Mapping the terrain of activism

labrys, études féministes/ estudos feministas
julho/dezembro 2015 - juillet/décembre

Mapping the terrain of activism in the Feminist and the Women’s Movement in India

Rekha Pande

Abstract

The present paper maps the terrain of activism in the feminist and the Women’s Movement in India. The Indian women’s movement is extremely diverse; the cultural, historical, geographical, religious, political and regional factors specifically contribute to this diversity. Such a rich diversity makes it very difficult to comment and describe the movement in its entirety. It is possible to talk about the main issues in terms of evolution of this movement, its main currents and broad trends. The women’s movement is not a homogeneous group or federation of different groups. There is no one voice but there is a basic acceptance of women’s oppression and the belief that that it can be eliminated.

Key-words:Feminism, Women´s Movement, activism

While the women’s movement is a much earlier phenomenon, the term Feminism is a modern one. In the pre-independence era, the Women’s Movement began as a social reform movement in the 19^th century. At this time, the western idea of liberty, equality and fraternity was being imbibed by our educated elite through the study of English and the contact with west. This period saw a lot of men and women dealing with the issue of women through various activities. In the post-Independence period during the first few decades, of the 50’s and 60’s the major concern was for overall economic growth. Women joined in a number of protests against price rise and land rights. This was immediately followed by another decade, the 70’s which witnessed a number of women organizing around the issue of equity and poverty alleviation. In was primarily after the 1980’s that women’s activism came to the forefront. Women’s groups organized around the issue of violence especially dowry, women’s work, political participation of women.

Besides this there were major movements in different states around the issue of environment and Arrack (liquor). The 1990’s saw a struggle for Women’s Reservation, Anti global feminist movements and the issue of violence coming to the forefront. Women’s struggles today and in the past have not only been about women-specific needs and concerns. It can also be said that none of the issues of the women’s movement in the 1950s and 1970s in India have ceased to be concerns of the Feminist movement today.

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, it is the Feminist movement has brought women’s issues center stage and made them more visible.

It is possible to talk about the main issues in terms of evolution of this movement, its main currents and broad trends.

The women’s movement is not a homogeneous group or federation of different groups. There is no one voice but there is a basic acceptance of women’s oppression and the belief that that it can be eliminated. While the women’s movement is a much earlier phenomenon, the term Feminism is a modern one. Today the Feminist movement comprises a number of social, cultural and political movements, theories and moral philosophies concerned with gender inequalities and equal rights for women.

The Pre independence period:

In the pre-independence era, the Women’s Movement began as a social reform movement in the 19^th century. At this time, the western idea of liberty, equality and fraternity was being imbibed by our educated elite through the study of English and the contact with west. This western liberalism was extended to the Women’s question and was translated into a social reform movement. The reform movements were not homogeneous and varied a lot in terms of the ideas and changes that was to be fostered. They did however share a common concern for rooting out the social evils, partly in response to charges of barbarity from the colonial rulers.

This was a period of the hegemonic control and influence of colonial ideology. At this juncture, the Indian intellectual reformer sensitive to the power of colonial domination and responding to the western ideas of rationalism, liberalism and civilized society on one hand also sought ways and means of resisting this colonial hegemony by resorting to what K N Panniker refers to as Cultural defense ( Panniker, PIHC: 1975).

This cultural defense resulted in a paradoxical situation. Spurred by new European ideas of rationalism and progress, the reformers tried to create a new society, modern yet rooted in Indian tradition. They began a critical appraisal of Indian society in an attempt to create a new ethos devoid of all overt social aberrations like polytheism, polygamy, casteism, sati, child marriage, illiteracy- all of which they believed were impediments to progress of women.

All the social reformers shared a belief common to many parts of the world in the 19^th century that no society could progress if its women were backward. To the reformers, the position of Indian women, as it was in the 19^th century was abysmally low and hence their efforts were directed at an overall improvement in the status of women through legislation, political action and propagation, of education. This was mainly spurred by the first wave feminism of the west and concentrated on basic rights for women ( Pande, 2009, 27).

Women were seen as passive recipients of a more humanitarian treatment to be given by western educated elite male. There was thus an attempt to reform the woman rather than reform the social conditions which opposed them. There were no attempts to alter the power structure and the man-woman relation in the society. This was but natural since the change in the status of woman was being sought only within questioning patriarchy itself. The attempt was to create a new Indian woman, truly Indian and yet sufficiently educated and tutored in the 19^th century values to suit the new emerging society. Thus education for girls was not meant to equip them to be self-sufficient, independent and emancipated and train them to follow some profession but to be good housewives, the mistress of the home and the hearth ( Pande and Kameshwari, 1987,PIHC)

Yet in spite of this limitation this period saw a lot of activism among both men and women. Raja Ram Mohan Roy argued that sati was not supported by shastras and was nothing less than female murder. He created a lot of public opinion against these institutions. He argued against polygamy and for property rights for women. Keshav Chandra Sen was instrumental in getting the Native Marriage Act passed in 1872 which forbade early marriage between boys under 18 and girls under 14, it forbade polygamy and encouraged widow marriage.

It allowed inter-caste marriages for those who declared that they did not belong to any recognized faith. Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar also was very critical of the system of early marriage and supported literacy for women; many women’s organizations also took up these reforms (Pande, 2015,7). Pandita Rama Bai’s Sharda Sadan (1892) in Poona, Shri Mahipatram Rupram Anathashram in Ahmedabad (1892), Shri Zorastrian Mandal in Bombay (1903) , maternity and child welfare league in Baroda (1914) , Bhagini Samaj in Poona (1916) all were established and worked with the particular objective of improving the lot of women and removing the various ills in society.

These regional organizations were followed by national organizations like women’s Indian association (1917), the National Council of Women in India (1920). All India Women’s Conference (1926) which went on to organize 12 women’s conferences till 1937 and Federation of University women in India (1920) with the sole objective of stimulating the interests of women in civic and public life and the removal of disabilities of women whether legal, economic or social and the promotion of social; civil, moral and educational welfare of women and children ( Forbes, 2000).

The social reform movement had its own paradox, on the one hand there was a preoccupation with western ideas to emulate, assimilate or reject, on the other hands there was also the element of revivalism or a need to reassert and reinforce a cultural identity distinct from the British colonizers. Besides seeking reforms through legislation, education was seen as important means of changing women’s situation (Forbes, 1981).

Women’s education, which saw its beginnings, now was visualized for creating appropriate wives for the men of the newly emerging westernized elite (Mazumdar, 1972). Women also joined in struggle against colonialism, but while they were encouraged to participate by leaders like Gandhi, their work in the struggles was just extension of their domestic work. Very few women were allowed to join the front ranks with men, and the ones that did spoke of the isolation they felt at times (Kumar, 1993, 4). As a form of backlash to these new ideas that colonialism brought to India, women’s roles were being pushed to a more traditional way of life. Women traditionally became, emblematic of tradition, and the reworking of tradition is largely conducted through debating the rights and status of women in society (Sangari, 1989, 90). On account of this common view on women, whenever culture is being threatened an immediate response is an enforcement of women to remain in roles that are more traditional.

One is certainly not belittling the contributions of the social reform movement. In spite of its limitations, it cannot be denied that the social reform movement did see a lot of activism and helped in removing prejudices against women’s education and provided a secular space for women in the public realm.

When Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi came on the political scene he could draw in a large number of women to the political arena by giving a very broad meaning of swaraj, and helping them find dignity in public life and a new place in national mainstream. It was primarily due to the efforts of women and their role in the freedom struggle that women got the right to vote and complete equality in the constitution India. Article 15(3) empowers the state to make special provisions for women. There were a large number of policy documents also which followed but what really happened was that a great gap arose between the theoretical status of women and their rights as defined in these and what existed in reality.

The period of the 1950’s and 60’s:

Immediately after independence, India had to deal with a variety of problems. The joy of Independence was tempered by the sadness of partition and the migration of a large majority of people and the breakup of communal violence in Punjab and Bengal. This was followed by war in Kashmir, the danger of territorial fragmentation, the dispersion of power among 600 princely states and last but not the least, economic dislocation which was to affect women the most. Years of colonial domination had destroyed our indigenous crafts and depleted our natural resources. Industrialization, changing technologies illiteracy, lack of mobility all resulted in the inability of women to cope with the new order. Once their labor was regarded as unimportant in the productive market, their role in the family also became marginal giving them a raw status, which became abysmal with the passage of time.

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 such specific programs, which aimed at women (Women in India, 1985). Though there was no activism as such with regards to women’s issues, during this period women were involved to a large extent in movements such as the anti-price, law and famine relief movement.

The decade of the 1970’s:

The myth of equality for women was shattered by the path breaking, Towards Equality Report of 1974. It focuses 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, indicate a further lowering of the status of women. They also indicate a process of regression from some of the norms developed during the freedom movement.

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 (Towards equality, 1975). This lead to a lot of discussions in different forums on the status of women.

The decade of the 1980’s:

It was primarily during the 1980’s that the women’s groups came forward with a lot of activism in response to the incidents that had occurred earlier. This was the Mathura rape case. Mathura was an orphaned adivasi, a tribal girl. She occasionally worked as a domestic help with a woman named Nushi. She met Nushi's nephew named Ashok who wanted to marry her, but her brother did not agree to the union and went to the local police station to lodge a complaint claiming that his sister, a minor, was being kidnapped by Ashok and his family members.

After receiving the complaint the police authority brought Ashok and his family members to the police station. Following general investigation Mathura, her brother, Ashok and his family members were permitted to go back home. However, as they were leaving, Mathura was asked to stay behind while her relatives were asked to wait outside. Mathura was then raped by the two policemen.

When her relatives and the assembled crowd threatened to burn down the police chowky, the two accused policemen, Ganpat and Tukaram, reluctantly agreed to file a panchnama (legal recording of evidence). This case occurred in 1978, when the rape laws in our country were heavily skewed in favour of the rapist. The most controversial question was of course regarding the consent of the female. In most cases, the victim found it impossible to prove that she had not consented to the act. The same happened in Mathura's case.

The Supreme Court ruled (Tukaram Vs. State of Maharashtra), that there were no injuries on the person of the girl, which meant that she did not put up resistance and that the incidence was a "peaceful affair"! When Ganpat was let off, it stirred up a hornet's nest and a number of women’s groups came forward and protested. Women march in New Delhi in 1980 to demand that the Indian Supreme Court reconsider the case of Mathura.

There were various meetings organized and the government was forced to wake up from its long slumber and revoke the decision. In 1983, a comprehensive change was made in the rape laws. The Mathura case was monumental both from a social and legal perspective. It sparked public protest for the first time about rape in India and led to the reform of sexual assault laws. It gave rise to a women's movement in India, sprouting a host of groups dedicated to empowering women. At last, people here began to see gender-based violence for what it really is: a brutal act of power.

This decade also a saw a lot of activism with regards to environment emerging in the hills of Uttarakhand namely the Chipko Movement. The movement started in Tehri Garhwal district of Utter Pradesh. It challenged the old belief that forests mean only timber and emphasized their roles in making soil, water and pure air which are the basis of human life. This philosophy popularized the movement in many countries.

The women of Advani village in Tehri Garhwal had tied the sacred thread around the trees, embraced these trees giving it the name Chipko, faced police firing in February 1978 and later courted arrest. This movement continued under the leadership of Sri Sunderlal Bahuguna in various villages. The Chipko's plan is in fact a slogan of planting five F's-Food, Fodder, Fuel, Fiber and Fertilizer tree to make communities self-sufficient in all their basic needs. It will protect the environment and bring permanent peace, prosperity and happiness to mankind.

The Chipko Movement is inimical to gender -- the theoretical underpinnings as well as the political and economic ones. The villagers depended on the forests for firewood, fodder for their cattle, and wood for their houses and farm tools. But the government restricted huge areas of forest from their use, and then auctioned off the trees to lumber companies and industries from the plains—a practice inherited with little change from the British colonialists.

Because of these restrictions and an ever-growing population, the mountain women found themselves walking hours each day just to gather firewood and fodder ( Shepard, Mark, 1987). Chipko movement points out the link between women's burden as food providers and gatherers and their militancy in depending natural resources from violent devastation. The word "Chipko" originates from a particular form of non-violent action developed by hill women in the 19^th century runner of today’s movement.

On April 1974, the women of India's most poverty stricken district, Tehri-Garhwal whose annual per capita income was Rs.129 rose against tree -felling. It is being nationally and internationally discussed as a people’s ecological movement for the protection of the natural environment. Since women are the gatherers of fuel, fodder and water, it is they who feel the first impact of soil erosion. Mindless destruction of the forests has seriously upset the hill people’s economy. Men often migrate to the plains, women are left to cope with an ever more impoverished existence and to provide for the old and the children.

Many women have been driven to suicide because of the increasing pressures on them, therefore it is women who have seen through the government planning on which crores of rupees have been spent during the last 33 years. Women have repeatedly challenged administrators and politicians with their slogan ‘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 contractors without consulting the women, who would be the worst affected. The women said that 'this forest is our home, we will not let it be cut down. The police force used all repressive and terrorizing methods to retreat the non-violent strength of the women (Weber, Thomas, 1989).

The Chipko women believed that the trees were living and breathing carbon dioxide, the same as they were. In essence, the trees should be respected. The extensive forests were central to the successful practice of agriculture and animal husbandry. In addition, medicinal herbs were used for healing powers.

The hill women used the jungle of fruit, vegetables or roots as aids in the times of scarcity. The dependence of the hill peasant on forest resources was institutionalized through a variety of social and cultural mechanisms. Through religion, folklore and oral tradition, the forests were protected by rings of love. Hilltops were dedicated to local deities and the trees around the spot regarded with great respect. Many wooded areas were not of spontaneous growth and bore marks of the hill folk’s instinct for the plantation and preservation of the forest; indeed the "spacious wooded areas extending over the mountain ranges and hill sides testimony to the care bestowed upon them by the successive generations of the Kumaunies."

The slogan of the Chipko women is soil, water, vegetation are the gifts of the forest soil, and water and vegetation are the basis of life. The fundamental tenet of ecology has not come to them from scientific research but has sprung from their daily experience and struggle to survive. These women knew that the commercialization of the forest management means the erosion of the soil which is the base of their existence and drying up of water sources.

In the course of this movement, the hill 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 the women.

The decade of the 1990’s :

The decades of the 1990’s saw a lot of activism around the issue of liquor, arrack. In Andhra Pradesh, rural women who had been experiencing domestic violence for a long time decided to deal with its root cause publicly and in the process started a movement, which questioned the government policy on liquor, besides raising many other issues ( Pande,2002, 342). The movement was started in a small village Called "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 2^nd January 1990 and was implemented from January 1991 after an intensive preparation of four months. This program was implemented in a very innovative way.

At the core of the program was recognition of development as an instrument of change and empowerment of women. Hence a campaign approach was adopted to spread the message of literacy, and instead of just teaching the alphabets; there was a three-pronged approach, which was initiated. First, primers were written, popular performances used and center for People’s awareness created. Committees of dedicated officers were set up to write and prepare Primers as reading material to be used for the target groups. This was done after many discussions and issues dealt with were contemporary issues. Besides this, cultural committees were organized to convey the meaning and need for literacy in the forms of songs, dance ,dramas and street plays.( Pande, 2002, 351)

The literacy classes started and the women were using three primers. One of these primers contained a story, Seeta Katha (The story of Seeta), where Seeta the wife of a liquor addict commits suicide after failing in her efforts to reform her husband. In Dubagunta, a lot of discussion followed and women argued that there was no other alternative. Slowly some women opened up and stated that they had also contemplated suicide but could not do this because of their children.

Many others started telling about the violence they faced and there was a close bonding, which emerged. Some women felt that there must be a way to deal with this evil and soon all the women vowed that they would fight the evil of drink and see to it that no drunkards are left in the village. These women had a very simplistic solution 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 and men could not get a drink.

The Dubagunta episode was soon quoted in another literacy primer, under the title, Adavallu Ekamaithe, (If women unite), which discussed how women could stop the liquor in their village by uniting against it. This lesson had an electrifying impact on women. Women in many other villages felt that that if women in Dubagunta had succeeded so could they. In many villages women’s committees were formed. They first tried to stop their husbands and other male relatives from drinking but found that this was difficult a goal to achieve till the liquor shops continue to exist in the village. Their fight had now turned into a larger issue involving the contractor 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? Why was nothing available in their village except arrack? Why was the Government so keen on supplying arrack? (Pande,2005, 216)

Anti-arrack movement was a spontaneous outburst of poor, lower class and lower caste women who just learnt what 'literacy’ is. The unity and the collective strength shown by the women in Andhra Pradesh was a cross caste and class barriers for the first time is historic indeed.

Women's frustration and anger suddenly burst out into a spontaneous protest against the local arrack shops, the excise officials, the liquor contractors and all the machineries of state involved in the trade. Apart from preventing the local liquor shops from functioning by destroying arrack, burning sachets and forcing local sellers to close their shops, the women have resisted their pressure tactics and attacks from contractors, excise department officials and the excise police.

The inspirational guidance extended by the veteran freedom fighter Mr. Vavilala Gopala Krishnaiah, added momentum to the movement organised by the rural women within a few days the struggle 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 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 woman not being able to do anything about it. The noteworthy feature of women's movement is that it was led on the Gandhian principles. In support of the movement, various cooperative societies in the state have declared that in future loan facilities would be extended only to those who give up dinking.

Another interesting factor about this movement was that there was no organized leadership and most of it came about because of local initiative. Leadership was offered by many voluntary organizations, women’s associations and women based in the villages. No detailed planning went into the agendas.

Women took action on the spot depending on the situation, going to liquor shops, and arguing with shop owners, snatching away the liquor sachets. Most of the activities were planned and implemented by the women, be it canvassing, going on processions, dharnas, and stopping the men from drinking.Today the State may have given up on prohibition but this movement served its purpose. It gave a tremendous self-confidence and sense of power to the women, who realized their strength, came in large numbers and unity of action.

Despite the hurdles, the movement had considerable achievement especially in the face of a recalcitrant state. This one hopes would go a long way in strengthening many democratic movements like Panchayati Raj which are being carried out at the grass root level in our country today. Women have definitely emerged out winners because they are well aware of their strengths and ability to bring about change in society. The greatest achievement of the movement was in using popular performance in creating the necessary awareness, raising consciousness in the countryside to take control of one’s life situation. This had a great impact than any amount of speeches or writing could have had.

As a result of all the activism this decade saw a lot of policies being formulated with regards to women. The 73rd and 74th amendments of 1993 to Indian constitution providing for reservation of seats for women in panchayats and municipalities are a giant stride in the empowerment of women.

With 33% reservation for women in rural and urban local bodies , fifteen years down the line today we have 1.2 million elected women representatives in the institutions of local governance in rural India( Study, Panchayati Raj, 2008). Yet we are also witness to the hurdles and obstacles placed in passing the Bill providing for reservation in the legislatures and Lok Sabha. The battle for greater representation to women through the Women's Reservation Bill (WRB) in Lok Sabha and State Assemblies providing 33% reservation for women was routinely punctuated by frayed tempers and war of words which sometimes got physical and saw a lot of activism among the women in and outside the Parliament.

Successive governments have placed it on the floor of the house, only to have it shelved. Women Reservation Bill was passed in the in Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, March 9, 2010 but it has still not been passed by the Lok Sabha. If the Bill were to be approved by the Lok Sabha It would then have to be passed by half of India’s state legislatures and signed by the President. A success story of this decade was the setting up of the National commission that has also helped in creating an environment for the realization of women’s equality.

Women´s Movements since the Turn of the Millennium:

Since the turn of the millennium the effects of globalisation on all parts of the society became even more visible and noticeable. Globalisation has different impacts and outcomes on cultural, social, economic and political levels. No doubt, globalisation is an on-going process that does not have a clear starting point and very likely not a clear end. Globalization has also decreased the control of women over resources. It has led to displacement and when both men and women land up in urban slums it affects the women more due to lack of sanitation and increase of violence ( Pande, 2001).

In this process the knowledge of traditional medicines, herbs and plants have been destroyed. The rhetoric of globalization promises to remove backwardness through a world wide exchange of information and establish a cosmopolitan culture but in actual practice since the world is based on unequal power relations these concerns are put on hold and leads to displacement, marginalization and pauperization ( Pande, 2007).

Some have argued for the positive aspect of globalization. Kaushik says,

“Globalisation has definitely helped India. With more hoarded wealth finding its way into investment and mutual funds, India, will become less and less dependent on foreign investors for capital. [...] This economic empowering of India in the international area is definitely reflected in its political, scientific and technological confidence and negotiations.( Kaushik, 2009: 9).

She argues further that also the rural areas profit from the improving economic situation of the nation. The health and educational sectors have seen some investments in rural areas. Nevertheless, control of women over resources is still decreasing and displacements due to development projects or privatisations of land destroy livelihoods of rural women and men and the next generations. Traditional ways of living, e.g. herbal medical treatment, are being lost due to cheap generic medicine.

Now increasingly there has been an emphasis on the promotion of Non-Governmental, grassroots level organizations( NGO’s) for women’s development. Some of these organizations have varied in their scope; objectives and vision but they have nevertheless provided women avenues of collectively voicing their concerns. These grass root organizations have questioned the welfare approach to women whereas in they are primarily seen as beneficiary or recipients of programs and instead incorporated an empowerment participatory approach. While questions about the success of these organizations are often raised, it is often seen that women exposed to some amount of mobilization show great potentialities, receptiveness and defining capacities (Banerjee, 1992).

What globalisation also brought along was an increase of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and self-help-groups (SHGs). Dietrich reasons that ´in the urge to create new spaces and institutions, the women´s movements have often been confined to setting up projects and thus becoming NGOized( Dietrich, 2005, 588). Due to the thousands of organisations women´s movements became decentralized and have supporters in every part of the sub-continent. ‘

These organisation take up women's issues and its members are mostly women and they are run by women without any interference from any party. Some of the important NGO’s are, Saheli (female friend), Manushi (woman), Stri Shakti, Nari Samata Manch , Mahila Dakshita Samiti, Sangarsh Samiti in Delhi, Stri Mukti Sangathana, Socialist women's group in Bombay, Purogami Sanghatana in Pune, Stree Shakti Sanghatana, Saheern, Bhumika, Ankuram in Hyderabad, Pennurimai Iyyakam in Madras.

All these groups have taken up various issues like atrocities against women. Rape, alcoholism, wife beating, dowry harassment and murder, Violence in the family, problems of working women, oppression of lower class, caste and minority women, media distortion of women's image, personal laws, health issues, problems of women in slums etc.

They issued pamphlets, collected signatures to support demand, organized and protest rallies, demonstrations to mobilize public opinion etc. They also organized street corner meetings, street plays, skits and songs and poster exhibitions. Many feminist magazines are being published. For eg. Manushi. Saheli etc.

Some of the major issues around which now there is a lot of activism is the declining sex ratio. The girl child is the woman of tomorrow and we can see how we treat her. Indian culture idolizes boys and dreads the birth of girls. She is breast fed for a shorter time and dawn out of school to take care of siblings. The cycle of deprivation and disadvantage is further compounded by early marriage, premature pregnancies and attended risks. The girl child needs to be empowered to enter the main stream of economic and social activity( Pande, 2004) .

Globalization accompanied by population increase, urbanization, international migration, colonization and political change contribute importantly to the growth of prostitution and the trafficking in women and girls around the world (Gail and Stephanie, 2005, 119). In today’s world, hundreds of women and children are trafficked from the third world in the name of jobs, domestic work, films role or marriage. Today trafficking generates more money than even arms trade or drugs trade. Trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation is one of the worst forms of human rights violation. Adolescent girls from marginalized families are the most vulnerable ( Pande, 2014).

To conclude, it is the activism of women 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 center stage and made them more visible. The women’s movement has moved from strength to strength .Customs, culture and religion are intertwined in a traditional society and change is very slow. The problems that women face with in their families in India are uniform regardless of religion, caste or community and yet women continue to be governed by a multiplicity of family laws which are detriment to women due to the political repercussions.

There has also been much activism on the issue of a uniform civil code but the fact remains that though much is talked about a uniform civil code, no party or political leadership would really attempt this for fear of a back lash and women still have an identity which is within a family or religion and not that of citizens of a secular state.

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Biography

Rekha Pande is the Head of the Department of History and a Joint Faculty in the Centre for Women’s Studies at the University of Hyderabad. India. She has been the founding member and Director of two Centres for Women’s Studies, one at Maulana Azad National Urdu University and the other at the University of Hyderabad. Her work is in the Inter disciplinary area of History and Women’s Studies. She has to her credit ten books and more than 150 articles in National and International Journals besides Book chapters. She has been the Editor of, International Feminist Journal of Politics (IFJP), Rout ledge Taylor and Francis group, U.K. She also edited Foreign Policy Analysis, which is published by Blackwell, USA. She received the International Visiting Fellowship in the School of Policy Studies, in the University of Bristol, U.K. Academic Fellow, University of Buffalo, USA and International Visiting Scholar, at Maison De Research, Paris and Visiting Professorship at the University of Artois, Arras, France. She has been the Project Director of thirty nine Projects from International, National and state Agencies , in a career spanning three decades. Dr. Pande has been the National Core Group member of Mahila Samkhya Programme (Women’s empowerment), Government of India. As part of this programme, she was the Executive Council member of the Mahila Samakhya programme in Uttranchal , Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Bihar. She has been a member of the Feminist Jurisprudence Committee, National Commission for Women and Core Advisory Group and Sensitization and capacity building Towards Eliminating child labor, Government of Andhra Pradesh. She served as a National Resource Person for the University Grants Commission (UGC) for Capacity Building of Women Managers in Higher Education. She is the Member of Board of Studies in a large number of Universities in India. She has widely traveled in India and abroad to deliver Key note addresses and lectures and present papers in National and International Conferences. She was the Director and Chair of the 12th Women’s World Congress organized in India for the first time, in August, 2014.

labrys, études féministes/ estudos feministas
julho/dezembro 2015 - juillet/décembre