Documento sem título

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

Abstract
Resonating through many voices, feminism in the Indian context has grown out of its political struggles for gender equality. Feminist voices of protest have a long history. This paper examines the resurgence of feminist politics since the 1970s. The paper begins by delineating some of the socio-political and economic factors that contributed to this upsurge. The upsurge was triggered by the rape of a tribal girl by two police men, while in custody. Feminist politics sought reforms in the existing criminal-justice system from this need to resist sexual violence. Through the decades, the various feminist political engagements have broadened the definition of violence to include all forms of social injustice and exclusion. Violence against women is seen as including not just physical and sexual assault but also forms of structural violence that deny women their rights and entitlements. Through the decades, feminist politics has also challenged the violence generated by the rise of identity politics and the violence of ‘development’ ushered in through economic liberalization. This analysis has forced feminist politics to align with many of the other people’s struggles against exploitation and alienation of communities from their rights and entitlements. The need for inclusive politics has broadened feminist politics to include struggles for sexual and citizenship rights of sexual minorities and sex workers. This has resulted in theoretical revisions of some of its earlier assumptions sex-gender system and the nature of sex-work. At the same time, women’s participation in religious riots has forced feminist theories to acknowledge interface of caste, class with gender identities. As a consequence of this interface, women are also complicit in acts of violence against those defined as the other.

Resonating through the various struggles confronting feminist politics, feminism in India can only be examined against the backdrop of women’s struggles for gender equality. Feminist voices have emerged out of the rich and varied history of their struggles in a complex and diverse society. Born out of the need to confront the many-layered system of oppression in a highly in-egalitarian society, feminist ideologies are shaped by the vigilance required to prevent the erosion of women’s rights and entitlements. Shaped by the realities of women’s lives, Indian feminism has not been articulated in on voice (Desai,2006). Its abiding commitment to inclusive politics has transformed and enriched it. Abandoning therefore the notion of a stable cohesive sex-gender identity, contemporary feminist voices speak from the multiple locations of women’s experiences

Given the inextricable link that exists between feminist theory and praxis, this search for feminism in India is sought through its politics. This is not to deny the richness of feminist theorizing within the academia, but rather to discover the groundswell of feminist consciousness.Indian feminism is not (as often stated by conservatives) a ‘western’ import. There is a long history of women’s opposition to male mistreatment of women (Karve 1968; Sen 2001). More definitively, feminist voices can be found in the subversive writings of women, since 600 BC, that have somehow survived male attempt to suppress them (Tharu & Lalitha K. 1991). Feminist voices can also be heard sporadically through the religious metaphors found in the writings of the various women Bhakti/Sufi poet-saints who lived, struggled and died between the 13^th and 17^th centuries.[1]

Drawing upon this evocative heritage, social reformers of the 19^th century challenged blatant forms of gender oppression prevailing in parts of India such as, sati (widow immolation) ascetic widowhood, female infanticide and child marriages. [2]These struggles by men and women social reformers to uplift women and establish organizations to promote women’s education proved to be a catalyst for social change. The first wave feminist movement can be seen to have grown out of the foundations laid by the 19^th century social reform movements. The credit of draw women out of the confines of their roles as wives and mothers into the public domain goes to 20^th century nationalist movement (particularly after the advent of Mahatma Gandhi on the political space). [3]

The search for Indian feminism here is confined to the resurgence of feminist consciousness after 1970s. It begins by describing the socio-political and economic developments after India’s Independence that led to the rise of protest politics. Feminist politics through the decades have addressed multiple sites of gender oppression. The focus here centres on the tinderbox that kindled feminist protest (namely, gender violence) and moves in concentric circles to address concerns arising out of the changing socio-economic conditions and the paradoxical rise of fragmented ethnic and religious identities.It indicates that feminist critical engagements have rarely remained confined to gender politics or struggles for women’s rights and entitlements; it has encompassed a wide range of concerns affecting communities. At the outset, the focus of this essay is on feminist struggles through the decades and subsequently looks at some of the changing theoretical frames that informed the struggles. Through such an approach it is possible to see both the continuities of feminist concerns and the changes that have occurred in feminist theory and praxis.

The post-Independence decade of the 1950s was a period of silence and optimism. Reassured by the Constitutional promise of gender equality, many feminists withdrew from active politics. Others were co-opted into the welfare programmes initiated by the state through the establishment of the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB) with its affiliates in each state. Desai (1978; 1980) argues that, in effect, the establishment of the CSWB undermined the radical potential within women’s organization for feminist consciousness. Dependent on state funding, women’s organizations lost their earlier dynamism. The focus of their activities turned to government approved programmes for women’s education and vocational training for self-employment. The only feminist demand made during this decade was for changes in the existing family laws, governing marriage, inheritance and guardianship of children.[4] On the assumption what women were rarely the primary breadwinner of the family, no demand was made for gender parity in wages or for improved working conditions for women. Similarly the rural development programmes conducted by women’s organizations, focussed on adult literacy, crèche facilities, family planning drives and supplementary feeding programmes.

This did not mean that there was not a ripple of feminist discontent. Women were disillusioned with the failure of the state to pass the Hindu Code Bill (1955) in parliament which would have ensured equal property rights for women. [5] This important piece of legislation could only be passed after the proposal to ensure equal coparcenary rights (i.e., inheritance rights in ancestral/parental property acquired by birth) for women was deleted; while the proposal for a uniform civil code was shelved to an indeterminate future (Poonacha 1999; 2013)

Women realized that so long as gender equality remained an abstract principle, it was rarely contested. But when concrete measures were suggested to make that principle a reality, there was opposition from men; for it meant curtailment of male privileges (GOI 1974:8). This dissatisfaction with the existing status quo led to the establishment of women's organizations, such as the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) in 1954 and the Samajwadi Mahila Sabha in 1959. Aimed at reaching women at the grass-roots, these organizations were involved in trade union activities. Among their demands included the reservation of jobs for women in government and quasi-government organizations (Gandhi 1988; Gandhi & Shah 1988:35-42). [6]

The 1960s to the 1970s was marked by women’s participation in mass-based movements. The failure of the development polices, adopted since Independence, surfaced in the 1960s with economic stagnation, price rise, landlessness and overall discontent among the people: Peasants, industrial workers and tribal communities organized protest against the prevailing model of capitalist development. Spearheaded by both the radical Left and Gandhian/Sarvodaya groups, these political struggles were brutally repressed by the state. Inspired by the successes of the Savodaya leader Jayprakash Narayan seemingly apolitical groups such as students and housewives organized protest against the rise in prices on essential commodities and adulteration of foods. It was in these alternative political forums that the marginalized groups (including women) found a forum to express their political aspirations (Poonacha 2015: 1-23). The participation of women in these political struggles stemmed from the negative impact of development policies on their entitlements.

One of the fall-outs of this mobilization of women through various tribal/peasant movements in different parts of the country was that it also brought into the open the prevailing systems of sexual exploitation of lower–class/caste women by the landlords. As rape was used as a method of political intimidation, it came to be defined in the context of class struggles. In the course of time, the focus of discussion, however, broadened to include women’s sexual exploitation in their intimate relationships. The militancy of some of their attempts to counter male sexual aggression was perhaps fuelled by the overriding apathy of the community and the state. Participation in these movements made women aware of their strengths and capacities, which in turn contributed to the development of the autonomous women’s movements in the 1970s (Sen 1990:1-18). The Progressive Organization of Women (POW) established in 1974 took up issues like an anti-dowry campaign and protests against eve teasing—the harassment of women in the street—obscenity and price rise and against the hardship suffered by women living in slums. (Desai 1980)

In an attempt to contain women’s political assertion, the Government of India set up the Committee on the Status of Women in India (1972-74). Its report, entitled Towards Equality (1974) provided the necessary framework for the emergence of feminist politics. This landmark report indicated beyond the most pessimistic predictions that the ongoing process of development since Independence had exacerbated the existing gender inequity. The transformation of the economy from an agrarian,community-based system of production to industrialization -- hastily introduced through centralized planning -- adversely affected women who were unable to enter the new labour market.

The report also presented irrefutable statistical and qualitative data on the declining status of women as evident in the status indicators of demography, health, education as well as economic and political participation. It also identified the erroneous assumptions, within policies and programmes, about women's lives that exacerbated existing gender inequalities. Further, pointing to the many legal limitations of women, the report identified the socio-culturally sanctioned forms of violence against women including prostitution, trafficking of women and girls, dowry and bride-price. The report however did not directly allude to the prevalence of violence against women as revealed through an analysis of sexual crimes and violence in intimate relationships; but the recognition of the prevalence of gender violence remains implicit in the report. Its enduring value is because it provides a cogent framework for political action for the realization of women’s equality. (Poonacha 2013) 1975 was a defining moment in Indian politics, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared Emergency rule after the Allahabad High Court indicted her of electoral malpractice. The suspension of civil liberties through the declaration of Emergency was an attempt to contain the growing socio-political unrest. It placed progressive groups (including women’s groups) under surveillance and their leaders were clamped in jail (Gandhi and Shah: 1992:18-20).

The Resurgence of Feminist Consciousness

In the post-Emergency period (from1977 to approximately 1985) civil liberties groups, progressive organizations and political parties brought to light numerous instances of police atrocities, torture and lawlessness.Around the time, an open letter written by four lawyers questioned the Supreme Court verdict in the rape of a 14-year old tribal girl called Mathura by two policemen while in custody (Baxi et al 1979 in Gandhi and Shah 1992:38).The judgment had set aside the conviction of the policemen by the Bombay High Court on the rather ambiguous notion of consent, because of the past sexual history of the victim. The letter triggered a nation-wide protest, initiated by a group of women, from different organizations.[7]

Their efforts culminated in a national conference in December 1980 and the establishment of the Forum against Rape. This coming together of 32 women's groups from across the country for the first time, revealed other similar cases as well as the escalation of dowry deaths. [8] The autonomous women’s groups (comprising women professionals) established during this period, gave an impetus to the rise of feminist consciousness through the organization of consciousness raising sessions and their publications. Focusing on violence against women in the family and in public spaces, these groups organized protest marches, sit-in strikes and used the media effectively to highlight their demands (Patel 1988:124). These groups networked with global feminist organizations to redress women’s subordination under patriarchal systems across national, geopolitical and historical boundaries.

The emerging feminist voices, because of their different ideological and theoretical underpinnings, developed in multiple and different directions. Despite differences, these voices have broadly located women’s subordination in the prevailing production, reproduction and sexual relationships. Additionally, in keeping with the feminist maxim ‘the personal is political’ these groups operated within egalitarian structures and collective modes of decision-making. This was a conscious decision to avoid hierarchies or power struggles, which could affect the essentially democratic spirit of feminist politics (Poonacha 1994:725-728).

The critical feminist debates in the decade centred on the question of the origins of women’s subordination. Was it biologically ordained or rooted in the process of gender socialization? Also, what was the economic basis of women’s subordination and sexual division of work? These ideas arising out of western feminisms infused the women’s movements across the world. Feminist political action in India sought to ensure better legal protections for women and stringent implementation of law while dealing with gender specific crimes of rape, domestic violence and dowry-deaths; it also aimed at enabling women to access the existing goods and services in society. The political confrontations of feminist politics aimed at making the state more accountable for the welfare of women. (Poonacha 2003:2653-2658)

Feminist politics from the 1980s to the 1990s aimed at dismantling state patriarchy by addressing poverty and development issues from the standpoint of women. Through their activism, research, documentation and writing, these groups have been able to place issues of gender justice firmly on public consciousness. Feminist politics can be seen to have grown out of the various consciousness raising programmes for women. Apart from supporting women in distress, feminist politics remained vigilant against sexist bias in national policies and implementations. Some of the important campaigns conducted during this period were in opposition to: 1) Invasive reproductive and family planning technologies; 2) discriminatory practices in education and employment; and 3) family laws that countervail gender equality. In response the state passed several important legislations to ensure gender justice. [9]

A point, however, noted through these confrontations was the inconsistencies in the responses of the state to feminist concerns. Feminists found that the state was quick to enact stringent amendments to the existing laws against rape and dowry deaths and legislate against amniocentesis (Agnes 1995).[10] Yet the state vacillated on the issue of providing justice to women when it was perceived as against male self-interest—a point made evident through the Shah Bano (1985) [11] and the Roop Kanwar Sati (1987) [12] incidents. These incidents made it clear that when women’s rights were counterpoised with community claims for cultural rights, women’s rights were denied. Feminist politics thus entered a new phase, it became aware of the need to be heard in the corridors of power through greater participation in policies and programmes. The various feminist campaigns and pressure tactics forced the state to introduce gender dimension to its policy[13] (Poonacha 2006).

As feminist theorizing grew in sophistication, it increasingly critiqued the prevailing masculine ideology of domination and celebrated women’s cultures. Based on feminist experiences of participation in environmental movements, such as the Chipko movement to save the sub Himalayan forests, they pointed to the interconnections between women’s subordination and the destruction of the environment. The rich variety of feminist thought during this period percolated into art, culture, religion and literature. The rise of Dalit politics in India forced Indian feminism to recognise the intersections of caste, class and gender in modifying women’s lives. These developments in many ways challenged some of the foundational assumption of the feminist ideas of the 1970s. Feminism, thus began to resonate in multiple voices, and the challenge was to accommodate differences within its theory and praxis (Poonacha 2003: 2653-2658).

By the 1990s, women’s concerns were increasingly articulated in international forums such as the Vienna Congress on Human Rights (1994) and the Fourth World Conference for Women at Beijing (1995). It was also a moment when free market economies were ushered into India—a crucial moment when the political basis for a welfare state was undermined. The various structural adjustment programmes, initiated in the name of free trade weakened state responsibility and its regulatory powers. Along with other progressive groups, feminists were drawn to protests against these trends, which eroded wages for the majority of workers, expanded temporary/piece work and displaced farmers by agribusiness, timber and power sectors because of the economic cost borne by poor women. Population control programmes targeted poor women, while at the same time child marriage and sex selective abortions continued with impunity. Women development workers who protest against the trends were discouraged and intimidated (Gosh, 2009)[14]

Ironically, the period of economic liberalization also saw the rise of identity politics on grounds of caste, religion and ethnic differences. These conservative movements increasing sought to control women rather than question the economic policies that affected their lives. The outbreak of communal riots following the demolition of Babri Majid (a historic mosque) in 1992 came as a great shock to feminists. Although aware of the insidious spread of religious fundamentalism, Feminist politics had not anticipated its pernicious outcome. The communal riots were particularly horrific because rape was used as a weapon of political intimidation (Kanabiran K & Kanabiran V, 2002; Kannabiran K., 1996).

The events that unfolded shattered the assumptions about feminist sisterhood that had informed feminist politics. Feminism needed to acknowledge the embedded difficult of theorizing gender violence on the basis of women’s vulnerability. It needed to also acknowledge their agency and participation in acts of violence against the ‘other’ community. The riots made three things very clear:

1) Insofar as the existing patriarchal ideology defines the honour of the family and community as resting on women, they are subject to rape and molestation in order to demoralize the men of the `other' community;

2)women’s peculiar position in the complex class/caste power structure make them negotiate with male interests; and 3) enticed by the Hindu fundamentalist ideology, which glorifies women as a force that awaken male valour (Shakti), women also instigated and participated in communal violence (Setalvad, 1996:233-244). The urgent need to counter the rise of religious fundamentalism in India, became apparent particularly after the 2002 riots in Gujarat which saw women’s complicity in acts of violence against the other community. Feminists have therefore been drawn increasingly into resistance and struggles against escalating religious intolerance and violence in the country. Paradoxically, the period was also a turning point in the history of feminism, with the growing legitimacy of feminism in the academia. [15] Influenced by post-modern discourses, feminist theories (especially within the academia) began to dismantle notions of power/powerless, sexuality and the notions of fixed gender identities. This theoretical sophistication, to an extent created a rupture between feminist theory and its political action (Poonacha 2003: 2653-2658).

In the 21^st century the language of feminist politics has found expression in international/national forums with words such as ‘gender budgeting’ and ‘gender mainstreaming.’ As a consequence, feminist ideas are increasingly echoed through grass-roots initiatives such as the micro-finance and Self Help Group programmes. Yet this focus on women’s empowerment, has not addressed some of the core feminist concerns. Violence against women is increasing, as highlighted by the two gruesome instances of the rape and murder of a young student in Delhi on 16 December 2012 and the rape of a photojournalist in Mumbai on 22 August 2013. These instances triggered nation-wide protest against violence.

It forced the state to set up the Justice Verma Commission to investigate the issue of women’s safety. Going beyond its narrow mandate, the committee formulated a “bill of rights,” which if implemented in full, will alter the state and civil society responses to sexual crimes. The report called for a broad legal definition of rape to include all forms of sexual assaults and offenses such as stalking and acid attacks. Further, in addition to bringing sexual assaults on the LBGT communities under the purview of law, the report also recommended stringent punishment for the sexual crimes by the police and armed forces.It called for a change in the priorities of governance and pins the responsibility of protecting women’s rights to life, security, bodily integrity as well as their democratic and civil rights on the state. The state, the report added, is responsible to ensure that the principles of equality, non-discrimination and right to secured spaces be maintained; it also asked for special provisions for elderly, disabled and women in distress” (Sakil, 20013).

Yet ironically, not all these radical ideas have been reflected in the Criminal Law Amendment Act of 2013. For while the act introduces stringent punitive measures against sexual crimes, particularly by the police and the armed forces, it has not withdrawn the Armed Forces Special Powers in troubled areas; nor has it strengthened investigative procedures—a long standing demand from women’s groups and made marital rape a punishable crime.

These advances in legal rights—made, not just in the framework of criminal law, but also within family laws--through feminist activism, does not mitigate the prevailing structural violence against women. Aspects of structural violence is seen from the alarming decline in female sex ratio, the prevalence of sex-selective abortions, female infanticide as well as honour killing and witch hunting. Apart from these overt forms of structural violence, women suffer from various forms of subtle discriminations in the family and society. The discriminations that women and girl children face in family/society with regard to nutrition, health care, education and livelihood options are also aspects of structural violence (Krishnaraj, 1995).

The existing family and social structures, privilege male power through religious and cultural norms. Therefore, despite the expansion in women’s workforce participation, women continue to earn less than men do. They work is confined to the informal sector without access to labour protection laws. The 2011 census also indicates that over a million Indian women cannot read or write. While the enrolment of girls at all levels of schooling is overtaking boys, yet access to higher education is restricted and drop-out rates are higher for girls at successive levels. Dalit, tribal and Muslim girls occupy the bottom of most statistical heaps (Naqvi 2013).

Feminist discourses in the past four decades have moved in a continuous and ever widening circle in an attempt to accommodate the realities of women’s lives. In the course of its long history of struggles, feminist activism has sought to identify, challenge and rectify the existing legal lacunae as well as the various discriminations in the socio-economic and political arena. Articulated in many voices, feminist theories and politics have sought to accommodate the caste, class and religious differences among women. It has critiqued the notions of dominance and power encoded in the construction of masculinities and identified that these notions have been responsible for the destruction of the environment, and armed conflicts across the world.

Over the years feminist political strategies has also moved out of conventional modes of protest through strikes and pressure tactics, to use of information technologies to drive their campaign and generate discussion. Speared by younger women, these online campaigns are successfully taking up a wide range of feminist concern, both local and national. They have in recent years supported various struggles against the power elite who seek to subvert freedom of expression and undermine academic freedoms.[16] It inclusive politics has also broadened the base of its struggle to include the sexual and citizenship rights of sexual minorities and sex workers. This has required a critical revision in its earlier theoretical assumptions about the existing sex-gender systems and about sex work.

This review of the rich history of feminism as articulated through its politics indicate that despite changes, there are certain continuities. Beginning with an analysis violence against women in the private and public domains, feminist theorizing includes structural violence arising out of the existing discriminations that deny women their entitlements. Sexual violence is seen as an instrument of power, rather than sexual desire. It is not an aberration but rather intrinsic in a culture that glorifies male domination as romantic love. Resistance to forms of violence has also forced feminism to confront some of its core assumptions. Feminist theorizing on violence against women therefore has moved beyond its earlier simplistic articulations that saw women as victims of violence. The events that unfolded during the various communal riots in the 1990s and after forced feminist theorizing to acknowledge, not just women’s vulnerability during civil strife and armed conflicts, but also their complicity. It also forced a recognition that politics of identity is largely played out through the control exercised over women defined as members of the in-group.

These ideologies arise out of the uncertainties unleased by rapidly changing socio-economic order. Further, the recognition of the violence of development policies that deny the livelihood rights of vulnerable peasant and tribal communities, feminist politics is engaged with struggles for livelihood rights along with other community based organizations. These struggles for survival rights are also made poignant by trends that erode wages for the majority of workers, expand temporary/piece work, displace farmers/tribal communities by agribusiness, timber and power sectors undermine existing labour laws and environmental regulations.

Finally this brief review makes evident that feminist consciousness emerges out of the lived experiences of women. It cannot be slotted into any procrustean ideological framework, its struggles and theoretical frames are determined through its multiple struggles.

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Communalising Women’s Identity in South Asia. New Delhi: Kali for Women. Pp32-41

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Debrata and Pant Girijesh (Eds). People’s Struggles and Movements for Equitable Society. Indian Academy of Social Sciences (Allahabad) Danish Books. New Delhi. 2013

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Biograhphy

Prof. Veena Poonacha is Retd.Director, Research Centre for Women’s Studies, SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai. Established in 1974, the Centre has the distinction of pioneering women’s studies into the Indian University system. As Director, she developed postgraduate teaching programmes in women’s studies, established a women’s archives and expanded the university’s rural development programme to work in 35 villages. She has conducted research across India for national/international agencies on state/community responses to domestic violence, Self-Help Groups as well as gender issues in educational, scientific and private sectors. Her most recent research projects have focused on the development deficits in the two riot-prone urban slums of Mumbai and on the situation of Muslim women in Maharashtra. Her publications include: From the Land of a Thousand Hills: Portraits of Three Women of Coorg (Kodagu) in South India; Towards an Integrated Model of Higher Education; Understanding Women’s Studies; Women’s Self Help Groups: Restructuring Socio-Economic Development (co-edited); Interpreting Gandhi Differently: Portraying the Lives and Work of Two Gandhian Women; Negotiating Historical Spaces: Reclaiming Women’s Agency in the Writing of History; Writing Women’s Lives: The Stories of Three Women from the Coorg/Kodva Community in South India. She currently lives in Madikeri, a small hill station in Karnataka.

Notes:

[1] These long drawn out movements spread across the Indian sub-continent for over four centuries can be seen as humanist movements aimed at challenging the prevailing social inequalities and the hegemony of the priests in religious matters. It successfully created rich syncretic religious traditions both within Hinduism and Islam.

These popular movements, however, failed to bring about a lasting change in the prevailing social hierarchies, primarily because the movements spoke of spiritual egalitarianism rather than worldly concerns. Despite these limitations, there is no doubt the evocative ideas expressed through the poems is a rich legacy that inspired social reform movements of the subsequent centuries (Desai 1984: 92-99; 1986)

[2] It is a little difficult for me to make these sweeping generalizations because feminist historians have also pointed out that the social reform movement which arose in the 19^th century was also a response to the colonial/Christian missionary criticism of Indians for the prevalence of these ‘barbaric’ customs. In-depth studies by scholars have also pointed out that the customs were prevalent only among the elite in certain parts of India. Moreover the framing of the social reform discourse in effect undermined some of the customary rights enjoyed by the majority of women. (Sangari, Kumkum & Vaid, Sudesh 1989; Kumar 1997)

> [3] The two well-known pioneering feminist organizations of the 20^th century are the Women’s India Association (1917) and the All Indian Women’s Conference 1927). Comprising European and Indian women these organizations had links with feminist struggles of the western world. It is their vision and sacrifice, that has ensured that Indian women enjoy equal political rights for women and that special provisions are built into the constitution to protect gender equality. (Kumar 1997; Desai 1978)

> [4] In keeping with Queen Victoria’s proclamation in 1858 assuring Indians of religious freedom, the colonial state did not interfere with the family laws governing each religious community. Nevertheless, the exigencies of governing the empire required the codification of the family laws for each religious community. Feminist scholarship has indicated that the codification of family laws in effect undermined some of the customary protections that women enjoyed in the family. It superimposed the Victorian values that the western educated Indian middle class sought to incorporate into the existing social structure.

A longstanding demand made by the feminist was for a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). However recognizing that in climate of distrust between religious communities, it may not be possible to introduce the UCC) feminist restricted their demand to reform within the family laws of each community. The Hindu Code Bill was an attempt to reform the existing Hindu family law. It was only in 2005 that the law granted women equal property rights.

[5] The Hindu Code Bill (1955) was a long standing demand by the All India Women’s Conference. The bill was placed in Parliament by Babasahib Ambedkar who was the Law Minister and also the architect of the Indian Constitution. Babasahib Ambedkar resigned in protest. Kumar 1997; Moon S 7 Pawar 2006)

[6] The NFIW was affiliated to the Women’s International Democratic Federation (WIDF), composed of women from socialist countries.

> [7] The Supreme Court judges believed that Mathura had willingly submitted to sexual intercourse with Ganpat, a policeman she had never met before and his drunken friend Tukaram.

They justified this claim by saying that there was "no reasonable evidence of guilt on the part of the policemen" and there were reasons to doubt Mathura's character; she was not a virgin as she had a boyfriend to whom her family had raised objections. Moreover, there were no signs on the men's bodies of her having resisted their sexual advances. So her unwillingness for sexual intercourse was a lie and the case an attempt to defame the two men. (Gandhi and Shah 1992)

[8] The most notable among these included the case of Rameezabee in 1978 (raped by 4 policemen, after her husband was killed in what the police describe as an "encounter"). In anger the local population set fire to the local police station. Despite the Muktadhar Commission Report, the police were released on the basis of a false forensic report. Similarly in June 1980, Maya Tyagi was raped in Baghpat, U.P.by police men. (Patel 1988)

[9] Among these legislations mention may be made of the amendment of the Dowry Prohibition Act (1956) and the Immoral Trafficking of Women (Prevention) Act (1986). It included the Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act (1986).

> [10] For instance, the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act (1983) introduced in response to the feminist campaigns retained the patriarchal definition of rape and failed to recognize marital rape as a criminal offence. The only concession in made to the feminist demand was to add a clause stating that revealing of a victim's name was a criminal offence. Additionally it introduced more stringent punishment for custodial rape. Similarly, the Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act (1983), intended as a deterrent against domestic violence, was narrow in its scope and referred mainly to dowry harassment. Under the Act, the husband and his family were liable to prosecution, if the woman committed suicide in the first seven years of her marriage. (Agnes 1995:51,121)

[11] The Supreme Court in its judgment of 1985 (SCR 844) upheld the claim made by Shah Bano (a 75 year old woman and a mother of 5 children) to maintenance from her former husband who had divorced her. The remarks on the Muslim Personal Law in the judgment however created furore among the Muslim communities. Succumbing to political expediencies the state introduced the Muslim (Women’s Protection of Right to Divorce) Act of 1986 which forever weakened any claim by Muslim women to claim maintenance from their husbands beyond the mandatory iddat period.

[12] The Roop Kanwar sati incident also revealed the precarious nature of women’s rights. This point was made apparent in the ideological debates that followed the immolation of an 18-year old widow, Roop Kanwar, in 1987 when the pro-sati lobby, spearheaded by the Sati Dharma Raksh Samiti in Rajasthan, sought to instate the principle of non-interference of the State in the religious and cultural rights of the community. It was only because of the protest by women's groups that the State introduced the Sati Prevention Act (1987), but with sufficient leeway to pacify the politically powerful religious fundamentalists.

[13] These policies include: Shramshakti Report (1988) and the National Perspective Plan for Women 1988-2000 A.D.(1988) which have examined the problems of self-employed women and those working in the informal sector of the economy. Similar orientation towards women's health and education are seen in reports such as Health for All by 2000 (1987), The Challenge of Education (1985) revised and updated as a National Policy on Education (1991). It is also evident in the attempts made to address women’s grievances by setting up the National/State Commissions for Women, the All Women Police Stations and Family Counselling Cells. (Poonacha 2003: 2653-2658; 2015: 195-207)

[14] A case to point was the rape of Bhanwari Bai (a development worker in Rajasthan who tried to stop child marriage in her village) on September 22, 1993 and the subsequent Sessions Court verdict disbelieving her, showed the ways in which women's voices were silenced. An important fall out of the incident was the Supreme Court guidelines on the prevention of sexual harassment of women in workplaces in 1997. This important court ruling however only became a law in 2013 with the passage of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplaces (Prevention and Prohibition and redressal Act)

> [15] Although the first women’s studies centre, namely the Research Centre for Women’s Studies was established in the SNDT Women’s University, Mumbai in 1974. It was only in 1985 that various other Women’s Studies Centres were established through financial support from the University Grants Commission (an apex body governing University Education in India). This is not to deny the rich body of feminist theorizing that developed both within and outside women’s studies centres. (Poonacha 2014: 22-31)

[16] Some of the high profile examples of issues supported by feminists include the murder of rationalists and intellectuals by right winged groups and also the long drawn struggle by students of the film institute in Pune against the appointment of a director who is known more for his right winged politics than for his success as an actor.

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