{"id":3536,"date":"2026-08-11T22:11:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-11T16:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/women-s-movements\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T02:57:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-11T21:27:42","slug":"women-s-movements","status":"publish","type":"psir_note","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/psir\/notes\/women-s-movements\/","title":{"rendered":"Women\u2019s movements"},"content":{"rendered":"
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PSIR Notes<\/a>\u203a<\/span>I-B Indian Government and Politics<\/a>\u203a<\/span>Women\u2019s movements<\/span><\/div>\n
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Paper I \u00b7 Indian Government and Politics<\/div>\n

Women\u2019s movements<\/h1>\n
Syllabus \u00b7 Paper I-B \u00b7 11<\/b> \u2014 Social Movement : Civil liberties and human rights movements; women\u2019s movements<\/span>; environmentalist movements.<\/div>\n<\/header>\n
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Women\u2019s Movement \u2014 Meaning & Early Phases<\/h3>\n

A struggle against patriarchy, gender inequality, violence, discrimination, unequal property rights, exclusion from education, unequal representation and the sexual division of labour. Neera Desai<\/span> saw it as rooted in feminist consciousness and organised effort for women\u2019s equality and liberation.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Gail Omvedt\u2019s four types<\/th>\nWhether a \u201cwomen\u2019s movement\u201d<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Men and women fight a common oppression (issue not sexual discrimination)<\/td>\nNot a women\u2019s movement in the strict sense<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Women-only on general issues (slum improvement, price rise)<\/td>\nConstructive value (collective strength), but may not challenge patriarchy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Women\u2019s reform movements (education, abolition of sati)<\/td>\nNot full women\u2019s movements \u2014 do not always attack the structure<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Women\u2019s liberation movements (against sexual division of labour, patriarchy)<\/td>\nWomen\u2019s movements in the proper sense<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Before independence:<\/span> a 19th-century social-reform phase (Roy, Vidyasagar, Phule) on sati, polygamy, female infanticide, widow remarriage, marriage age, education and property; then a nationalist phase where Gandhi\u2019s mass politics widened women\u2019s public role. Tanika Sarkar<\/span> (patriarchal structures), Geraldine Forbes<\/span> (neglect of women\u2019s education), Uma Chakravarti<\/span> (legal subordination). After independence:<\/span> demands shifted from male-led reform to gender equality, questioning the division of labour and building autonomous women\u2019s organisations.<\/p>\n

Women in the National Movement<\/h3>\n

Participation breached patriarchal boundaries \u2014 from Rani Lakshmi Bai<\/span> & Begum Hazrat Mahal<\/span> to Sarojini Naidu<\/span>, Madame Bhikaji Cama<\/span>, Sucheta Kripalani<\/span>, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur<\/span>, Hansa Mehta<\/span>, Dakshayani Velayudhan<\/span>, Durgabai Deshmukh<\/span>. Revolutionaries: Pritilata Waddedar<\/span>, Kalpana Dutt<\/span>, Lakshmi Sahgal<\/span>. Bodies: YWCA, 1875; All India Women’s Conference<\/span>, 1927.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Scholar<\/th>\nReading<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Geraldine Forbes<\/span><\/td>\nWomen’s participation transformed the public sphere.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Uma Chakravarti<\/span><\/td>\nNationalism mobilised women but kept emancipation secondary<\/span>.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tanika Sarkar<\/span><\/td>\nThe use of motherhood<\/span> both empowered & constrained women.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Partha Chatterjee<\/span><\/td>\nWomen placed in the “inner” domain<\/span> as bearers of culture.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n

Assessment.<\/span> Women entered public politics in large numbers, yet patriarchal limits remained and women’s issues were not always central to the Congress agenda.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s Movement since the 1970s<\/h3>\n

Four phases \u2014 from “grey years” to the contemporary era.<\/span> I \u00b7 till 1970<\/span> \u2014 “Grey years” (Aparna Mahanta); constitutional equality, Hindu Marriage Act 1955<\/span>, Hindu Succession Act 1956<\/span>; dowry & patriarchy persist \u2192 II \u00b7 1970s\u201380s<\/span> \u2014 Towards Equality (1974); UN Decade for Women (1975\u201385); autonomous groups; Mathura, Roop Kanwar, Shah Bano, anti-dowry \u2192 III \u00b7 1990s\u20132000s<\/span> \u2014 Liberalisation, global feminism, Beijing 1995; workforce entry, sexual harassment, caste-gender, communalism, NGO growth \u2192 IV \u00b7 contemporary<\/span> \u2014 #MeToo, marital-rape debate, LGBTQ+ rights, triple talaq, Nirbhaya reforms; decriminalising homosexuality & adultery<\/p>\n

Towards Equality (1974)<\/span>, by the Committee on the Status of Women in India, exposed the declining sex ratio, violence, discrimination and falling female participation in politics and the economy \u2014 shifting women\u2019s issues from welfare to development. Autonomous groups of 1975\u201385 took up dowry, work, land rights, participation, Dalit women, fundamentalism and media representation. Organisations: Majlis, Awaaz-e-Niswan, Saheli, Vimochana, Manushi, Jagoree, the All India Dalit Women Conference.<\/p>\n

Women\u2019s Empowerment & Democracy<\/h3>\n

Empowerment expands education, dignity, bodily autonomy, economic capacity, legal rights, participation, representation and voice in decision-making. It deepens democracy \u2014 strengthening grassroots democracy, bringing private violence into public debate, and making democracy more deliberative. The 73rd Constitutional Amendment<\/span> raised women\u2019s participation in Panchayati Raj and created a new leadership base.<\/p>\n

Scholars:<\/span> Nivedita Menon<\/span> (structural change and intersectionality); Zoya Hasan<\/span> (Indian feminism as pluralistic); Arundhati Roy<\/span> (feminism linked to land, displacement and economic justice); Chandra Talpade Mohanty<\/span> and Sarojini Sahoo<\/span> (intersectionality); Devaki Jain<\/span> (the movement at a crossroad); Romila Thapar<\/span> (identity politics has dealt the movement a serious blow); Kate Millett<\/span>\u2019s \u201csexual politics\u201d and Shulamith Firestone<\/span>\u2019s \u201cdialectic of sex\u201d remain relevant. Sudha Pai<\/span>\u2019s \u201csarpanch pati\u201d warns that formal representation is not substantive empowerment.<\/p>\n

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UPSC 2000<\/span> \u2014 Comment: Women empowerment in India and its impact on democracy.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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UPSC 2006<\/span><\/p>\n

Comment: The Concept of Women Empowerment.<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Reservation Policy for Women<\/h3>\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Opposition<\/th>\nSupport<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru<\/span> & Sarojini Naidu<\/span> \u2014 may compromise merit \/ confidence; win on merit<\/td>\nLaura Keenan<\/span> \u2014 stagnant women\u2019s representation reflects hostile social conditions, not lack of talent<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Towards Equality<\/span> (1974) \u2014 opposed in Parliament and assemblies, favoured local bodies<\/td>\nRohini Pande<\/span> \u2014 reservation reduces prejudice against women leaders<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ela Bhatt<\/span> \u2014 preferred economic empowerment (the SEWA approach)<\/td>\nGabrielle Kruks-Wisner<\/span> \u2014 Panchayat reservation improves women\u2019s social mobility<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sudha Pai<\/span> \u2014 warns of \u201cPati Panchayats\u201d \/ \u201csarpanch pati\u201d; stresses female literacy<\/td>\nEsther Duflo<\/span> & Raghavendra Chattopadhyay<\/span> \u2014 women-led councils invested more in public goods (e.g. drinking water)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n
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UPSC 2001<\/span> \u2014 The women activists did not support Quota till 1974. What led to the subsequent change in their stand?<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Anti-Arrack Movement<\/h3>\n

A mass uprising of rural women in Andhra Pradesh, beginning in Nellore district and the village of Dubagunta in the early 1990s, emerging through the National Literacy Campaign (1990) \u2014 where women discussed everyday problems and named arrack as a chief cause of suffering.<\/p>\n

Causes:<\/span> alcoholism, domestic violence, financial insecurity, social disintegration, liquor contractors\u2019 political power and the state\u2019s Varun Vahini programme supplying alcohol sachets. Women led protests, marches, picketing, destruction of brewing material, night patrols, fines and sit-ins \u2014 most with little formal education or prior agitation experience.<\/p>\n

Feminist significance<\/span><\/p>\n

Susie Tharu<\/span> and K. Lalitha<\/span> read it as a feminist struggle \u2014 women challenged patriarchy in home and public sphere alike. Vina Mazumdar<\/span> saw a crucial moment: rural women changed public policy. It gave practical meaning to \u201cThe Personal is the Political.\u201d Chief Minister Kotla Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy banned arrack from 1 October 1993.<\/p>\n

UPSC 2024 \u00b7 10m<\/span>Comment on women\u2019s role in anti-arrack movement.<\/span>Answer<\/a><\/div>\n

Contemporary Women\u2019s Struggles<\/h3>\n

#MeToo<\/span><\/p>\n

Encouraged survivors of sexual assault and harassment to speak publicly through social media, connecting women across countries, classes and professions. Achievements: exposed the scale of harassment, challenged elite impunity and progressive-male hypocrisy, weakened victim-blaming, built survivor solidarity. Criticism: weak intersectionality, elite-urban visibility, limited reach among informal and rural women, and difficulty of legal follow-up.<\/p>\n

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\u201cAfter ages of silence, suffering and misplaced guilt, sexual assault is explosively emerging as one of the telling dysfunctions of present-day capitalist society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Angela Davis<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Catharine A. MacKinnon<\/span>: #MeToo is \u201ceroding the two biggest barriers to ending sexual harassment in law and in life: the disbelief and trivializing dehumanization of its victims.\u201d Schultz<\/span>: harassment is more about sexism than sex. Burke Langone<\/span>: it is \u201ca symptom of a larger, systemic inequality and systemic pattern of exclusion.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ecofeminism<\/span><\/p>\n

Links climate change, gender inequality, social injustice and environmental degradation to masculine domination. Vandana Shiva<\/span>: women and nature share a reciprocal, non-exploitative relationship; the degradation of both is tied to colonialism; women\u2019s knowledge makes them central to biodiversity. Bina Agarwal<\/span>\u2019s critique: Shiva groups all developing-country women into one category and ignores historical, cultural and social processes. Chipko was an early ecofeminist movement \u2014 forest loss raised women\u2019s labour and made them stakeholders in afforestation.<\/p>\n

Dalit women & intersectionality<\/span><\/p>\n

Dalit women face overlapping caste, class, gender, and state \/ upper-caste \/ police violence. The National Federation of Dalit Women grew from a process begun in 1987 (first national meeting in Bangalore under the Christian Dalit Liberation Movement). They argued mainstream women\u2019s groups ignored caste-based sexual violence and treated women as homogeneous; Gabriele Dietrich<\/span> and Gail Omvedt<\/span> showed how caste oppression affects Dalit women differently.<\/p>\n

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UPSC 2014<\/span> \u2014 Examine the scope and limitations of women\u2019s movements in India.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Previous<\/em>Civil liberties and human rights movements<\/b><\/a>Next<\/em>Environmentalist movements<\/b><\/a><\/div>\n

<\/main><\/p>\n