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Examguru optional notes are UPSC oriented covering exhaustively all the topics of Paper 1 & Paper 2 (section A & section B) crafted from various standard books, IGNOU material, previous years questions and current affairs.
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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
Women’s movement is an important variant of social movement in the sense that it aims to bring changes in the institutional arrangements, values, customs and beliefs in the society that have subjugated women over the years.
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 and
(2) nationalist movements.
Social Reform Movements and the Beginning of
Women’s Movement in India
The women’s movement in India began as part of the social reform movements of the nineteenth century. During this period, the British colonial rule introduced significant changes in the Indian economy and society. The introduction of new land revenue systems, commercialization of agriculture, and the development of infrastructure such as railways, roads, postal services, and telegraph networks transformed the traditional village economy.
These changes also created a demand for modern education and administrative personnel, leading to the establishment of Western educational institutions. As a result, a new class of educated Indian intelligentsia emerged. This educated class became the driving force behind progressive democratic movements in India, including social, political, economic, and cultural reforms.
The reform movements of the nineteenth century were not uniform; they differed in ideas and approaches. However, they shared a common objective of removing social evils and improving the status of women in society. Many reformers also responded to criticisms from colonial rulers who portrayed Indian society as backward and barbaric.
This period witnessed the influence of colonial ideology and Western ideas such as rationalism, liberalism, and progress. Indian reformers attempted to reconcile these modern ideas with Indian traditions. According to historian K. N. Panniker, this process can be understood as a form of “cultural defense,” where Indian intellectuals sought to defend Indian society from colonial domination while reforming its social institutions.
Inspired by European ideas of rationality and progress, Indian reformers began critically examining social practices. They aimed to create a modern yet culturally rooted society by eliminating harmful practices such as:
Reformers strongly believed that no society could progress if its women remained backward. Consequently, their efforts focused on improving the status of women through legislation, education, and social reform campaigns. These efforts were influenced by the first wave of feminism in the West, which emphasized basic legal and educational rights for women.
Social reformers in India can broadly be classified into two groups:
1. Liberal Reformers
Liberal reformers were influenced by Western liberal philosophy and emphasized individual freedom, rationality, and equality. They used logic, historical analysis, and ethical arguments to advocate reforms that would improve the condition of women.
Prominent reformers in this group included:
These reformers openly acknowledged the degraded status of women and worked to reform social institutions.
2. Revivalist Reformers
The revivalist reformers believed that the Vedic tradition contained egalitarian principles and sought to revive these traditions in modern society. They argued that social evils were later distortions rather than inherent features of Indian culture.
Important revivalist reformers included:
These leaders emphasized education, social service, and the revival of moral values derived from ancient Indian traditions.
Brahmo Samaj
The Brahmo Samaj, founded in 1828 by Raja Ram Mohan Roy, played a pioneering role in the nineteenth-century social reform movement in India. It emerged in Bengal as a response to social evils such as sati, child marriage, caste discrimination and the denial of women’s rights. The movement advocated monotheism and rational religious thought while encouraging critical examination of social practices. Roy believed that the degraded position of women in Indian society was not inherent in religious traditions but was the result of social distortions that had developed over time.
One of the most significant contributions of the Brahmo Samaj was its effort to improve the status of women through legal and social reform. Roy led a strong campaign against the practice of sati, which eventually resulted in the abolition of sati in 1829 by the British government. The organization also supported widow remarriage, women’s education and property rights for women. Members of the Brahmo Samaj opposed the rigid caste system and worked to promote social equality. The movement soon spread beyond Bengal and influenced reform movements in other regions of India, strengthening the broader campaign for women’s emancipation.
Arya Samaj
The Arya Samaj, founded in 1875 by Swami Dayananda Saraswati, was another important reform movement that contributed significantly to improving the condition of women in Indian society. The Arya Samaj advocated a return to the ideals of the Vedic age, which its leaders believed represented a period of social equality and moral purity. According to Dayananda Saraswati, many oppressive customs such as child marriage and restrictions on women’s education were later distortions of Hindu society rather than authentic Vedic traditions.
The Arya Samaj strongly emphasized the importance of female education and social reform. It established a number of educational institutions for girls known as Arya Kanya Pathshalas, which aimed to provide systematic education for women. The organization also encouraged widow remarriage and opposed child marriage and other discriminatory practices. By combining religious reform with social activism, the Arya Samaj helped create awareness about the importance of women’s education and dignity, thereby contributing to the early women’s movement in India.
Prarthana Samaj
The Prarthana Samaj, established in 1867 in Maharashtra, was another influential social reform movement that worked for the upliftment of women. It was founded by reformers such as Mahadev Govind Ranade, R. G. Bhandarkar, and N. G. Chandavarkar. Inspired by the principles of the Brahmo Samaj, the Prarthana Samaj sought to reform Hindu society by promoting social equality and eliminating harmful practices.
The leaders of the Prarthana Samaj emphasized women’s education, widow remarriage and the abolition of child marriage. They believed that social reform should be achieved through gradual change and public awareness rather than confrontation. The organization also encouraged women’s participation in education and social service. Through educational initiatives and reform campaigns, the Prarthana Samaj contributed significantly to improving the social status of women in western India.
Ramakrishna Mission
The Ramakrishna Mission, founded by Swami Vivekananda in 1897, also played an important role in promoting social reform and women’s empowerment. Inspired by the teachings of his guru Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Vivekananda emphasized the importance of spiritual and social upliftment of all sections of society, including women.
Vivekananda strongly believed that the progress of a nation depended on the empowerment of women. He advocated equal opportunities for women in education and social life and encouraged women to develop confidence, self-respect and independence. The Ramakrishna Mission established educational institutions, schools and charitable organizations that contributed to the spread of women’s education and social awareness. Although primarily a spiritual organization, its work significantly influenced the broader movement for women’s upliftment in India.
During the nineteenth century, Muslim women in India experienced relatively slow progress in social reform and education compared to women in some other communities. One major reason was the widespread practice of purdah (female seclusion), which restricted women’s mobility and limited their participation in public life. Because of this seclusion and the conservative social environment, female education was often considered unnecessary for women. As a result, Western education—the main instrument of social progress during the colonial period—did not reach most Muslim women.
Another factor that slowed reform was the limited spread of modern education among Muslims in the nineteenth century. Only a small section of the Muslim population, mainly those living in urban centers, had access to English education and new intellectual ideas. Consequently, organized reform movements for Muslim women did not develop as strongly as those among Hindu reformers during this period.
Despite these limitations, some reform initiatives did emerge. A notable example was the Tyabji family of Bombay, which played an important role in promoting education and social welfare among Muslim women. Badruddin Tyabji, a prominent Muslim reformer and graduate of Elphinstone College, founded a Muslim self-help association in 1876 to promote education and social reform within the community. His family members also contributed to women’s welfare initiatives.
Women related to the Tyabji family were actively involved in social work. Amina Binte Badruddin Tyabji helped establish a girls’ school for Muslim women, while Begum Nawale Misra worked in managing a girls’ orphanage. Another reformer, Shareefa Hamid Ali, contributed to the establishment of nursing centers and other welfare institutions. These efforts represented early attempts to improve the social and educational status of Muslim women.
Although progress during the nineteenth century was limited, these initiatives laid the foundation for later reforms in the twentieth century, when Muslim women gradually gained greater access to education and began participating more actively in social and political life. The reform efforts of early Muslim intellectuals and social workers helped initiate awareness within the community about the importance of women’s education and empowerment.
Despite its progressive goals, the social reform movement had certain limitations. The reformers did not fundamentally challenge patriarchal structures or gender relations in society. Instead, they addressed only those issues that colonial rulers criticized as signs of social degeneration.
Women’s organizations that emerged during this period often reflected male perspectives. Even when women spoke about their own issues, they frequently did so within the framework defined by male reformers. As a result, women were often viewed as passive recipients of humanitarian reforms rather than active agents of social change.
The reform efforts largely focused on changing women’s roles rather than transforming the social conditions that oppressed them. Education for women was encouraged, but it was mainly intended to make them better wives and mothers rather than independent professionals.
Despite its limitations, the social reform movement made important contributions to the advancement of women in India. It helped remove many prejudices against women’s education and opened opportunities for women to participate in public life.
Reformers addressed several important issues affecting women, including:
Through these efforts, reformers created awareness about women’s rights and laid the foundation for future women’s movements.
The social reform movement also led to important legislative changes:
These reforms marked important steps toward improving women’s legal status.
Education was considered the most effective tool for improving women’s status. Many reformers established schools and institutions for women.
Examples include:
Women reformers also contributed to these efforts. For example:
The social reform movements of the nineteenth century laid the foundation for the women’s movement in India. Although these reforms did not completely challenge patriarchal structures, they created awareness about women’s rights and opened opportunities for women’s education and public participation.
These early efforts played a crucial role in shaping later movements for gender equality and women’s empowerment in India.
During the Indian freedom movement, the struggle for women’s rights and gender equality became closely connected with the broader struggle for national independence. Many women who actively participated in the anti-colonial struggle also worked for social reforms aimed at improving the status of women in Indian society. Thus, the nationalist movement and the women’s movement developed alongside each other, with the goal of achieving both political freedom and social justice.
The establishment of the Indian National Congress in 1885 marked an important turning point in India’s political life. Women began to gradually participate in political activities associated with the national movement. In the 1889 Bombay session of the Indian National Congress, ten women took part, which symbolized the beginning of women’s visible participation in national politics. Although their numbers were initially small, this participation represented an important step toward the political involvement of women in public life.
By the late nineteenth century, the spread of education among middle-class women created a new group of educated women who became active in social and political reform movements. These women started participating in debates on issues such as women’s education, child marriage, and legal rights. Their involvement helped expand the women’s movement beyond social reform and into the sphere of political activism.
A major turning point occurred when **Mahatma Gandhi encouraged women to join the freedom struggle. Gandhi believed that women possessed qualities such as courage, patience, and moral strength that were essential for non-violent resistance. His call for women’s participation during movements such as Non-Cooperation, Civil Disobedience, and Quit India brought thousands of women into public life. Women participated in protests, picketing, spinning khadi, organizing campaigns, and even courting arrest.
The large-scale participation of women in the freedom movement gradually changed the perception of nationalist leaders regarding women’s role in society. Women were no longer seen only as passive members of the household but as active political participants capable of contributing to the nation’s struggle for independence. This transformation laid the foundation for women’s greater political participation and for the demand for equal rights in independent India.
Role of Mahatma Gandhi and Pandit Nehru
Mahatma Gandhi played the most significant role in involving a large number of women in the nationalist movement. Hence it is important to understand the impact of Gandhian ideology on the women’s movement. He proclaimed: “Woman is the companion of man gifted with equal mental capacities. She has the right to participate in the minutest details of activities of men and she has the same right to freedom and / liberty as he.... By sheer force of vicious custom, even the most ignorant and worthless men have been enjoying a superiority over women which they do not deserve and ought not to have”. He said “I am uncompromising in the matter of women’s rights”. However, at the same time he idealised mythical figures like Sita and Damyanti who were symbols of women’s sufferings. He stressed that participation of women in the freedom struggle was an integral part of women’s dharma (duty). He felt that women were most suited for Satyagraha (protest) as they have qualities appropriate for non-violent struggle and for constructive social uplift programmes of the Congress. He said the women had great qualities for self-sacrifice and tolerance and an ability to endure suffering, which were needed for non-violent struggle. He saw women’s role as complementary to that of men.
Jawaharlal Nehru was influenced by the Western suffragettes and was exposed to liberal views on the women’s question in the West. He believed that ‘without economic freedom other aspects of women’s equality would not be realised’. He disagreed with the limited view that women’s education alone can bring about the desired changes and he wanted women trained in all human activities. He said that “if women’s struggles remained isolated from the general political, economic and social struggles, the women’s movement would not gain strength and will remain confined to the upper classes”. There cannot be any doubt that a single factor which contributed to the transformation of women’s roles and status in the Indian society was their massive participation in the national freedom movement. Equality between men and women was accepted as one of the objectives in the Fundamental Rights Resolution of the Indian National Congress in 1931.
Women’s Organisations and Issues
The emergence of women’s organisations was closely linked with both social reform movements and the nationalist movement. During the early twentieth century several women’s organisations were formed. The Women’s India Association (WIA) was formed in 1917 by Margaret Cousins, an Irish lady and an Indian nationalist. This was followed by the formation of the National Council of Indian Women (NCIW) in 1926 and All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) in 1927. Jyoti Singh in Gujarat (1934) played an active role in harnessing energies of women. Several women active in the nationalist movement became founders of women’s organisations.
Women’s Suffrage For the first time in 1917, the demand for women’s right to vote was raised. A deputation of women including Sarojini Naidu and Margaret Cousins met the Viceroy to put forward the demand for female franchise. The Indian National Congress supported the idea and the constitutional reforms in 1919 allowed provincial legislatures to decide the issue. Madras was the first province to allow women to vote. Women also became legislative councillors. Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy was the first woman to become legislative councillor in Madras in 1927. The demand for women’s suffrage was later changed to adult franchise within the national movement.
Participation in the Freedom Movement Despite women’s active participation in the freedom movement and demand for voting rights, when the civil disobedience movement began in 1930 some of the women leaders took a position that women’s organisations should keep away from party politics as women were concerned with social issues and British Government’s help was necessary to bring about social change in women’s position through education and legislation. There were other women leaders, however, who believed that they should align themselves with the national movement. They believed that sitting on the fence served no purpose and women will progress only with political emancipation. The gradual change in perspectives on women’s issues, from social and educational to political perspectives, occurred with a closer link between the Congress and women’s groups and mass participation of women in the freedom movement. Many advocates of women’s rights looked upon freedom for women as dependent on freedom for the country. In the 1920s and 1930s women participated actively in the Civil Disobedience movement. Women were more active in Swadeshi movement (campaign to wear home spun Khadi) and picketing of shops selling foreign goods and liquor.
Advocates of women’s participation in the freedom movement, however, stressed that though Indian culture approved women’s equality, it recognised their goals as separate from that of men
Forms of Women’s Participation in the Freedom Movement
Women participated in the freedom movement in various ways. They participated in political protests, picketed shops selling foreign goods and organised Prabhat Pheri (singing patriotic songs). Women all over the country provided food and shelter for underground political activists and carried messages to political prisoners. In 1930, women in large numbers participated in the Salt March ( when Gandhiji urged people to break the salt law by making salt themselves). Thousands of women were jailed. Within the Indian nationalist groups, however, there were a few more militant groups, which were active in Bengal, Punjab and Maharashtra as well as abroad. Some foreign women also worked with Indian revolutionaries abroad. Bhikaiji Cama, Perm D S Captain, Saraladevi Choudhurani (Bengal), Sushila Devi and Durga Devi (Punjab), Roopavati Jain (Delhi), Kalpana Dutt and Kamala Dasgupta (Calcutta), Lakshmi Sahgal (who was in charge of the Rani Jhansi Women’s regiment, part of the Indian National Army formed by Subhas Chandra Bose) were involved in revolutionary activities. Women’s participation in the national movement helped in breaking several of the old barriers of tradition and custom. Women’s organisations also raised their voices for removal of social and legal disabilities; however, these organisations were dominated by urban middle and upper classes. Women from poor working class families and their problems hardly came into the picture.
WOMEN’S MOVEMENTS 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 channelise 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:
Telangana Movement;
Chipko Movement;
Anti Arrack Movement.
Telangana Movement
The Telangana Movement began in 1946 and continued till 1951. It is one of the two major post-war insurrectionary peasant struggles in India. The Telangana Movement (1946-51) was a protest of the people who wanted both food and freedom from the oppressive regime of the Nizam, the Patils and the Jagirdars in Hyderabad State. The peasants on the Nizam’s personal estate were bonded to the ruler. Under Jagirdari system various illegal taxes and forced labour were extracted from peasants by the landlords. Apart from this there were the Deshmukhs and Despandes (principal revenue officers of a district who became land owners overtime) or tax collectors of the Nizam who grabbed thousands of acres of land and made it their own property. Peasants thus became tenants at will. One common social phenomenon was the Vetti system of forced labour and exactions imposed on all peasant sections in varying degrees. Each family had to send someone to collect wood for fuel, carry post to other villages, carry supplies etc. Foot wear, agricultural implements, pots or cloth had to be supplied free to landlords. Another system that prevailed was keeping of peasant girls as slaves in the landlord’s house. When landlord’s daughters were married these with were often sent with them to serve as concubines. When the exactions of the landlords reached the point of evicting peasants from their land, the peasants began to resist. Sporadic struggles were launched in 1946 against the Deshmukhs of Visunur, Suryapet, Babasahebpet and Kalluru.
Large number of women who were desperate because of extreme poverty, slavery and sexual exploitation by the feudal lords fought courageously in this movement. In order to mobilise and develop political acumen among women, the communist party formed a women’s organisation which published a woman’s Journal Andhra Vanitha.
Through this they campaigned against child marriage, widow remarriage, increased wages etc. Crucially affected by the oppression of landlords and money lenders, women who were a large section of the agricultural labour and tobacco leaf pickers became militant in the struggle for land, better wages, fair, rent, reasonable interest on cash and grain loans. Among the bonded class, rape, becoming concubines to landlords’ married daughters etc. were prevalent. The oppression of the upper class women was kept under wraps as the violence they faced was not visible and structural purdah was strictly observed both by high caste Hindu and Muslim women. Child marriage and early widowhood were common. Education for women was unheard of.
In Telangana the cultural dominance of Muslim feudal rule kept women out of the mainstream for long. Andhra Maha Sabha, which sprung up to assert the cultural identity of the people, added women’s education to their agenda of constitutional reform and civil liberties. Thus many women, who were drawn into the cultural movements, drew closer to the communist party which was working through the Andhra Maha Sabha. When the Andhra Maha Sabha added basic agrarian reforms to its programme of action these women also plunged into the struggle.
Women from all classes participated in the movement with energy and commitment where both the urban middle class as well as the peasant sections of the population, drew their support slowly but surely into the movement. The communist party which seriously took up issues of social reforms for women like widow remarriage, prohibition of child marriage, education for women and opportunities, also began to identify women of ability to make the movement stronger.
Some of the women who took active part in the movement were Dubala Salamma, Ch. Kamalamma, Regulla Achamma, Chityala Ailamma, Pesaru Satbamma, Malla Swarajyam, Dayani Kausalya, Pramila Tail, Chakilam Lalithamma, Bullemma, Narasamma, Vajramma, Saidamma, Suganamma, etc.
The Communist party in Andhra served as a rear base for the Telangana struggle, arranging for relief and supplies. The entry of the Indian Army into Hyderabad in September 1948 brought about the surrender of the Nizam and the disbanding of the Razakars. The force of the Army was then turned on the peasants, the communist party was banned and repression increased.
The rich peasantry withdrew its support once the Nizam was gone and the squads had to move into the forests. Finally the struggle was withdrawn in 1951. Some changes took place after the withdrawal. Forced labour was abolished, village became active and people resisted the return of the old Jagirdari system.
The demand for division along linguistic zones to facilitate all round political, social and cultural development of the people was also subsequently pushed forward. More important was the fact that it had set a revolutionary tradition among Telugu people.
Chipko Movement
Chipko Movement was born in a small hilly village, Advani in Tehri Garhwal district of Utter Pradesh. The illiterate adivasi women led this movement in December 1972. It challenged the old belief that forests mean only timber and emphasised their roles in making soil, water and pure air as the basis of human life. This philosophy popularised the movement in many countries.
The women symbolically tied sacred threads around the trees, faced police firing in February 1978 and later courted arrest. This movement continued under the leadership of Sri Sunderlal Bahuguna in various villages. The movement’s plan is a slogan to plant five F’s- food, fodder, fuel, fiber and fertiliser to make communities self sufficient in all their basic needs.
The Chipko movement is inimical to gender in its theoretical underpinnings as well as the political and economic ones. Women and children gather firewood for domestic consumption. They rely on the forestry for combustible crop residues such as rice straw. This, however, is considered inferior to fuel-wood. Therefore, forestry activities that increase the availability of fuel-wood and development projects that promote improved stoves both release women’s labour from fuel collection and permit its use in other productive activities, and improve the agricultural environment by permitting crop residues to be better used for enriching depleted soil. The movement points out the link between women’s burden as food providers and gatherers and their militancy in protecting natural resources from violent devastation.
The Chipko women believed that the trees were alive and could breathe like them. Thus trees should be respected. Besides supporting agriculture and animal husbandary, the forests grew medicinal herbs used for healing powers. The hill women used fruit, vegetables or roots from it in times of scarcity. This dependency on forest resources was institutionalised through some social and cultural mechanisms, like religion, folklore and oral tradition. Many wooded areas bore marks of the hill folk’s instinct for the plantation and preservation of the forest. The Chipko movement against tree felling is a phenomenon no less.
On April 1974, these women whose annual per capita income was Rs.129 rose against tree -felling. It is nationally and internationally discussed as the peoples’ ecological movement for the protection of the natural environment. Men migrated to the plains and women were left to cope with an impoverished existence and to provide for the old and the children.
Women repeatedly challenged administrators and politicians stating, planning without fodder, fuel and water is one eyed planning. In the course of this movement, Garhwal women successfully undertook leadership roles and questioned the right of the men to decide the fate of the forests or to enter into contracts without consulting them, who were the worst affected.
The forests were these women’s home, and hence they would not let it be cut down. The police force used all repressive and terrorising methods to retreat the non-violent strength of the women. One of the women, Gaura Devi led 27 village women to prevent the contractors and forest department personnel, about 60 men in all, from entering the Reni forest to cut 2,415 trees. While the women blocked the narrow passage leading to the forest, the men used all sorts of threats and also misbehaved with the women. But the women bravely refused to budge.
In the course of this movement, Garhwal women successfully understood leadership roles and questioned the right of the men to decide the fate of the forests or to enter into the contracts without consulting them.
Anti Arrack Movement
The anti-arrack movement of women in Andhra Pradesh was one of most historic and significant movements of the 1990s. The historic bangle waged by the women of Andhra Pradesh against the social evil of alcohol drinking is a magnum war in Indian social history. Women have played a historic role in bringing about a ban on consumption and sale of distilled liquor in Andhra Pradesh. The movement indeed was not just for elimination of liquor but for the protection and survival of their lives and culture.
The rural women in the villages raised their voices against the degeneration of the progress of their families through the damage caused by their men to their children and themselves. The movement was started in a small village, Dubagunta, in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh. The main reason for the movement was said to be the successful literacy mission that has been going in Nellore district.
The National literacy Mission (NLM) was officially launched in Nellore District from 2nd January 1990 and was implemented from January 1991. This program was implemented in a very innovative way with recognition of development as an instrument of change and empowerment of women. Hence a campaign approach was adopted to spread the message of literacy. Primers were written, popular performances used and a center for people’s awareness created. Besides this, cultural committees were organised to convey the meaning and need for literacy in the forms of songs, dance-dramas and street plays. (Pande, 2002) Sharing of problems through such mediums helped women to create a close bonding. They decided to fight the vice of drinking.
The women reasoned that if the arrack shops were closed the men would not get liquor and hence would not drink. These women then marched together the next day and were able to get the arrack shop closed in their village. The Dubagunta episode was soon quoted in another literacy primer, under the title, Adavallu Ekamaithe, (If Women Unite).
The lesson had an electrifying impact on women in other villages who felt that they could do the same. In many villages women’s committees were formed. Their fight turned into a larger issue involving contractors, the excise department and the state itself. The women wanted to know why their village did not have drinking water, schools for children or proper wages but plenty of arrack shops (ibid). Anti-arrack movement though started as a spontaneous outburst of lower class and lower caste women it soon became a rage through classes and castes against local arrack shops, excise officials, liquor contractors and all the machineries of state involved in the trade. Apart from these, the women resisted pressure tactics and attacks from those whom they were fighting. T
he inspirational guidance extended by the veteran freedom fighter Mr. Vavilala Gopala Krishnaiah, added momentum to the movement organised and spread to all villages in the district. Soon all the arrack supply sources were blocked. There were spontaneous and simultaneous demonstrations in all the areas against the evils of arrack consumption.
The women’s struggle against the sale of arrack in Andhra Pradesh had 20 nonpolitical organisations that fought for the scraping of auctions and bring about a complete ban on its manufacture. Through this movement, women have definitely emerged out winners because they are well aware of their strengths and ability to bring about change in society. Most importantly, the anti arrack agitation is a very good example of the articulation of a family violence in public. It showed a feminist way of looking at issues, especially a private issue like family violence and aligning it to a larger issue of state and society. It questioned the notion about domestic violence being private and women not being able to do anything about it.
This movement gave tremendous self-confidence and sense of power to women, who realised their strength and used it to their benefit. Women emerged out winners because they are well aware of their strengths and ability to bring about change in society.
WOMEN’S MOVEMENTS IN INDIA SINCE THE 1970s
In the post Independence period during the first few decades, the major concern was for overall economic growth. This was immediately followed by another decade, which witnessed an increased concern for equity and poverty alleviation. Gender issues were subsumed in poverty related concerns and there were no specific programs which aimed at women. Women during this period were involved in such movements like the law and famine relief movement but did not start to pick up issues involving their oppression until the 1970s. NGOs and other such organisations from the 70s started emphasising on women’s development and provided women avenues of collectively voicing their concerns. These grass root organisations have questioned the welfare approach to women and incorporated an empowerment participatory approach. While questions about the success of these organisations are often raised, it is often seen that women exposed to some amount of mobilisation show great potentialities, receptiveness and defining capacities
The myth of equality for women was shattered by the path breaking, Towards Equality Report of 1974. It focused attention on the fact that despite many progressive social legislations and constitutional guarantees, women’s status had indeed not improved much. Women continued to have an inferior status in many areas like political, economic and social. The report pointed out to a sad fact that society had not yet succeeded in framing the required norms and institutions to enable women to fulfill their multiple roles. The increasing incidence of practice like dowry indicated a further lowering of the status of women. The report also pointed out that the concern for women and their problems which received an impetus during the freedom movement had suffered a decline in the last two decades.
In the post independence period, the women’s movement has concerned itself with a large number of issues such as dowry, women’s work, price rise, land rights, political participation of women, Dalit marginalised women’s right, growing fundamentalism, women’s representation in the media etc. It has also been able to draw a large number of women around three major issues: girl child, gender violence and globalisation.
The important characteristics of the 3rd phase of women’s movement i.e. from post independence era to 1985 are as follows: till the 1970s a kind of passivity or accommodation due to the socio-economic circumstances of free India influenced the women’s movement. The economic crisis of 1960s created an atmosphere in which issues concerning women are more and in which women started taking place (1975-1985- International Women’s Decade) saw the emergence of autonomous women’s movement in which autonomous women’s groups and organisations started fighting for liberation.
Ideals of equal status and important provisions for the welfare of women were incorporated into the Indian constitution, while the pre-independent legislative acts continued to be in force. The constitution guaranteed equal rights to both the sexes. Article 15 and Article 16 (2) of the constitution forbids discrimination and accepts all as equal in the eyes of the law (Article 14). In the early 1950s a series of legislations such as the Hindu Marriage Act, Hindu Succession Act, Dowry Prohibition Act and Equal Remuneration Act were passed. The emergence of independent India as a welfare state also affected the contours of Indian women’s movement. The government Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) promotes welfare and development services for women, children and under privileged sections of the society. It has a nation wide programme for grants-in-aid for welfare activities with a special emphasis on women’s welfare.
The period from the late 1960s has been marked by an economic crisis and stagnation, rising prices, increasing landlessness and generalised discontent both in the rural and urban areas. The left parties took interest in the economic crisis and started organising movements. Through women’s issues were not taken up, women were mobilised in large number and they participated in the general struggle of the rural poor, tribals and industrial working class. Women’s organisations such as Shramik Mahila Sangathana (the working women’s organisation) took up the issue of rising prices of essential goods, adulteration etc. This saw its culmination in the anti price movement of 1973 as a united front organisation of women belonging to political parties such as CPI (M), Socialist Party, Congress and even non-political women. The political parties mobilised women to achieve their own political gains. This resulted in the establishment of National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) by the Communist Party of India. The economic hardships of the rural masses also drew the attention of some political parties. While pressing for better working conditions for peasant women, issues like wife beating, alcoholism, dowry and sexual harassment from the upper castes were also given attention. Thus in the early 1970s while elite women’s organisations were conducting cultural activities and beauty shows, the poor women were getting entrenched into serious movements.
The decade from 1975 to 1985 saw the emergence of autonomous women’s movement. The year 1975 was declared as the International Women’s Year (IWY) which was later extended to a decade. The government appointed the Committee on the Status of Indian Women (CSIW) in 1971 to examine the rights and status of Indian women and to suggest certain measures to enable women to play their proper role in the building up of the nation. Paying unequal wages to women for equal work is a part of the general discrimination against women in the work place especially in the agriculture plantations, mines and other unorganised industries. Working women’s hostels, legal facilities and trade union rights are not available to women. Mortality rate among women is higher than that of men due to malnutrition. Violence against women appears in the form of dowry deaths, wife battering, mass rape during caste and communal riots, gang rape, sexual harassment of women and stereotyped representation of women in media. Along with these, poverty and deprivation affect the conditions of dalit and tribal women, many of whom are forced to prostitution.
Autonomous women’s movements emerged during the international women’s decade which provided an opportunity towards attention on women’s issues. In 1975, March 8th was celebrated as international women’s day for the first time. Important features of the women’s autonomous movement are that women organised themselves and led the movements and fought against oppression, exploitation, injustice and discrimination.
The women’s organisations that emerged during the autonomous movement period could be divided into six categories:
i) Autonomous groups whose main propaganda is agitation and to raise consciousness.
ii) Grass root or mass based organisations like trade unions, agricultural labourers’ organisations, democratic groups, tribal organisations etc. in which women’s issues like wife beating, sexual harassment by the landlords, alcoholism of men have been taken up.
iii) Groups that concentrate on providing services, shelter homes etc. to needy women.
iv) Professional women’s organisations such as doctors, lawyers etc. that seek to agitate against discrimination and more often create alternate channels for professional activity.
v) Women’s wings or fronts of the political parties.
vi) Groups involved in research and documentation on women’s issues
The above mentioned groups and organisations take up women’s problems and its members are mostly women and they are run by women. Saheli, Manushi, Stri Shakti, Stri Mukti Sangathana, Pennurimai Iyyakam etc. are some known women’s organisations. All these groups have taken up various issues like atrocities against women. They issue pamphlets, collect signatures to support demands, organise protest rallies, make demonstrations to mobilise public opinion etc. They also organise street corner meetings, street plays, skits and songs and poster exhibitions. They also bring out feminist magazines to raise awareness among women.
The autonomous movements besides creating general consciousness among women, exposed the conversation of the judiciary as in the Mathura Rape case, by removing the bill boards and stopping shows where women have been shown or used as sex symbols. These autonomous movements have also given rise to special interest groups involved in the anti-dowry and anti-rape campaigns. More research is being carried out on subjects related to women. In the academic field, women’s studies became an upcoming field to be taken more seriously during the 1970s. As a result of the pressure created by the women’s movements, amendments in the laws regarding rape, dowry, marriage etc. were made.
Unlike the women’s movements in America and Britain, in India, the concern for women’s freedom was first espoused by enlightened males during the Bristish era who had imbibed liberal ideas. Upto the 1920s the struggle was carried on by men. It was only after Mahatma Gandhi’s entry into politics, that the nationalist movement under his leadership was transformed from a middle class movement into a mass movement where women for the first time raised their voices against the disabilities that they suffered. It is the women’s movement in India that has been the force behind the long struggle of women’s advancement from subordination to gender equality and finally to women’s empowerment. Though a lot needs to be achieved and there are various impediments in making this reality available to a large section of women, the women’s movement has brought women’s issues centre stage and made them more visible.
