ABSTRACT

The prerequisite thought that establishes the rationale for this paper is that
not only has the feminine gender been subjected to systematic discrimination
and differentiation; but the singular solution to this aforementioned problem
has never been talked about nor has it been given much credibility. This
paper attempts to not only trace feminism as a political thought but also to
look into its socio-cultural manifestations that have had a cascading effect on
affirmative activism, legislation and policy decisions. Through global
historical references, not only the history of the movement has been traced
but also its most powerful dividends have been recorded for a future that is
more conducive for not just the feminine gender but the world community at
large. The presentation of a landmark judicial vertex that has paved and
shaped the way for an affirmative thought in society that creates dynamic
changes and opportunities, that break the age old shackles of discrimination
and create an alternative journey for an entire gender group in itself.

INTRODUCTION

It is the very basic assessment that gendered conversations and gendered

roles have been the basic worldview of human civilization since time
immemorial. This brings us to further analysis that there has always been a
systematic attempt at denying women the much-needed visibility in the world.
Be it in the professional world, public life or a general sense of affairs, a
lackadaisical attitude which is bereft of sensitivity prevails when it comes to
dealing with the needs, requirements and rights of women. The answer to
this has always been to use Feminism, imbibed with its inherent qualities of
equity and equality to tackle, argue and engage with other societal
stakeholders in affirmative conversations. Feminism is a socio-political
movement and ideology that advocates for equal rights, opportunities, and
treatment of all genders, with a particular focus on addressing historical and
present-day inequalities faced by women. The core principles of feminism
revolve around challenging and dismantling systemic gender-based
discrimination, stereotypes, and oppressive structures that contribute to the
marginalisation of women. In some way, society has always felt and
emphasised the need for women to latch onto a male identity, whether it be
from two centuries ago when women were perceived as weak and
submissive or from today when activism and legal frameworks have given
women not only the much-needed pedestal in society but also a progressive
bundle of rights. This aforementioned analysis is also a dividend of the fact
that women, unlike any other socio-economic or gender class have not been
given a fair chance by history with their contributions to any and every field
starting from the French Revolution, to sports to science, art and literature,
having not been recorded. This further gives an uncanny chance to the
society to undermine and mostly whitewash, the feminine gender as a
minimal member of the society.
This becomes another lacuna that feminism, not as a political thought, but as
a social and cultural movement wishes to amend and address. In the 21stcentury,
feminist theory is appropriate, effective, and highly resourceful. In
the past, women have been completely ignored and their voices were shut
down, such as in academics, policy-making and becoming leaders. Feminist
research is currently a developing field in the study of women's rights,
discussing them and offering information to shed light on them. It also is a
dynamic field of study, especially through the prism that concerted efforts
are being made to make them a part of the workforce and earning economy.

The Feminist Handbook of Societal Concepts

1. Patriarchy

Patriarchy is a social system where people conflict because they don't have
the same ideas. The differences in status are a big influence on the conflict of
ideology. It can also be influenced by the different attitudes and values that
culture has. Patriarchy is not only based on the division of sex and gender
but also that older males are placed higher in a social system. Ideological,
sociological and a class-based perspective, are the three perspectives that
patriarchy is divided into. Through these three perspectives, the different
aspects of the dynamics between women and men can establish patriarchy
through an ideological perspective, with it being the idea that rules and
relationships between men and women are divided into three "links". These
three links are Temperament, Role and Status. The patriarchal culture which
promoted exploitation, slavery and discriminatory attitudes against women at
large, contributed to treating women merely as a ‘Second Sex’. We can
describe women's voices as distinct and silenced because of patriarchy.
Therefore, the fundamental issue of feminism is the unequal power structure
that results from gender differences in our society. Furthermore, the sphere
of feminism is experiencing a paradoxical occurrence as a result of this
hierarchy in power relations.

2. Intersectionality

Intersectionality is a concept that was introduced by Kimberlé Crenshaw in

the late 1980s. It alludes to how social categories like race, gender, class,
and sexual orientation are interconnected and how people's experiences with
them overlap and intersect, especially when oppression and discrimination
are present. The concept of intersectionality acknowledges that people's
identities are multifaceted and complicated and that understanding a
person's experiences as a whole requires looking at more than one part of
their identity at a time.

3. Gender Roles

The expectations, customs, and actions that society associates with people
according to their perceived or assigned gender are referred to as gender
roles. These roles have an impact on people's allocated obligations and
privileges, social interactions, and expected behaviours. Gender roles canfluctuate
greatly between civilizations and historical times and are frequently
influenced by cultural, historical, and social variables. The work of John
Money furthering gender roles has evolved on the idea that they are made to
give directions to move for their conduct, with a bias towards patriarchy.
The Birth of Feminism: The Seneca Falls Convention (1848)

The Seneca Falls Convention was a pivotal event in the early women's rights
movement in the United States. It took place over two days, July 19-20, 1848,
in Seneca Falls, New York. The convention is often considered the birthplace
of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. It was organised by
prominent figures in the early women's rights movement, including Elizabeth
Cady Stanton, Lucretia Mott, Martha Coffin Wright, Mary Ann M'Clintock,
and Jane Hunt. The event drew about 300 attendees, a mix of men and
women. Attendees included activists, abolitionists, and reformers. The
Seneca Falls Convention(1848) is considered a milestone in the history of
women's rights. It inspired subsequent women's rights conventions and laid
the groundwork for the organised pursuit of women's suffrage in the United
States. It is often seen as the beginning of the first wave of feminism in the
United States.

The International History of feminism

Feminism emerged in waves. There are multiple waves of feminism and

terminology associated with it but it is only applied retroactively. Feminism is
not a single movement, occurring at one time. Feminism is the belief that
women should have the same rights and opportunities as men. Before the
first wave of feminism, there were proto-feminists, who were the first set of
people who argued for women’s equality, their right to being and other
essential rights. Summarily, proto-feminists are those individuals, who at the
most inconvenient times of history have stood up to talk for women, thus
essentially making them the founding figures of feminism. Arguably, one of
the earliest proto-feminist thinkers is Plato, who argued that women should
be freed up from childcare to a collective daycare so they could equally
participate in his Utopian Republic. There were many proto-feminists
throughout history; and in fact, many women sang equality through religion
as they created convents and worked through religious structures to gain
social standing. In this instance, we can say that early Islam was fairly
egalitarian when compared to other cultures of the time. Noble women
throughout the world often became Queens and important members of the
court. Though there was no feminist movement per se, we can see the
sentiment reveal itself over and over again by the time of the French
Revolution. For instance, a woman named Olympe de Gouges wrote a
counter document to the founding document of the French Republic, the
Rights of Man. As a revolutionary activist, she wrote the Declaration of the
rights of women and the female citizen which laid the foundation for the first
wave of feminism.A better understanding of the international history of feminism can
be
understood through the waves and phases in which they came globally and
set the background for the world community and is highly useful in tracing
the development of the world community and feminism. Starting with the first
wave of feminism began in the late 18th century. English writer and
philosopher Mary Wollstonecraft advocated for women’s education and
getting them rights at their workplace. The first wave primarily focused on
women’s suffrage (right to vote) and legal rights, economic, sexual, and
better working conditions. The main key Figures were Elizabeth Cady
Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, and others. The first wave culminated in the
women's suffrage movement, with the achievement of voting rights for
women in several countries. The onset of the two world wars delayed the
coming of age of the second wave of Feminism which can be traced to the
1960s. The second wave expanded to address broader issues such as
reproductive rights, workplace discrimination, and cultural inequalities. The
main key figures were Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem, Bell Hooks, and others.
Their main achievements were that contributed to significant legal changes,
including the legalisation of abortion in many places and the enforcement of
anti-discrimination laws. Political leaders like Golda Meir from Israel, Indira
Gandhi from India and Margret Thatcher of Britain led landmark economic
and social changes in their respective states. Then came the third wave of
Feminism starting in the 1990s. The third wave embraced diversity and
intersectionality, acknowledging that women's experiences are shaped by
factors such as race, class, sexuality, and more. Main Key Figures were
Kimberlé Crenshaw, Judith Butler, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, and others.
They accomplished increased awareness of intersectionality, challenging
stereotypes, and advocating for inclusivity and equal representation. This 3rd
wave has also seen a large number of women taking up leadership roles in
public policy and political power from Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh, Tancu
Ciller in Turkey, Benazir Bhutto in Pakistan, and Angela Merkel in Germany to
name a few. The onset of a large number of women leaders today has made
them a part of policy discussions which will shape the future of the world
starting from climate change to artificial intelligence. These leadership
changes ushered in the fourth-wave Feminism starting roughly 2012. The
fourth wave was more fueled by social media activism, focusing on issues
like online harassment, body positivity, and reproductive justice, starting the
discussion on abortion rights for women. The current wave of feminism in the
post-pandemic world is flag-bearing the challenges being faced in navigating
the complexities of the digital age and addressing emerging issues unique to
the 21st century.

Sexism - The Casual Defier to Feminism

This phrase is widely used in feminist literature, the media, and daily life. It is
a crucial idea for comprehending feminism. Sexism is the practice of solely
recognizing and evaluating individuals based on their sex or gender identity.
It also includes treating someone unfairly based on the same reason. It's
crucial to remember that sexism affects both men and women, but it affectswomen
more severely than it does in every aspect of life. Daily sexism
manifests itself in a variety of ways, some of which are difficult to identify.
Examples include making jokes about girls, objectifying women through
comments about their bodies, reacting negatively to how women dress,
giving women easier chores in online games, and objectifying women in
advertisements. Even if it's true that women's human rights conditions have
improved recently, this does not imply that sexism has disappeared. The
Council of Europe's Committee of Ministers issued a Recommendation on
the prevention and combat of sexism in March 2019. The recommendation
emphasises that discrimination and the impediment to women's full growth in
society are caused by sexism, which is a manifestation of historically unequal
power relations between men and women. The Committee of Ministers
requests action from member state governments to stop and combat sexism
and its effects in both public and private settings. It also encourages
pertinent parties to put in place the necessary laws, regulations, and
initiatives. A multiplicity of schools of thought on whether the rationale of
sexism is a biological classification or an inherent attempt to casually
undermine women has been wonderfully addressed by the Constitution of
India, 1950 itself in Article 14, which establishes equality, equity and equal
protection of the laws while removing all forms of discrimination through
Article 15.

Feminism in India

In India, feminism refers to a collection of movements aimed at defining,

establishing, and defending women's equal rights and opportunities. It's a
contemporary phrase that covers a wide range of ideologies, moral
philosophies, and social, cultural, and political movements. In the Indian
context, we can see the rise of feminism and the women’s movement in two
distinct phases, the pre independence era and the post-independence era.
We can divide the women’s movement into three phases:

First Phase (1850-1915)

Second Phase (1915-1947)
Third Phase (1947-Present)

1. First Phase: 1850-1915

The Women's Movement started as a social reform movement in the 19th

century, before independence. By studying English and interacting with the
West at this time, our educated elite was absorbing the Western concepts of
liberty, equality, and brotherhood. This Western liberalism was expanded to
address the issue of women and transformed into a movement for social
transformation. Regarding the concepts and modifications that were to be
promoted, the reform movements were not uniform and differed greatly.
Despite accusations of barbarism from the colonial authorities, they did,
nevertheless, have a shared concern for eliminating social problems. During
this time, colonial ideology ruled and had a hegemonic influence. Women were
viewed as passive objects to be treated more humanely by privileged
males with Western education. Therefore, an effort was made to reform
women rather than the social structures that were against them. There were
no initiatives to change the gender roles and power dynamics in society. This
made sense because efforts to elevate women's position were limited to
challenging patriarchy itself. The goal was to fashion a new Indian woman
who was both authentically Indian and adequately schooled and mentored in
19th-century principles to fit into the newly formed society.

2. Second Phase: 1915-1947

Three significant organisations were founded during the second phase: the
All India Women's Conference (AIWC), the National Council of Women in
India (NCWI), and the Women's India Association (WIA). The role played by
Annie Beasant, the founder of the Home Rule Movement and Nanibala Devi,
in challenging the British might through Swaraj, is the peak of the Indian
independence movement. Following World War I, women founded all of
these organisations between 1917 and 1927. The fight against colonial power
became more intense during this time. Nationalism emerged as the main
factor. Gandhi led Indian women into the nonviolent civil disobedience
movement against the Raj, which legitimised and increased their participation
in public life. Women actively participated in the independence movement in
the decades that followed, opening the door for several groups that were
exclusively for women. Saraladevi, the famous Odia writer, founded groups
that converged into the Bharat Stree Mahamandal, in 1910, convening for the
first time at Allahabad soon to have numerous locations in Amritsar, Delhi,
Lahore, Karachi, and Hyderabad which led to the problems of female
education. Later this very organisation played the most important second
fiddle to the Non-Cooperation & Swadeshi Movement

3. Third Phase: 1947 to Present

Women's efforts and contributions to the liberation struggle were largely

responsible for giving them full equality and the ability to vote in India's
constitution. The State may provide special provisions for women under
Article 15(3) of the Indian Constitution of 1949. A plethora of policy
documents ensued, but in actuality, there was a significant disconnect
between the rights and status of women as outlined in these documents and
their actual situation. India had many challenges in the early years following
its independence. The anguish of partition, the mass displacement of people,
and the cessation of sectarian bloodshed in Bengal and Punjab tempered the
happiness of independence. The conflict in Kashmir, the threat of regional
disintegration, the distribution of power among 600 princely states, and, last
but not least, the economic disruption that would primarily affect women
came next. Our natural resources had been depleted and our indigenous
crafts were devastated by years of colonial dominance. The lack of mobility,
illiteracy, industrialization, and shifting technological advancements all
contributed to women's incapacity to adapt to the new system.

Landmark Feminist Judgements

1. Vishaka Vs State of Rajasthan

Five men viciously gang-raped Bhanwari Devi, a social worker from
Rajasthan, for opposing a child marriage. She chose to go to court because
she was determined to get justice. The trial court shockingly decided to clear
all five of the accused. The Group for Women's Education and Research,
Vishaka, took up Bhanwari Devi's cause. It merged with four other women's
organizations and petitioned the Indian Supreme Court on the subject of
sexual harassment at work. The Vishaka guidelines were commissioned by
the Supreme Court on August 13, 1997, and they defined sexual harassment
and placed responsibility for creating a secure workplace for women on
employers.

2. Mary Roy Vs State of Kerala

Due to historical customs placed in patriarchy, women from Kerala's Syrian
Christian community were unable to inherit property. Mary Roy, a woman's
rights activist and educator, contested this decree. She sued her older
brother following her father's death because she was not given an equal
inheritance part. The Kerala High Court overturned the earlier ruling even
though the lower court had denied the plea. A historic ruling by the Supreme
Court in 1986 gave Syrian Christian women the ability to demand an equal
portion of their father's assets.

3. Laxmi Vs Union Of India

Laxmi, a victim of an acid assault, filed a petition in 2006 asking for laws to
control the sale of acid and give the victim fair compensation. In 2013, the
Supreme Court as part of its guidelines enforced strict limitations on the
selling of acid after noticing an increase in instances involving acid attacks
against women. The decision outlawed the sale of acid over-the-counter.
Only when a buyer presents a legitimate form of identification and a
statement stating the necessity of the purchase can dealers sell acid. The
dealer is required to provide the police with the specifics of the transaction
within three days. Additionally, it outlawed the sale of acid to anyone younger
than eighteen.

4. Tamil Nadu Vs Suhas Katti

The first conviction under the Information Technology Act, 2000 resulted
from this case. Suhas Katti, the accused, was harassing the victim since she
had declined to wed him. He would mail her in a Yahoo group, sending her
offensive and libellous remarks. She started getting calls from strangers
offering to do sex work, which made her suffering even worse. After the
victim's February 2004 complaint, the accused was found guilty seven months later.
This ruling serves as a tool for women to protect their dignity in
the age of vicious trolls and other types of online harassment.

Feminism and Public Relations - The Required Intermix

Feminist intelligence and modalities seek to open up public relations

scholarship and practice stone ways of configuring gender relations. The aim
we suggest is not to prescribe particular configurations but to move beyond
polarization to social choice, agency and participation. New inclusive
frameworks and processes that are built upon democratic, social justice
principles and a transparent assumption of gender equality are advocated.
That means we need to recognize, if not accept, feminist modalities that are
outside our particular paradigms and framework.

 Agenda setting

Making sure that women's rights and interests are consistently prioritised on
agendas for government and policy is a crucial goal of feminist paradigms. At
the United Nations Women in the World Conference in 1995, Hillary Clinton
emphasised the significance of the issue by saying, "Let's keep telling the
world over and over again that yes, women's rights are human rights and
human rights are women's rights, once and for all." Positioning women’s
rights in this way reconfigures women’s issues as having equal status to
other rights. Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand for nine years and
the first woman to lead the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
explains why women’s issues are critical: “I believe that achieving gender
equality is not only morally right, but also catalytic to development as a whole,
creating political, economic, and social opportunities for women which
benefit individuals, communities, countries, and the world.” As leader of the
UNDP, Clark promotes women’s issues on a global scale. The challenge for
those of us who do not work at this level is to find ways to integrate feminist
modalities into our professional and everyday lives.

 Social Justice and Change

We recognize that there are a variety of feminist options available, but only a
select handful may be selected. Our worry is not that closure is always bad,
but rather that it is frequently given preference. The topics we address here
are based on a specific interpretation of feminism that emphasises women's
rights and social justice. Divergent opinions exist among public relations
experts studying "feminisms" regarding the best course of action going
forward. For instance, according to Larissa Grunig, "We need research today
for the workplace of tomorrow," which is strongly rooted in the knowledge-
based economy and employs a growing number of women in the public
relations field. Relationships are the foundation of public relations, so in this
postmodern period, we must research new frameworks for the employer-
employee dynamic. Undoubtedly, a study of this kind is necessary, but
concentrating on matters about women's rights and social justice requiresadopting a
critical research approach that takes into account how power is
expressed in institutions, organisations, society, and even in professional
identities. The imperative thought herein is why should society at large
pursue feminism. And what role feminism can play in challenging the
prevailing paradigm in public relations, questioning current knowledge
structures, effecting genuine change in the gendered pay and status
hierarchies within the industry, and confronting the hetero normative
presumptions that still guide the agenda for public relations research,
warranting more investigation in these matters.

 Praxis

We propose that public relations techniques and their "common sense"

interpretations might be exposed as strongly gendered social constructions
as long as practitioners and scholars keep probing the underlying
presumptions of these practices. By applying a critical feminist lens to public
relations, one can analyse current events and develop a practical
understanding of "feminist intelligence." Planning, carrying out, and reviewing
public relations initiatives all require a consideration of the symbolic capital
that people and organisations possess. By using feminist intelligence in such
work, it may be possible to direct practice going forward to fulfil the
objectives of the global feminist agenda.

Politics & Women - A 21st century mix

India as it enters its election year in 2024 has made some landmark progress
when it comes to bringing women in mainstream politics. From a total of 78
women MPs, to have the landmark 106th Constitutional Amendment Act,
getting passed, now a total of one-third of seats would be reserved for
women even in the national parliament granting not only a larger
representation but also improving the skewed policymakers to policy takers
ratio. In the context of India's neighbourhood in South Asia, the system is
already in practice in countries like Pakistan and Bangladesh. In addition to
this, globally speaking the rising trend of "Pink Parties", women-created and
driven political parties especially to take up feminist political thought has
been groundbreaking in countries like the UK, Scotland and even the USA.
The only barrier is that they haven't been able to break much electoral ice
with constituents. Yet all of this may be a step in the right direction when
seen through a larger prism of not only representation but also increasing the
number of political stakeholders as well as familiar voices in this line of
profession.

International Law & Feminism

Since the 1990s, not only has the global environment been more conducive
to economic change but at a sociological level there has been a drastic
change with women getting a voice at the global stage. Be it through
International organisations like UN-Women or the European Parliament'sendeavours
through international legislation like the Istanbul Convention on
Domestic Violence (2011). Not only this but the simple jurisprudence behind
documents like the Convention on Elimination of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW) (1979), that created international charter rights especially
dedicated to women, or be it the special endeavours need to protect
vulnerable groups like women and children in conflict and post-conflict
regions of West Asia, especially the United Nations intervention in Yemen,
Syria and Libya, through their landmark initiatives in health, post-conflict
rehabilitation and education through “UN’s school-in-a-box programme”,
have been commendable in serving the feminist school of thought.

Pseudo-Feminism - Weakening of the cause

Pseudo-feminism is a lousy egg that tarnishes the actual meaning of

feminism. The Oxfordian definition of Feminism stands to be that of an
ideology that promotes social, political and all other rights of women equal to
those of men. Here the emphasis squarely lies on the word 'equal.' The
definition indicates that there should be no discrimination against either sex.
However, a new feminist movement known appropriately as "pseudo-
feminism" is on the rise. Pseudo-feminists have a deep urge to redress all
injustices committed to women, mostly by lashing out and dehumanising
men. What they forget is the literal foundation of the feminist movement:
equality. Pseudo-feminism spreads disinformation, dabbles in shaming and,
to some degree, renders "feminism" synonymous with misandry. In my
opinion, another form of pseudo-feminism is feminism of convenience. We
don't realise it sometimes, but pseudo feminism is all around us, hiding
behind feminism in the underground. This can be further understood by
picking up examples from our lives in itself, in which we as a society, see, do
or undergo, quite casually. There is a need to have a repetitive and
transparent understanding while wielding feminism that what accounts for
true discrimination and what simply stands to be a perceived inequality or
baseless standardisation. There is also a need to have a firm belief that if the
true value of feminism is to be practised, then equality must be taken into
account. If a man pays tax on the same income that a woman often receives,
a woman should also pay. If real feminism was followed, then we would treat
all the victims fairly. Victims will cease to be women or men, but only victims
of abuse. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Pseudo-feminism cries out
clearly that men can't be raped, men can't be tormented, and men who claim
to have been exposed to such crimes are lying scammers. When a woman is
set on fire, when she is abused, brutalised, stripped naked on the streets,
forced to abandon her studies to marry a man three times her age, when she
is threatened of being assaulted or mocked, when a woman is viciously
bullied for refusing to pressurise her parents to pay a dowry when she is
assumed inferior to her male colleagues, there is also a need to speak when
a man goes through similar activities. It doesn't matter if the victim is a guy or
a girl, sexual abuse is not a slap on any gender's face rather it's a slap on
humanity. As Gloria Steinem rightly said, a feminist is someone who respects
the dignity and full humanity of women and men. Here as well, the much-decried
concept of gender roles has seeped into our emotional quotient and
mental well-being. Creating the prejudice, where men are told that crying is
only for girls is what true feminism aspires to eradicate. The original idea
behind feminism was to provide women with equal rights and opportunities—
neither more nor less. Misandry and hatred of males or women who want to
rule over men in society are not characteristics of feminism. This further
emanates from a belief that both men and women have a common
misunderstanding of these two terms. There needs to be a rejuvenation of
another facet of feminism that firstly emanates from equality and secondly,
creates a sober, conducive environment for the multiplicity of gender
identities to both prosper and co-exist peacefully. The truth is that there lies
ignorance of the true meaning of feminism. However, this isn't entirely their
fault since many misinterpret the essence of Feminism. It is quite challenging
to discern between fact and fiction in the age of social media when people
fabricate stories to create content. Even though we don't fully grasp what
we're fighting for or supporting, we feel comfortable joining the cause. Men
can't be feminists, according to a lot of pseudo-feminists, but anyone can be
a feminist—a man, a woman, or a trans person who supports women's
equality and envisages equity in society from the smallest iota like the
workplace to the largest setting of political representation.

CONCLUSION
It can be simply established beyond reasonable doubt that feminism in all its
forms and manifestations not only guarantees society its basic needs of
equality and equity but goes one step further in bridging all existing barriers
of discrimination amongst gender groups. Over 175 years of glorious history,
which in the context of India, peaked when fifteen glorious women became a
part of the Constituent Assembly, feminism has undergone a journey from
framing one of the world's foremost Constitutions to a modern-day world,
where women have something to offer in all thinkable fields, redefining the
dynamic concept of Feminism. Not only does it work for women, for the
oppressed who go faceless and voiceless in the global arena, but it even
works more for those who simply do not embrace an egalitarian idea that
empowers women, thus strengthening the society at large.