FEMINIST MOVEMENT IN SOUTH ASIA

There were vibrant women‟s movements in India, which demonstrate a range of

varied experience and trajectories. Culturally influential and politically
powerful. On its liberal side these movements campaigns for reproductive
rights, domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, women‟s suffrage and
sexual violence. On its radical side it includes women‟s liberation aswell as
cultural and grassroots projects. The movements brought about major changes
in the lives of women, and also everyday life in the India. Furthermore, the
women‟s movement changed the ways and thinking regarding women
subordination in India. The women’s movements and the various challenges
they faced:
As mention above, There were several women‟s movement, that generally,
raise questions of gender and its consequences. Different ideologies, modes of
action, complexity and disputes are raising some issues. The argument raise is
about the representation of women participation in politics, their contribution
and concern in term of gender inequality. There is no doubt women‟s status in
Vedic period was very high but after coming of invaders, especially Muslims?
Women‟s safety comes under a threat. This may show the patriarchal features
of Hindu society. According to some female critiques, Indian code is seen as a
culture that dominates women and denies , the freedom and empowerment. If
we talk about the social reform movement of the nineteenth century the state of
women condition was effected by the constituted bourgeoisie. The movements
raised the issue of Widows oppression, purdha, sati, female infanticide, growing
gender gap in education as some outcomes of fears for women‟s safety. For
instance it has been argued by some historians that the struggle over the
abolition of sati partha was largely carriedout by colonial rule. The nineteenth
century initiated this process of transformation in the social,religious, political
and in cultural sphere. Some revolutionary movements were dominated
conventionally by bourgeois. Feminist joined these movements for women‟s
emancipation and defended women‟s right. This shows the tremendous growth
of protest against patriarchal social structure. If we talk about the women‟s
significance and their role in nationalist movement. They have received
insufficient attention. It is important to note that, the large majority of women,
seeking for response to change the historical forces because they are the one
who have been unexplored and thus marginalized in history. The most common
thing between the women‟s movement that they all were fighting for
change There are so many questions that we need some satisfactory answers and
some answers for that we need relevant questions?
1) How does women‟s participation affect their position in their family?
 2) What changes that is brought by them in terms of equality?3) What factors
are common among all women participants? 4) What was the relationship
between nationalist ideology and women‟s issue? 5) What was the pattern of
women‟s participation in movements?  6) What was the role of media during
this period?

Different phases of women’s movements in India

 Social reform movement:
Social reform movement in India was a part of struggle that were made by
different social reformers. During this time, on one side, India was suffering
from stagnating traditional culture and society at very low ebb, while on the
other hand, India possessed a still traditional society in the throes and creative
excitement of modernizing and of emerging as a new nation. The nineteenth
century initiated this process of transformation in the religious, social,
economic, political and cultural spheres. The impact of the British empire
influenced administration, legislation, trade, network of communication,
industrialization and urbanization in India, affecting not only society as a whole
but also the traditional pattern of life. British scholars, educators and
missionaries also impacted the cultural filed. The reformers consciously reacted
to the new situation and advocated deliberate changes in social, religious and
customs. This social and religious reform movement arose among all
communities of the Indian people. Reformers, worked for abolition of castes
and untouchablitiy, purdah system, sati, childmarriage, women education and
social inequalities. Raja Rammohan Roy, abolished Sati in1929. His campaign
against sati aroused the opposition of the orthodox Hindus who bitterly attacked
women. For instance, the position of the nineteenth century high caste women
needs to be understood within the context of the patriarchal social system. The
caste hierarchy and gender hierarchy are the organizing principles of
the Brahmanical social order and are closely interconnected. The Brahmanical
patriarchy in early India reveals that the structure of social relations which
shaped gender was by achieving the compliance of women. There was the
caseof Pandita Ramabai, whose father was an unconventional social reformer
who began with socialtransformation in his own house by educating his wife
Lakshmi Bai even at the cost of beingexiled by his own community for this.
Lakshmibai taught her daughter as is recorded in, Pandita‟s book (1886) The
high caste Hindu women . The book argues on women oppression and the
treatment given to Hindu women throughout their life. She argues about the evil
in child marriage and the taboo associated with widowhood. She also talks
about the money and commercial nature of arrange marriages. She raised
the issue of inhuman expectation from the young girl .Marriage was like a
central theme as for a women. According to her, marriage is like hypocrisy of
old times, women were not allowed to say a single word in the decision making
or in choice for her husband, and Women were not considered as capable of
thinking about their future or any chance to give her opinion. Also in early
nineteenth century women were not encouraged to get an education. Some
people believed that if women were well educated it would ruin their marriage
prospects and to be harmful to their mind. Women‟s career was very limited so
people didn‟t think they needed the education in which men did. A lot of the
focus was to teach women how to run a household .The live of Indian women
began to change significantly in late 19th century when the colonial government
critical of the treatment of both Hindu and Muslims women, allies
among Indian reformers these men agreed that women should be educated and
play some role in public life. Pundit Ishwarchandra vidyasagar consolidated the
way for the remarriage for socially forsaken widows through the widow‟s
remarriage act no XVof 1856. He empathetically lamented the deep distress of
Indian womanhood. The air of reformation held high the urgency for castling
the enlightenment of education on women. The British government eager to
prove their liberal, ethical and pro-modernity attitude resorted to the women
question. This is the fundamental feminist question concerned with the rights
and progress of women. British denounced the exciting insignificance of Indian
womanhood and tried to initiate some feminist welfare activities to show their
social-cultural advancement. They took help of the indigenous modern minds
like Raja Rammohan Roy , Vidyasagar and other prominent Indians. As
mention above the early Vedic society, allowed girls to acquire knowledge, but
in the later society, the orthodox Brahmins introduced blind superstition, ritual
sand rigid customs which forbade girls from learning. We recognize a severe
disappointment of the western educational entrepreneurs with the oppression of
social norms. In Bengal the overriding tension was that „knowledge of letter‟
would teach female to oppress the meaningless coercion. The terrible situation
made women absolutely dependent on father in their childhood, then on
husband in marital life and then on the sons during their old age. As per
the customs, her life gets devoted in religious practices wishing for the long and
safe life of the male members of her family. Rassundari devi , the author of the
autobiographical, “Amar Jiban” she poignantly describes her in domitable
struggle for reaching the gateways of education. She records herchildhood
marriage, the daily task of household she explained the unspoken agony of a
younggirl. She has desire to read, she stole pages from a book and kept them in
kitchen at a hidden place. She teaches herself domestically as she write,“Is this
my destiny that I am a woman”? Just because of I am a woman does it
necessarily mean that trying to educate myself is a big crime in a patriarchal
society. Both Pandita Ramabai and Rassundari devi raised the issue related to
women education and child marriage. The Calcutta school society was built in
1816 to improve the status of female education .The church missionary society
tasted greater success insouth India. The importance of female education in
India cannot be over rated. Women educationstarted spreading its wings. The
outcome was the evolution of nineteenth century generation of the “new
woman” .The later half of this century started seeing the raise of Indian
womanhood to freedom and assertion. Kamini Roy, Pandita Ramabai,
Rassundari Devi were the celebrated examples of the “new woman” of this
time.
Do women movements will be strong enough tocounter the increasing
hegemony of fundamentalist. How much longer will this women‟s action
forum song hold true? No longer helpless, no longer weak It is only your
fancyThat we sleep, yet unconscious.However, women‟s movement gives a new
direction for women freedom from this so calledhegemonic society. It has been
changing the socio-political context in India, change is slow and painful but the
large section of Indian women has been improved by this.
Pre-Independent India
As we know, women movement in India began as social reform movement in
India in nineteenthcentury. The western ideas of liberty and equality were being
imbibed by the educated elitethrough the study of English. In India, the tradition
of women‟s st ruggles and movement against , gender injustice have been weak,
when compared to the women‟s movements in the western societies. In fact
emergence of women against oppression of patriarchy is quite slow. Most of the
women‟s writings of the eighteenth century reveal disenchantment with the
prevalence of patriarchy and gender inequalities rather than any kind of active
resistance or revolt againstthem. Women did try to go against the male
dominated society. The nineteenth century period women found themselves
totally suppressed by the male patriarch ideologies, though there was some
feminist awareness. However, this awareness did not get entertained into an
open andorganized struggle for survival. Though there were feelings of
deprivation and anger against theinjustice women was facing these remained
mostly latent, in later nineteenth century feminist movements have gained
expression due to similar factors? The women‟s movement in India can be seen
as forming three layers first during the national movement, when there was
mass mobilization of women for participation in the nationalist movement. The
late 1960s saw resurgence in women‟s political activity and can be called the
second layer. In the late 1970s thethird layer of the women‟s movement
emerged, which focused
on women‟s empowerment. Women have worked and participated in different
way in the movements and contributed their efforts individually.
Participation in the Nationalist movement
Resurgence in women‟s political activity Women‟s empowerment
Role in Freedom struggle
Significant development
Emergence of women‟s organization took place:
 1) The women‟s India association (WIA)
 2) All India women‟s conference (AIWC)
 3) The Bharat stri Mahamandal
4) Indian association for women‟s studies (IAWS)
 
Emergence of women‟s organization in India was in keeping with the spread of
education among the women and the various reform movements. They were
being carried out for women‟s rights. The educational experiments of the late
nineteenth and early twentieth century‟s produced a “new women”. For the very
First time in India‟s history women began to communicate with women outside
their families and local communities. It was the increased communication
which brought awareness among women regarding their rights and
responsibilities. The women organization was growing numbers of women
literate in the dialect which enabled them to learn about women‟s issue. These
groups of women segregated by traditional society were now getting together as
they sought the companionship of women like themselves. The lives and
conditions of women have been constantly marginalized in history. Apart from
very few feminist and women leaders were explored, mostly the mass of women
was entered into the women movement from the different region, but we know
only about few among them. They do not examine either the reasons on
the implications of this spontaneous upsurge of political activity by women of
all classes. The dominance of elite perspectives is best demonstrated by the
efforts of most historians to link women‟s participation in the struggles with
women‟s education or the social reform movement ignoring the large number
of women from the peasently and the working class, including prostitute who
took part in the various struggles directly or the thousand of housewives mostly
mothers and wives who provided in direct support by shouldering family
responsibilities when their men went to jail or got killed. It is surprising that the
socioeconomic impact of colonialism on women‟s lives and belief, turning
them into sources of radical inspiration. Exiting research on women and Indian
nationalism and Indian nationalism can therefore be described as non-
comprehensive and generally a “history from above” proper reconstruction of
this period of Indian history with a special focus on women‟s
political participation and the women‟s movement which was associated with a
part of and yet separate from national movement. The relevance of a study of
women‟s role in the national movement cannot be overestimated for either the
discipline of history or the study of women. It is interesting to note that while
early twentieth century historians and analyst were effusive in acknowledging
the contribution of the reform movements in improving women‟s status. Some
ofthe contemporary analyst of the movement keeps silent on these issues, not
even mentioning whythe status of women acquired such a centre stage focus in
all reform debates. Especially when the critiques are set within the context of
the discourses on „modernization ‟ „nationalism‟ or„revivalism‟ this
extraordinary omission appears to be doubtly curious. The political significance
of the women‟s question. The nation building project however needed far more
complex understanding. From the small associate ions and women‟s auxiliaries
of the Indian National congress and the National social conference came a
variety of organizations and associations that reflected women‟s concerns.
Women associations, called by various titles spread up all over India in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth century. They all shared the goal of bringing
women together to discuss women‟s issues. The first women organizations for
women were begun by men,Keshab Chandra Sen , the charismatic leader of the
Brahmo Samaj, developed educational programs. Those men were closely
involved with the Samaj from the beginning, especially thefamous prathana
samaj trio- G.R Bandavarkar, Narayan Ganesh Chandavakar, and
MahadevGovind Ranade were concerned with social reform, and principally
improving the status of women. These organizations became the medium for the
expressions of women‟s opinion. At the same time these organizations were a
training ground for women who would later take up leadership roles in politics
and social institutions. Those institutions later in turn and played an important
role in the construction of India nation very well. These associations was largely
western with its ideas and these were adapted to the Indian content and
developed in harmony with the concept of the “new women”- a companions to
man an ideal mother and a credit to her country.

Women in the Nationalist struggle

The period between the 1930s and 1947 marks Indian women‟s entry in to the
nationalist struggle for freedom. The nationalist cause was gathering strength
and women were called up onto serve the nation with their abilities of caring
and nurturing. Women have her own unique contribution to make for the
purpose of enriching life so that it may fulfill its own divine mission to
perfection. So in the struggle for freedom they are destined to play their
legitimate part and bear their share of the responsibility in breaking the chain
that weight heavily on people. Mahatma Gandhi had also discussed the
importance of women in social revolution, in reconstruction and in national
struggle. He attended the logic of “feminism” modes of protest of the whole .It
is argued that Gandhi “ feminism” nationalist politics is elaborate by
emphasizing Satyagraha and creating a special space for a women. The Bengal
women showed the way during the non-cooperation protest of 1921. Basanti
Devi, Urmila devi joined picketing lines courted arrest and precipitated a
broadening of the movement. Gandhi appreciated the value of
female picketeers. These efforts bore fruit in the civil disobedience movement
of the 1930s. In various parts of the country, from different region masses of
women took to the streets and joined picketing lines.
Women‟s participation legitimized the Indian national congress and
Gandhian politics. The role of women in the national movement has
concentrated on the contribution made by a handful of prominent women
leaders such as Sarojni Naidu,Vijaylakshmi Pandit and AnnieB asent. It was
also mention that recommendation made by the women‟s sub-committee of
the National planning committee set up by Nehru in (1930-40) that few attempts
were made up to improve the status of women. All they wanted was the
development of women based on the ideal of equality. The reason behind the
nationalist expressions for the participation of women in the public sphere.
 
Women should engage with nationalist politics despite constraints like the
purdah system,social backwardness and high rates of female illiteracy.
 
To show how they used the symbolic repertoire of the national movement and
the politicallanguage of Gandhi to facilitate their own participation.
 
To come out from the domestication by comprising their domestic values and
learn how tohandle the politicization of the domestic sphere when nationalism
entered household bethrough the activities of their husbands and sons 
To come out from the gender inequalities. Some of women also joined
the revolutionary movement transgressed stereotypical gender roles.
Pritilata waddedar, the most celebrated female martyr of the freedom
movementasked an important question related to dominant gender ideology of
nationalism:“I wonder why there should be any distinction between males and
females in a fight cause ofthe country‟s freedom. If our brothers can join a fight
for the cause of the motherland then why can‟t the sisters‟?
The pages of history are replete with high admiration for the historic exploits of
distinguished ladies. Then why should we, the modern Indian women,
be deprived of joining this noble fight to redeem our country from foreign
domination?” Many of women questioned on social restrictions on women‟s
mobility, the values of segregation and the discriminatory sexual morality
imposed on women. Moreover later on Gandhi exclaimed, views on women
from the concept of women‟s rights. The early seed of patriarchal tradition still
structurized the definition of women as subordinate to men. As we,know that
women had participated in different movement and raised their voice against the
dominant social structure. The role of women in the political sphere is very
significant her contribution in the nationalist movements and the problem and
implications she faced. We cannot fail to examine her significance in
the national movement. In this area so far they have received insufficient
attention but after 1975 the women‟s role in history began to acknowledge
again. There are some factual accounts most standard historians of the national
movement mention women‟s entry into the civil disobedience movements.
Women in revolutionary terrorism have also been described and women have
been occasionally discussed as a political nuisance. Some accounts of
contemporaries who participated in the movement refer to the strength and
broad base acquired by it as a whole through women participation.
The contemporary women’s movement
 
The nineteen seventies saw a renewal of common for the status of women and
the issue became significant for a range of actors including the state policy
makers, activists and academics. It had already clear that the kind of feminist
activity that had blossomed. Consequently, many of the people ask: what was
the present status of feminist? Our idea forth is that, the term feminism had not
died but it is giving a young form to feminism that will look very different from
earlier one. Here I would like to state about the earlier status of feminism or
women‟s movement, it was very useful for some feminist to begin to describe
their movement of feminism. It is useful to turn the pages in history
and reminded people that the current women‟s right and women‟s liberation
movement had a vulnerable past that all these movements were not historical
but part of long tradition of activism. The late nine teenth century and early
twentieth century feminist began to rewrite India‟s history involved rewriting
the new understanding of the suffrage movement including that the suffrage
movement was a part of nineteenth century movement around women‟s issue.
Somehow the in the history of century the feminist suggest the idea of the
gender activism. The movement obscures the differences in the ideas that have
motivated the different group of people. In early twentieth century, there were
large numbers of people who supported women‟s suffrage and who were
working to improve women‟s situation in other ways like supporting labor
legislation for women. An important strand of the feminist vision of thetime that
men and women were similar in fundamental ways and be treated as equal.
Withthe passage of time real changes in gender roles and relationship were
taking place.
Fluctuating identities of women
 The appropriate examples to categories women in different situation that how
she still has tocope up with some drastic belief of society .Kumud pawade is
a writer and activist from theIndian state of Maharashtra. She belonged
to Mahar community which is one of the untouchable‟s communities of India.
She has written her autobiography “The story of my Sanskrit”. She faced socio-
cultural problems even after 20 years of independence, still women has to face
economic, social and political implications of untouchability. Her
autobiography traces the path of a Dalit woman in the public sphere of
education and employment. The economic aspect of a person exposes the level
of bureaucracy and fake constitutional measures. The penetrating depth
and strength of untouchability becomes a reality when Pawade explains
how politicians remain mute when it comes for the right of the Dalit. These
social movements can be classified into women‟s movements, Dalit
movements, Tribal movements, Farmers movements and Human rights
movements. All these movements are aimed at acquiring and fight for different
sections and regions. Another instance is the roots of the Andhra Pradesh
women‟s movements which were began in 1946 and lasted till1951. Women
played an important role in the Telangana struggle. They had actively
participated in the land movement, in the agricultural labor wage struggles etc.
They acted as couriers, as political agitators and new centre‟s as organize of
people‟s movements. They had faced drastic molestation and rape apart from
severe beating. Their heroic and stubborn resistance in defense of their personal
dignity, against physical and mental torture is inspiring one. Government had
also taken some initiatives for women empowerment. Government approach for
some development in social, political and economic ways.
Gender equality
Gender justice
Social security
Eliminate discrimination against women 
Economic development After independence
The Gandhian Era and the decades after Independence have witnessed that there
is tremendous changes have done in the status of women in Indian society. The
constitution has laid down as a fundamental right the equality of sexes. But
the change from a position of utter degradation and subjugation of women in the
late nineteenth century and the position of equality in the middle of twentieth
century. Some revolutionary changes have taken place in the position of women
in India after independence. The constitution of India provided for special kind
of ways to be taken by the government to improve the status of women. A quick
and effective change in the status of women was contemplated through
social legislation. The constitution of India guarantees certain fundamental
rights and freedom for women such as protection of life and personal liberty.
Indian women are the beneficiaries of these rights in the same manner as the
Indian men. There are some judicial approach on women equality and some
views on how women enshrined within Indian law.
 
On women , equality and the constitution : through the looking glass of
feminism
In Ratna kapoor‟s essay “On women equality and constitution” It discusses
about the equality ofwomen enshrined within Indian law. It gives a view on
evaluation of the two competing modelsof equality formal verses substantive
equality. It illustrates the extent to which Indian law attempts are moving
towards a more substantive understanding of equality. It also examines the
competing approaches to the question of the relevance of gender difference.
Protectionist, sameness and corrective and then attempt to contextualize as per
count law on gender discrimination with these issues.
Formal versus substantive family
Equality has been treated as „treating like a likes‟, since ancient times. Its
constitutional expression in America as well as in India constitution states it that
those who similarly situated be treated similarly. Equality is treated with
sameness and it became the entitling criteria for equality. In contrast a
substantive model of equality begins with the recognition that equality some
times treat individual differently. If the court defines the class as different then
it justifies the differential treatment. The focus of a substantive equality
approach is actual impact of law rather than just equal treatment. There are
inequalities because of social , economic and educational background the
people and seeks the elimination of existing inequalities by positive measures,
substantive equality is eliminating individual , institutional and systemic
discrimination against disadvantages groups. According to this mode
as disabled persons are different, they do not have to be treated equally.
Judicial approaches to equality rights in India
The following section elaborates the equality rights as per articles of the Indian
constitution: Article 14-It guarantees equality before the law and equal
protection under the law. It allow the states to make classifications on
reasonable ground .The article embodies a guarantee againstarbitrariness.Article
15- I t prohibits discrimination on the ground of religion, race, caste, sex and
place of birth. As per 15(3) , which allows states to make special provisions
for women.Article16- It guarantees equality of opportunity and prohibits
discriminations in matters of employment
Judicial approaches to sex discrimination
The sex discrimination case law remains overly determined by a formal model
of equality. Thereare three major approaches in relevance of gender differences
protectionist, sameness and corrective. As per protectionist approach women are
constituted as weak and subordinate and are thus in need of protection. In this
approach the courts understanding of women‟s differences is asserted as
justification for differential treatment. This approach tends to essentialist the
difference i.e. to take the existence of the differences as natural. As per
sameness approach women are constructed as same as men and treated similarly
in law. As per corrective approach women are seen to require special treatment
as a result of past discrimination. Within this approach gender differences is
seen as relevant and requiring recognition in law. In the post-independent India
we had series of laws passed for the upliftment of women status. This
legislations have been brought in orders to give equal rights and privileges with
men, to eliminate discriminations against women, remove inequality between
sexes and remove external barriers coming in the ways of their development.
The important act passed for the upliftment ofwomen is:
1) The Hindu marriage Act of 1955
2) The Hindu adoption and maintenance Act of 1956
3) The Hindu succession Act of 1956: That woman has got equal rights in the
inheritance of family property.
4) The Dowry prohibition Act of 1961
5) The equal remuneration Act of 1976: This act does not permit wage
discrimination between male and female workers.
Conclusion
If we go through the whole concept of women movements and their struggle,
we will notice that no social change of much importance had been brought
about among them most of the women in villages are still illiterate and
backward they do not participate in the political, any social and economic life of
the nation. Rural women remaining backward and orthodox, due to tradition
,illiteracy, ignorance , social evils and many other factors. Hence, women
emancipation in rural India is still need some improvement and it is an essential
notion for social progress of the nation.