INTRODUCTION

The beginning of women’s movements can be observed first from a

social reform movement in the 19th century. During the colonial period
women’s movements in India were born out of the same historical
circumstances and social milieu as earlier 19th century social reform
movements, which provoked a new thinking about various social
institutions, practices and social reform legislations. The women’s
movements ideological and social content changed from time to time
and continued into our times. The movement in its entirety can be
divided into three distinct phases.

Phase I Social reform movement, national movement and social

reform legislation in the colonial period.

Phase II Women’s movements in the post colonial period.

Phase III Women’s movements in India since the 1970s.
Patriarchy, caste system and
several other social and religious ideas and practices which have
originated in the ancient Indian social milieu continue to dominate our
anthropological thinking about the social status and position of Indian
women and are still relevant issues and therefore when one discusses
them a historical overview is a necessity.
 POSITION OF WOMEN IN INDIA
Society has been patriarchal for most part of recorded history. It is
difficult to talk about the position and status of women, with all women
being categorised as uniform. There has been infinite variation on the
status of women depending on the culture, class, caste, family structure
and property rights. Even while women have right to kinship systems,
the entire mechanisms of marriage, descent, residence and inheritance
are rarely organised in such a way as to guarantee women access to
resources or to allow them to secure access for other women. In fact
under patriarchal order kinship, conjugal and familial systems tend to
construct women in such a way that they hardly live as independent
beings and they are seen only in relation to men, thus depriving women
of their selfhood and agency . Hence for a proper understanding of the
social reform movements for the development of women in India it is
necessary to examine the historical background that necessitated and
brought about social reforms. In Indian history, we see major shifts in
the position of women in different periods and some of these changes
are reflected in the texts that prescribe codes of behaviour and therefore
capture the dominant worldview of the period.

WOMEN’S MOVEMENTS IN THE COLONIAL

PERIOD
The women’s movements in the colonial period are mainly of two
different concerns:

1. Social reform movements

2. Nationalist movements

1. SOCIAL REFORM MOVEMENT

 The colonial intervention in the 19th century intruded into the
areas of our culture and society and this affected
transformation in our social fabric.
 This potential threat was sensed by the Indian intellectual
reformers, exposed to western ideas and values.
 At this juncture, the Indian intellectual reformer sensitive to
the power of colonial domination and responding to Western
ideas of rationalism and liberalism sought ways and
means of resisting this colonial hegemony.
 This cultural defense resulted in a paradoxical situation.
o Spurred by new European ideas of rationalism and
progress, the reformers tried to create a new society,
modern yet rooted in Indian tradition.
 They began a critical appraisal of Indian society in an attempt
to create a new ethos devoid of all overt social aberrations like
polytheism, polygamy, casteism, sati, child marriage, illiteracy
etc. all of which they believed were impediments to progress of
women.
 Also, Women were seen as passive recipients of a more
humanitarian treatment to be given by Western educated elite
 men. There was thus an attempt to reform women rather than
reform the social conditions which opposed them. Thus
the social reformers laid the foundation of the women’s
movement in India.
o Social reform movement was the first attempt to remove
the obstacles in the life of women.
o It created awareness among the people that women must
be liberated and be made equal of men.

2. NATIONALIST MOVEMENT

 As a result of the social reform movement of the 19th century,

the social evils were eliminated and opportunities were
provided to women for their education.
 The expansion of women’s education and their admission to
educational institutions had produced a sizable number of
English educated middle class women by the late 19th century-
and they made their presence felt in political activities
  Till 1919, the national movement was limited to the urban
upper class and it was later with Gandhi’s entrance into the
national movement, participation of the masses began to take
place.
 In this phase, political developments and women’s participation
in the National movement went hand in hand.
 Thus, it was primarily due to the efforts of women and their
role in the freedom struggle that women got the right to
vote and complete equality in the constitution of India.
 However a great gap arose between the theoretical status of
women and their rights and what existed in reality.

WOMEN’S MOVEMENT IN THE POST

COLONIAL PERIOD
The period after India’s independence is called post-colonial period.
Immediately after independence, India had to deal with a variety of
problems. Years of colonial domination had destroyed our indigenous
crafts and depleted our natural resources. Industrialisation, changing
technologies illiteracy, lack of mobility all resulted in the inability of
women to cope with the new order.

During this period the social reformists tried to channelize the Indian
society by introducing constitutional and legal provisions and protecting
the society and the women from discrimination and by providing
equality to all the citizens irrespective of caste, creed, race, religion and
sex. A few of the prominent movements are:

1. Telangana Movement.

2. Chipko movement

3. Anti Arrack Movement.

1. Telangana Movement.

Telangana women played a very important role in the struggle and the
mobilization primarily focused on women-related issues such as equal
pay for equal work, wife battering, alcoholism, nutrition and hygiene,
worksite facilities for women at industrial sites and the provision for
separate toilet facilities. Women took active part in the struggle for land
rights, decent wages and issues of forced labour, human trafficking and
prostitution along with men (Ram Reddy, 1989). Women were the worst
victims of brutal tortures and atrocities committed by the Nizam’s army
named as Razakars and also by the Indian police forces at the time of
Operation Polo for the integration of Hyderabad State into Indian Union.
They faced issues of molestation and rape, saw their children tortured
and killed before their eyes and also their husbands and family members
were killed in front of them. By seeing this kind of atrocities, women got
mobilized to take revenge on the oppressors, and some women chose
Naxalism as a means to this end (Sundarayya, 1972). Belli Lalitha chose
Constitutional and social means to attain the rights, as per the law
provided by the framers of the constitution.
The book written by Puchalapalli Sundarayya on women in History of
Telangana People’s Struggle is one of the best histories, which gives
acknowledgement to various women warriors for the sake of Telangana.
He records the details of resilience, selflessness and heroism of women
who rose to eminent and decision-making positions of various
organizations, which were set up for the purpose of Telangana
movement. He credits the role played by sisters, mothers and wives,
who supported the family and thousands of women who were part of
the movement and also list of martyrs who were raped and killed by the
oppressors of the movement (Sundarayya, 1972). The initial work of the
women activists and reformers focussed on increasing the education
levels of the women, but with change of time, major issues like sati,
devadasi, dowry, alcoholism and other larger sociopolitical issues were
taken by the women for their empowerment (Prakash, 2016). When the
power of Hyderabad state shifted from the Nizam to the Indian Union,
there were many atrocities committed by the Razakar army on women
and children to oppress the movement. The communist and socialists of
the region saw the opportunity and formed All India Trade Union
Congress (AITUC), All Hyderabad Students Union, Andhra Mahasabha
and women organizations like Andhra Mahila Sabha to fight against the
injustice. The Telangana armed struggle spread to across 4,000 villages
involving about 4 million men and women.

2. Chipko movement
The Chipko movement was a non-violent agitation in 1973 that was
aimed at protection and conservation of trees, but, perhaps, it is best
remembered for the collective mobilisation of women for the cause of
preserving forests, which also brought about a change in attitude
regarding their own status in society. The uprising against the felling of
trees and maintaining the ecological balance originated in Uttar
Pradesh’s Chamoli district (now Uttarakhand) in 1973 and in no time
spilled onto other states in north India. The name of the movement
‘chipko’ comes from the word ’embrace’, as the villagers hugged the
trees and encirled them to prevent being hacked.

However, not many people know that the original Chipko andolan dates
back to the 18th century and was started by Rajasthan’s Bishnoi
community. The incident has been etched in the annals of history for the
sacrifice of a group of villagers, who led by a lady named Amrita Devi,
laid down their lives while protecting trees from being felled on the
orders of then King of Jodhpur. After this incident, the king, in a royal
decree, banned cutting of trees in all Bishnoi villages

The trigger for the modern Chipko movement was the growth in
development that Uttar Pradesh witnessed following the 1963 China
border conflict. The need for infrastructural development attracted
many foreign logging companies, who were eyeing the state’s vast forest
resources. However, the forests were the lifeblood of the villagers and
they relied on it for both food and fuel. In 1970, widespread floods
inundated the area and was attributed to the mismanagement due to
commercial logging.

The other reason that angered the villagers was the government’s policy
that did not allow local agriculturists and herders to cut the trees for fuel
wood or for fodder and for certain other purposes. However, a sports
manufacturing company was given the permission to fell trees and use
them to make equipment, which proved to be the final provocation and
a people’s movement wasborn. It was then that environmentalist and
Gandhian social activist Chandi Prasad Bhatt, founder of the cooperative
organisation Dasholi Gram Swarajya Sangh, led the first Chipko
movement near the village of Mandal in 1973.
When their appeals were denied, Bhatt led a group of villagers into the
forest and embraced the trees to prevent logging. After many days of
agitation, the government canceled the company’s logging permit. The
Chipko movement can essentially be called a women’s movement.
Women, being solely in charge of cultivation, livestock and children,
suffered the most due to floods and landslides, caused due to rise in
deforestation in the face of urbanisation.

3. Anti Arrack Movement

The anti-Arrack movement was a mass uprising of women against the
production and sale of country liquor – arrack. Stemming out of
recognition of the effects of liquor consumption among rural women in
Andhra Pradesh, the movement became one of the biggest agitations
lead by women as a collective against the state and its agencies, leading
to the total prohibition of production of illicit liquor in the state.

WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN INDIA

The term Women Empowerment is concerned with giving equal rights to

women for their growth and development in society as given to men. In
other words, it means giving women equality on all grounds of society.
From decision-making processes to contribute to society’s growth and
development, women should be given equal and fair chances to prove
their efficiencies. Article 15(3) of the constitution of India talks about the
Welfare of women and children. Over the years, the central and state
governments have launched many women empowerment schemes in
India, which are listed below in this article.
Article 14: Equality before the law/ equal protection under the
law without discrimination on grounds of gender, religion, race,
caste or date and place of birth.

Article 15 (3 ): “Nothing in this Article shall prevent the state

from making any special provision for women and children.”

Article 21 : Guarantees protection of life and personal

liberty. “No person shall be deprived of his (sic) life or personal
liberty except according to procedure established by law. (The
word ‘his’ does not indicate gender.)

Article 39a : “That the citizens, men and women equally,

have the right to an adequate means of livelihood .

Article 39d: “That there is equal pay for equal work for
both men and women.”

Article 39e: “That the health and strength of workers, men

and women, and tender age of children are not abused and that
citizens are not forced by economic necessity to enter vocations
unsuited to their age or strength.”

Article 51e : “…..to renounce practices derogatory to the

dignity of women.”
Conclusion

As of today, 21st-century Indian women enjoy much more freedom than

they did in the ’90s; however, there is still a long way to go in terms of
reaching an ideal situation of equality. In a complex society like ours
where factors such as religion, caste and race hold so much importance,
gender rights become far more complicated. Because our country gives
so much importance to tradition, people are adverse to change and do
not welcome it easily. Affectively implementing change, therefore, will
take time and is not something that can be seen overnight. Women like
Sarojini Naidu and Savitribai will forever be remembered for their
contributions for the empowerment of India, but we must not forget the
countless number of unnamed women who fought for women’s rights
and the selfless sacrifices that have gone into bringing about change. The
women’s movement brought to light the fact that violence against
women comes from a place of unequal relations of power between men
and women. Only if women are empowered by society will there be
some balance in these relations, thus ridding our society of such
discrimination. Until then, women’s autonomy will continue to be a
battle for cry.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. www.wikepedia.com
2. www.google.com
3. INSIGHT IAS website
4. GB Plant Social Science
Institute WEBSITE
5. REFERENCE BOOKS
6. Photos from Google.