Feminist Movements Give Voice and Protection to Women in India

By: Proshanti Banerjee

April 12, 2012

Even growing up in any culture, it is frustrating to see that women have often had a subordinate role to men throughout history. Only in the past century have conditions for women been improving. In some countries, however, such change has only been happening in the past few decades.

Before coming to India, I was told that the country is very patriarchal. Although there are certainly patriarchal customs, such as women not beginning to eat dinner until she has finished serving her husband and children, I was pleased to see that the feminist movement in India is just as strong as in any other part of the world. For example, for my social justice class we visited a women’s center called Alochana, an organization that advocates social justice issues for women in India, particularly women of lower castes. The center works on improving the conditions of women through education and empowerment.

Our professor told us about a book called Who Will Make the Chapattis? In India, chapattis are a type of bread that people eat with almost every meal, and the women of the household are usually the ones who make them fresh daily. The author criticizes the fact that the only role for women in Indian society is making dinner and looking after the family.

As mentioned, the center does a lot of work that is focused on lower castes. In a documentary I watched at my internship, a Dalit (a member of the lowest caste) says she is a “double Dalit” because she is a woman. Alochana does its best to empower these types of women. Because they have little to no education, Alochana teaches them about how India’s laws work and what their rights are. As a result, women are able to get involved in the country’s political society and speak up for themselves.

In addition to Alochana, there are several other feminist movements and organizations taking root in India. For example, there was recently a “Take Back the Night” rally in Pune to speak out against sexual and domestic violence. I was amazed to learn that the same movements that take place at American universities are also happening in other parts of the world. I had no idea that “Take Back the Night” was a transnational movement.

There was also a battle of the bands competition at the rally, so it was difficult to tell if people were there for the cause or simply to listen to live music. While I was unable to attend the rally, I talked to a friend who did. He told me that the majority of people participating in the rally were women. He told me that in some sects of feminism, the women think that men shouldn’t be allowed to participate in feminist movements because this would only perpetuate the subordination of women. In fact, men are not allowed to participate at many of these rallies.

While here, I’ve also noticed that the male-to-female ratio in the streets of India is startlingly high. My other female classmates and I are sometimes the only women when we walk through the streets. I’m not exactly sure why this is the case. I know that males are more respected and revered in India, but in urban areas just as many girls attend school as boys.

I’ve also observed that there are no female rickshaw drivers. Nor have I seen a single female taxi driver. Thinking through all these phenomena, I’ve realized that life in India for women is not as drastically different from the life of women in America. In America, social norms often still dictate that women stay at home and take care of the family. The majority of stay-at-home parents are still women.

I was happy to see that feminist movements are taking place in India. After coming here, however, I’ve recognized that feminism in one part of the world is not much different than in another part. As Shahnaz Khan argued in her article “The Native Informant,” the different regions of the world must unite into a transnational feminist movement in order to achieve real and lasting change.

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