelliously against the well-entrenched moral orthodoxy of the patriarchal
social system, eager to find their identity in their own way. Her female
characters break all shackles of customs and traditions that tie them in the
predicaments and rein in their freedoms and rights. They are not against the
entire social system and values but are not ready to accept them as they are.
Her female characters are modern, strong and take bold decisions to survive in
society. This secures her position in literature as a feminist novelist.

Similar, is the situation in the area of politics. Discussing the importance of

the women in the scene of Indian politics would be a futile job because for
the fact that the active participation of women in the politics in India is
second to none. But, there is a high level of discrepancy in the ratio of men
and women when the question is about the top positions. Although the
provisions for a women reservation bill has been made whereby 33%
reservation is given to the women in the local and the state govt. have been
all but futile. Although the situation do seem to be grim in the arena of the
politics but the situation is developing gradually with the women being given
certain positions of authority. But, still it is far from satisfactory.

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SOCIOLOGY
To critically analyze the Indian feminism in relation to the
western feminism.
Feminism has attracted attention due to its impact in social change in the Indian society.
While feminism in some forms is generally accepted, dissenting voices do exist. Many people
object to the feminist movement as trying to destroy traditional gender roles. They say that men
and women have many natural differences and that everyone benefits from recognizing those
differences. Although the Indian women movement can legitimately claim a rich, unique history,
but the recent upheavals are forcing us to reconceptualise (or, it could be argued, to conceptualise
for the first time) the basic concepts of patriarchy, gender and empowerment. It is not for nothing
that some of the current debates affecting women, such as those around a uniform civil code, or
reservations for women in Parliament none of them new issues --- are nonetheless raising far
reaching questions for which existing answers are inadequate. More to the point, the current
mood in feminist circles is anything but complacent. The Indian feminism has been criticised on
certain points chalked out in relation to the western feminist movement.

Most criticisms of Feminist perspectives have stemmed from Feminists

themselves (this is sometimes referred to as an "internal critique" (that is,
one that comes from various writers
working within the same broad perspective). The following points refer to this
kind of
internal critique...
1. Liberal Feminism
a. Liberal Feminists have focused their attention upon "equality of
opportunity" between males and females. They have largely ignored the
study of social structural factors that other Feminists see as a basic cause of
inequality in Capitalist societies (for example, patriarchy and the inequalities
created by Capitalist forms of economic production).

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SOCIOLOGY
b. Liberal Feminists have been criticised for their failure to understand that in
any society that is fundamentally unequal in its economic and social
structure "equality of opportunity" is a fairly meaningless concept. In a
society divided along class lines and driven by economic exploitation, women
- like working class men - are at a fundamental economic disadvantage.
2. Radical Feminism.
a. There is no real evidence that women constitute a "sex class", since it is
clear that apart from a common biological structure, women may have no
real shared interests "as a class apart from men". It is difficult to see, for
example, what "common interests" are shared by upper class and working
class women - aside from the fact that they are women. The experiences and
life chances of upper class females are significantly different to those of
working class females where the position of the former may be closer to that
of men than to their working class counterparts.
b.

The

primary

importance

attached

to

patriarchy

downgrades

the

importance of concepts like social class and ethnicity. For Marxist Feminists,
patriarchy itself stems from the way in which women are generally exploited
economically.
c. To view women as a "sex class" whose basic interest involves
emancipation from men would leave unresolved the problem of economic
exploitation.
d. Radical Feminism tends to overlook the fact that the general position of
women in society has changed over time and this can only be explained in
terms of wider economic and political changes in society.

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SOCIOLOGY
e. Socialist Feminists do not see women as a "sex class", nor do they see all
men as "the class enemy". Not all male / female relationships are
characterised by oppression and exploitation, for example. Technological
"solutions" to female exploitation are also viewed with suspicion (since
control over development and exploitation of technology has traditional been
a male preserve), as is the idea that a matriarchal society is somehow
superior and preferable to a patriarchal society.
f. Radical Feminists over-emphasise factors that separate women from men
their biological anatomy in particular - over-stating the significance of
biological differences - and also unsubstantiated / uncritical assumptions
about male and female psychology.

3. Socialist Feminism.
a. This form of Feminism underplays the significance of Capitalist forms of
exploitation.
b. Socialist Feminism is criticised for being neither revolutionary nor radical
enough to create lasting solutions to the problem of female economic and
social exploitation.

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SOCIOLOGY
CONCLUSION
It is important to recognize that for a country of Indias magnitude, change in male
female relations and the kinds of issues the womens movement is focusing on, will not come
easy. For every step the movement takes forward, there will be a possible backlash, a possible
regression. But this backlash could lead to positive results. The women, who are denied
opportunities to come forward and hence oppressed, are more motivated to take up the cause
more seriously. This makes possible for women who can aspire to, and attain, the highest
political office in the country, and for women to continue to have to confront patriarchy within
the home, in the workplace, throughout their lives. The womens movement in India today is a
rich and vibrant movement, which has spread to various parts of the country. It is often said that
there is no one single cohesive movement in the country, but a number of fragmented campaigns.
Activists see this as one of the strengths of the movement which takes different forms in different
parts. While the movement may be scattered all over India, they feel it is nonetheless a strong
and plural force.
In India, womens movement is beginning to show results. The society accepts the
equality of both sexes. The Indian society is still patriarchal and hence the space for women to
actualize and to assert themselves is limited. Yet we hope that womens movement will lead to a
more radical feminist movement. This does not mean that we are going to ape the Western
feminism. An authentic Indian way of being feminine has to be sought and put into practice by
the Indian feminists. Third wave feminism suggests that women are different and distinct. The
well-being of the society depends on each man and woman; neither can develop without the
other. The feminist movement in India invites Indians to affirm the uniqueness of the feminine,
to cherish their uniqueness and thus giving them a right place in human society, because it is a
woman who ultimately is responsible for the uplift of the society. Therefore, the future is
predicted to be bright and clear with dreams unlimited.
Feminism of today marches into this heaven of freedom where the world has not been
broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls of division, exploitation, domination, over
the other. That is the dream of feminism, the desire of a true human society, of a true human
world. As Margaret Mead has rightly pointed out, feminism is fundamental to the change. It is
fully integrated into evolution and it implies a real transformation of humanity, of the totality, not
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SOCIOLOGY
only for women, but also for men. On this depends in a big way the revival of the world; it is a
consciousness which has already begun to emerge slowly and insistently, but the repercussions
are yet to be foreseen and identified.

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