(Affiliated to Manonmanian Sundranar

University, Tirunelveli Re-Accredited with ‘A’ grade by NAAC,

DBT Star College Scheme)
 UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN STUDIES

CONTENT

S.No Title Page No.

1. Definition and need 1

2. Importance of women studies 3

3. challenges of Women’s Studies 5

4. Emergence of women studies as an academic 6

discipline
5. Need for gender sensitisation 8

6. Women as individuals in families and societies 11

7. Matriarchy and matrilineal societies 15

8. 17
Women’s movements - global and local

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 UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN STUDIES

Introduction

“You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women” -
Jawaharlal Nehru

“No struggle can ever succeed without women participation side by side with
men. There are two powers in the world. One is the sword, one is the pen. There is a
third power, stronger than both, that of women”. – Malala Yousafzai.

For the overall growth of any country, the f-word is very important. And by the
f-word I mean feminism. As mentioned in the above quote, with the participation of
men and women together, any problem can be easily solved. Indian women have been
treated differently since ancient India.

Definition

 Women’s Studies which is known as Gender Studies or Feminist Studies too,

is a kind of multidisciplinary study that discusses differences that impact
almost any fact of the social, political, and cultural experience about:
1. Gender
2. Race
3. Age
4. Class
5. Nationality
6. Ethnicity
7. Ability
8. Sexuality

NEED FOR WOMEN EMPOWERMENT

 In this contemporary world, women need to gain same amount of power that
men have
 Women should forget that men are holders of power
 They are backbone of society
 Women should be empowered in different sections like education, politics,
work force and even more power within their own households
 They play the most important role of keeping the family together
 If they are empowered, they will do work with more trust and more attention
and take others work as their own
 If you educate a women she will educate the whole family.

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 UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN STUDIES

 Earning a women's studies degree can help students build strong analytical
and advocacy skills.
 Majors can also strengthen their critical thinking, writing, and communication
abilities. Women's studies majors go on to work in a variety of fields.

Women Empowerment is needed for poverty alleviation

 Women constitute almost half of the country's population, therefore improving

their condition in the country can immensely contribute to poverty alleviation.
 Women’s empowerment plays a catalytic role towards the achievement of
transformational economic, political and social changes required for
sustainable development.
 Empowerment of women and eradication of poverty is very critical for the
development of the country since it will enhance both the quality and the
quantity of human resources available for development. Failing in these efforts
will deprive both men and women in getting the fruits of development.
 Many reports and studies suggest that women typically spend their income on
food and healthcare for children, which is in sharp contrast to men, who spend
a higher proportion of their income for personal needs.
 Increasing gender equality and women’s empowerment, as a means of
accelerating growth and development, is an end in itself. It allows individual
women and girls to enjoy their full human rights, and it leads to more stable
economies and stronger societies.
 Access to family planning and maternal health services, as well as education
for girls, typically results in improved economic opportunity for women and
lower fertility.
 Healthy, educated girls with equal access to opportunities can grow into
strong, smart women who can take on leadership roles in their countries. This
will help in having a better view of women perspective in the government
policies which will in turn help in poverty alleviation.
 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) estimates that if women farmers had
the same access to tools and credit as men, agricultural output in 34
developing countries would rise by an estimated average of up to 4%,
translating to up to 150 million fewer hungry people.

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 UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN STUDIES

IMPORTANCE OF WOMEN STUDIES

 Women are leaders everywhere you look, a CEO to housewife that holds
together a home. Our country was built by women who stand alone
 Empowered women can exert power to shape their families, communities and
countries
 Women should be respected as well as her needs and aspirations as she can
only give best to society

I. Education:

 "Education is the key to women's empowerment"

 Women have better access and opportunities in the workforce, leading to
increased income and less isolation at home or exclusion from financial
decisions.
 With an education, women are able to live their dreams by pursuing their own
goals and values. Education is a very broad concept - school curriculum, life
skills training, special courses, adult education etc.
 They engage in public debate and make demands on government for health
care, social security and other entitlements".
 In particular, education empowers women to make choices that improve their
children's health, their well-being, and chances of survival.
 It helps a woman to be more self-confident and take decisions for herself and
her family Education also gives her an opportunity to explore employment
opportunities or become self-employed and also plan a better future for her
kids.

II. Able to solve unemployment

 Unemployment is one of the common problems that can be seen in the

developing society. The research says that half of the population consists of
women. Unemployment of women and unequal opportunities in the place of
work can be eradicated with the help of women empowerment. Whenever
women are facing unemployment, their true potential is left without any use.
To make use of the strength and potential of the women, they must be
provided with equal opportunities.

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 UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN STUDIES

III. Empowering women to run their own businesses

 For women, starting a business might feel like you’re stepping into a world
dominated by men. Women entrepreneurs also tend to generate higher
revenues, create more jobs, provide more effective leadership and have more
interest in expansion than male entrepreneurs.

IV. Know about their intelligence

 It is impossible to realize and understand the women by looking at them. You

can predict their intelligence level by the way of approaching the problems and
in the solution finding. In the modern era, women are well versed in solving
technical problems. In these cases, women's empowerment plays a vital role.
This is because, without women empowerment, you will not be able to know
about the intelligence of women. Thus making the presence in the work is
extremely important and an advantage one.

V. Examine their talent

 Women empowerment is the needed one for today’s world. Still, now some
parents are not aware of the women’s education and they are not allowed to
receive any higher education. The only way to overcome this problem is by
knowing about their talents. If they are allowed to take the responsibilities as
men, they can showcase their talents to society. By doing this, you can be
aware of women’s empowerment. If you want to congratulate them on their
talents, then you can present them with special gifts. Special gifts should
portrait their talents and skills. Women’s day special offers online shopping is
the best time to purchase gifts with special offers and present them on
women’s day.

VI. Enhance the overall development of society

 Women empowerment is one of the key terms for the overall development of
society. It is nothing wrong in taking part in the development of society. In the
corporate world, women are playing several roles in fields like engineering,
medical, and so on. They are not only taking part in the technology fields, but
they are also actively participating in security services like military, police,
navy and so on. All these services are taking society to the next level.
 Benefits to society by women empowerment
 Personal knowledge

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 UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN STUDIES

 Self-defining
 Personal Power
 Authenticity
 Creativity
 Physical strength
 Maturity in relationships
 Economic independence
 Having political power in society

CHALLENGES OF WOMEN STUDIES

Challenges to women empowerment: There are several challenges that are

plaguing the issues of women's right in India.

I. Education: The literacy gap between women and men is severe. While 82.14% of
adult men are educated, only 65.46% of adult women are known to be literate in
India. The gender bias is in higher education, specialized professional training which
hit women very hard in employment and attaining top leadership in any field.

II. Poverty: Poverty is considered to be the biggest threat to world peace and
eradication of poverty should be as important a national goal as eradication of
illiteracy. This leads to the exploitation of women as domestic helpers.

III. Health and Safety: The health and safety concerns of women are paramount for
the wellbeing of a country and are an important factor in gauging the empowerment
of women in a country. However there are alarming concerns where maternal
healthcare is concerned.

IV. Professional Inequality: This inequality is practiced in employment and

promotions. Women face countless handicaps in male customized and dominated
environs in Government Offices and Private enterprises.

V. Morality and Inequality: Due to gender bias in health and nutrition there is
unusually high mortality rate in women reducing their population further especially
in Asia and Africa.

VI. Household Inequality: Household relations show gender bias in infinitesimally

small but significant manners all across the globe, more so, in India e.g. sharing
burden of housework, childcare and menial works by so called division of work.

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 UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN STUDIES

VII. Unemployment: It is becoming more and more difficult for women to find the
right job for themselves. They become more vulnerable to exploitation and
harassment in the workplace.

EMERGENCE OF WOMEN STUDIES AS AN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE

The first accredited women's studies course was held in 1960 at the University
of Kansas, USA. The first scholarly journal in interdisciplinary women's studies,
Feminist Studies, began publishing in 1972. The first Ph.D. program in Women's
Studies was established at Emory University, USA in 1990. The emergence of
Women‟s Studies as a distinct field of study is a relatively recent development in the
history of higher education in India. The establishment in 1974 of the first Women’s
Studies Centre in SNDT University, Bombay, inaugurated the moment of feminist
intervention in the Indian academy as also in the domains where knowledge is self
reflexively produced.

It is a striking aspect of our history though that the term “feminism” itself was
rarely used in the early discussions about Women’s Studies in India. According to
the early proponents of Women’s Studies in India, it was this particular perspective
that distinguished Women’s Studies from the previous modes in which studies on
women were carried out. While earlier studies on women were carried out by
privileging the male point of view, which was also the mainstream point of view,
Women’s Studies in contrast sought to centre women in order to understand the
reasons underlying their unequal status in the society so that the conditions of
inequality could be challenged.

Although Women’s Studies emerged from an academic context, it was closely

linked to the Women’s movement of the late 1970s and the early 80s. Many scholars
and researchers associated with Women’s blurring of boundaries between the
academic and the activist spheres resulted in the institutionalization of Women’s
Studies both in the university and non-university locations. This institutionalization
therefore took place prominently through:

1. Women’s Studies Centres established by the University Grants

Commission (UGC) within Universities.
2. Women’s Studies Cells within specific University departments and in
Colleges (in comparison with the Centres, the Cells have limited autonomy
as well as mandate, which in turn impacts on their budgets and
programmes).

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3. Women’s Studies in non-university locations in the form of autonomous or

non-governmental organizations.
4. Individual scholars located either within specific institutions or working as
non-affiliated researchers too have made extremely critical contributions
in the field.

Women’s Studies thus have a significant identity today, both in the University
as well as in non-University locations. Beginning from 1986 and through the different
Five Year Plans, the UGC has thus far set up 72 Women’s Studies Centres and Cells
in Universities / Colleges. The UGC has been regularly making budgetary allocations
for the activities of these Centres / Cells.

In addition to the UGC and Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR)
supported Centres there are, autonomous and non-governmental organizations
(NGO) as well that focus on Women’s Studies. According to an earlier survey there
were at least 16 such organizations and 26 women’s rights organizations promoting
Women’s Studies in the 1980s.

The emergence of Women’s Studies in India

Various factors are enabled the conceptualization of Wome’s Studies as well

its institutionalization. Among the reasons that are widely acknowledged as having
played an important role in this institutionalization of Women’s Studies are the
following:

 A commonly accepted landmark event for Women’s Studies is the process of

preparing and submitting the Report titled Towards Equality in 1974 by the
Committee on the Status of Women in India, which was set up by the Government
of India. For the first time, through the use of different indicators, the status report
provided a concrete picture of women’s poor status throughout the country and
galvanized thinking and action in relation to women’s situation, including the
formation of a field called Women’s Studies.

 The crisis resulting from the declaration of Emergency in 1975 by the Central
Government following which several women activists, especially those associated
with the Left, turned towards Women’s Studies. They perceived this area as being
deeply political without yet having attracted adverse attention of the State during the
time of Emergency.

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 UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN STUDIES

 The encouragement given by the ICSSR in the 1980s for carrying out studies on
women, especially of women from the poor and rural backgrounds

 The emergence of the autonomous women’s movement in the late 1970s and early
80s which called for information and analyses of women’s situation in India

 The formulation of the National Policy on Education (1986) in which references to

women’s education and Women’s Studies were made

 The recognition accorded by the UGC to Women’s Studies in 1986. Prior to the
moment of Women’s Studies beginning from the 1970s, the well-articulated concern
for many decades in relation to women was predominantly with regard to their
education. This emphasis on women’s education is visible through the social reform
period of the 19th Century, the nationalist phase in the early 20th Century and in
the post-independence phase of planning and development in the 1950s and 60s.
Women’s education during all these different periods was regarded as important
because of the benefits it could bring to the family, to the nation and the polity.

NEED FOR GENDER SENSITIZATION

Introduction

Gender Sensitization is a basic requirement to understand the sensitive needs

of a particular gender. It helps us to examine our personal attitudes and beliefs and
question the ‘realities’ that we thought we know. The need for this sensitivity has
been felt and realised through times immemorial and in almost all kinds of human
existence, across the globe. Recent discourses focus upon the need to sensitize
gender issues on campus as many believe that education is the catalyst for change.
Educational spaces instil thought and make one have a perception that they believe.

Define

Gender sensitization is the teaching of gender sensitivity and encouragement

of behaviour modification through raising awareness of gender equality concerns.
The goal of gender sensitization is to address issues in gender equality and encourage
participants to pursue solutions.

i) Sex and Gender

 Sex refers to the biological differences between women and men. They are
permanent and universal Gender refers to the socially constructed roles and
responsibilities of women and men in a given culture or location.
 Therefore Gender is a neutral term

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 UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN STUDIES

 The term ‘Gender’ is not synonymous with women and men.

 Gender refers to the socially constructed relationship between women and
men.
 Gender describes the social, economic, cultural and political societies and
their change from time to time.
 Gender denotes the social roles of women and men as opposed to their
biological difference.
 Gender roles are dynamics and change over time

ii) Gender Issues

 Traditionally women are expected to perform farm operations which involve

manual, repetitive tasks.
 Men possess and control land
 Women labour is unpaid and under valued
 Women’s work is unaccounted
 Women undertake multiple workload at home, farm and community.
 Women lack access to skills, trainings and information

iii) Women are discriminated in design and testing of technologies

 Women get displaced from traditional employment opportunities when

technology is introduced and men take over the task.
 Women lack access to farm input, credit and financial incentives.
 Women lack access to market and control over income.
 Women face food insecurity.
 Women’s priorities, needs, problems are unattended and neglected.
 Farmer is regarded as male.

iv) Some important facts

 Women do two-third of the world’s work, receive 10 per cent of the world’s
income and own 1 per cent of the means of production.
 Women cultivate, plough and harvest more than half of all the food in the
world.
 In no country in the world do men come anywhere close to women in the
amount of time spent in housework.

v) There is lack of Equity and Balance leads to progress.

 Transfer of Agriculture related knowledge (Inadequate transfer from house

hold to life)
 Educational level.
 Promotion of social justice (Equality between women and men)
 Therefore,
 Be sensitive
 Don’t ignore the half world
 Equity and Balance leads to progress.
vi) Aims and Objectives of Gender Sensitization

 To sensitize the newly induced members regarding prevalent gender

inequalities in the society.

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 UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN STUDIES

 To enable them to reflect upon their own socialization process and attempt to
break that influence.
 To educate them on the status of women and the impact on development of
the nation.
 To appreciate the need for sensitivity in their roles as extension officers dealing
with cases of inequality against women.
 To learn modes of execution of the programme for women and where/how to
intervene.
 To ensure an engendered work force within the organization.
vii) Need for gender Sensitization

 Women farmers have significant contribution to the agriculture production

and productivity. But they get benefits very marginally from all the support
services.
 This is due to lack of sensitivity at all levels, which includes policy level to the
implementation level.
 Hence, it is required to create awareness on the gender needs, gender
differences in gender relations etc. among all the functionaries.

viii) Outcomes of gender sensitization

 Achieve gender equity

 Leads to women empowerment.
 Gender equality ultimately leads to women’s empowerment.
 Women’s empowerment is against patriarchy and not against men.
 Srilatha Batlivala,a well known women activist defined women empowerment
as a process by which women gain greater control over material and
intellectual resources and challenge the ideology of patriarchy and the gender
based discrimination against women in all institutions and structures of
society.

ix) Bridging agricultural technological gap between women and men farmers

 Gender sensitization is needed from highest level of planning to the grass root
level, involving various stakeholders.
 This can be done through:
 Looking at gender differences by identifying tasks, activities and rewards
associated with gender division of labour
 Bridging agricultural technological gap between women and men farmers
 Bridging agricultural information gap
 Focusing on agricultural interventions from gender perceptive
 Examining budget from a gender perceptive

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 UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN STUDIES

WOMEN AS INDIVIDUALS IN FAMILY AND SOCIETIES

1. Procreation
Procreation is a purpose of human existence. It is the basic biological need of
any living organism. In this context, women play a major role by bearing and
delivering the child.
2. Child care
The bringing up of a child in the present world is very difficult. It requires lot
of skill and will to rear a child particularly at its infancy. Women carry out this task
of caring the child with love and affection. There is still the responsibility assigned to
women of being primarily responsible for care in their home and the need to earn
income to maintain their families
3. Parenting
Parenting is a rigorous experience for both the father and mother. The role of
woman as a parent is unparalleled and no one in any form can replace a mother. We
have several cases of successful children brought up by their mother 8walone but
the reverse is very rare. In rich societies, women are employed as step mothers to
look after the children.
4. House keeping
Women excel in housekeeping. In fact, women work unpaid in the households
looking after cooking, washing and upkeep of the house. In addition to this, they
manage the money given to them wisely and even save a part of it. The well being of
the entire family is looked after by the women and in the house by their effective
management of the money and materials. Mostly, women are employed as servant
maid n. for the purpose of housekeeping.
5. Health care
"Health is wealth". The health of the family members depends on the help and
attention paid in this regard by the women in the family. They effective protect the
health by keeping the house clean, providing nutritive food and undertaking all
precautionary measures against disease
6. Education
Women play an important role in the field of education. They are the apt
persons for educating the children at the primary and pre-primary levels. The
kindness, affection, politeness and patience make them to be remembered as the
best teachers y the students even after several years.

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 UNIT – I: INTRODUCTION TO WOMEN STUDIES

SOCIETY
Introduction

Women from different sections of the society are placed in very different
situations in modern India. Some women are entering new fields and achieving the
same feats as men, while some girls are being killed even before they are born. In
earlier times women were seen only in the household, but this expectation is
changing slowly, as they are coming to the fore and challenging traditional mindsets.

The modern Indian society, impacted by globalization and influenced by

values of equality and liberty, seems to have accepted a more elevated position of
women.

1. Nature care
In recent times, much is being talked about the protection of nature and
natural resources. In fact, the protection of nature could succeed only with the
participation of the women. Because, they do a lot to keep our house and
environment clean. The famous Chipko movement initiated to save the trees
succeeded mainly because of the participation of tribal women.
2. Social service
Women like Florence Nightingale and Mother Teresa have created history in
the field of social service. The soft-hearted women come forward and offer dedicated
service as religious and social workers in several places. The success story of the
self-help groups in our midst give a clear indication of the effectiveness of the service
that the women do to the society.
3. Politics
The role of women in politics is noteworthy. History has witnessed the role of
Golda Meir of Italy, Margaret Thatcher of England Indira Gandhi of India, Srimavo
Bandaranaika of Sri Lanka in politics. We also read about the fame of the Rani of
Jansi and Rani Mangammal as the rulers of their times.
4. Agriculture
Women perform simple agriculture work like weeding, tilling, sowing,
harvesting etc while men resort to hard jobs like ploughing, irrigation and so on.
Thus the rural women share the agriculture labour and contribute to the food
production of the country.

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5. Construction
Women access to paid work is crucial to their self-reliance and the economic
well being of the family. Women take part in the construction work as secondary
labourers and earn substantially for their family.
6. Women in sports
One of the agreed reasons is that Gender bias holds back promoting sporting
talents in India especially in bigger stage. Be it any sports in India, political support
and economic background plays crucial role in gaining a birth in any sport event.
Taking the national awards, less than one in 25 women got Dronacharya awards over
the years, while one fourth of Arjuna awards were granted to women.
As Diana David, cricketer quotes: “Men are definitely treated better than
women in cricket. For every Ranji game, we are paid extremely little, perhaps 10 per
cent of what the men would be getting. Most of us continue to play only for the love
of the game.”
7. The Role of Women as Educators

The contribution of women to a society’s transition from pre-literate to literate

likewise is undeniable. Basic education is key to a nation’s ability to develop and
achieve sustainability targets. Research has shown that education can improve
agricultural productivity, enhance the status of girls and women, reduce population
growth rates, enhance environmental protection, and widely raise the standard of
living.

8. Women in Media
Gender discrimination seems to be playing a major role when it comes to the
selection of stories for printing or reporting in Media in India. The Global Media
Monitoring Project 2015 has found that only 37 per cent of all stories, including in
newspapers and television, were reported by women. This was the same figure a
decade ago. Online, however, women’s representation was 42 per cent. Within the
Asia-Pacific region, women reporters comprise of only 28.6%, according to the
International Federation of Journalists.
Communities need crucial paradigm change from ‘Crime Against Women’ to
We’re all part of the problem’. We have a problem of looking at issues such as rape
or gender violence as isolated and affecting some ‘third’ person. Instead of looking at
rape or dowry as isolated incidents, we need to look at regular, continuous outcomes
of complex social and economic factors affecting every individual and the community.

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9. Women in the Workforce

Today, the median female share of the global workforce is 45.4 percent.
Women’s formal and informal labour can transform a community from a relatively
autonomous society to a participant in the national economy. Despite significant
obstacles, women’s small businesses in rural developing communities not only can
be an extended family’s lifeline, but can form a networked economic foundation for
future generations. The role of women in the urban and rural workforce has
expanded exponentially in recent decades.

10. Women as Global Volunteers

Global Volunteers’ community development work in host countries

worldwide strengthens women’s and children’s capacity and supports their sustained
health and development. Under the direction of local leaders, our volunteers help
ensure academic accessibility, foster parental involvement, offer psycho-social
support, provide nutrition and health education, fund girls’ scholarships, construct
schools with girls’ bathrooms, tutor literacy, and numeracy, and so much more.
Contact us using the form below to learn how you can contribute to this critical
agenda.
Conclusion
Women in modern Indian society enjoy equal position as men in many areas
such as politics, economics, and legal rights, although in many areas they are still
not treated equal to men.
Patriarchal society, cultural preference for sons, and systemic bias against
women have undermined their position in the society for a long time.

The future looks bright for women in modern Indian society as government
initiatives are helping them overcome prejudice and society attitudes are changing.
Women are proving to be capable of being equal to men, as they get more
opportunities.

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MATRILINEAL
Definition
Matrilineal denotes kinship with mother’s or female line while matriarchal
denotes a form of social organization ruled by women.
The term Matrilineal refers to kinship with mother’s or female line. This may
also involve the inheritance of titles and property through the female line.
Matrilineality is the tracing of kinship or descent through the female line. We also
call this matrilineal descent. Matrilineality is the opposite of patrilineality, the
organization of family relationships by lines of descent from a person’s male
ancestors. Patrilineality is the most common form of unilineal descent. Matrilineality
is not very common in society, but we can still observe it in some traditional cultures
and societies like the Minangkabau people of West Sumatra, Kuna people of Panama,
Mosuo people of China, and the Kogi and Carib of South America.

Triangles represent the males while circles represent the females in the above
chart. Moreover, red triangles indicate individuals who are the patrilineal descents
of a common ancestor. You will also notice that patrilineage includes both females
and males, but only female links help to trace successive generations.

MATRIARCHAL
The term matriarchal denotes a form of social organization in which a woman
is the head. Matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the main power
positions in roles of political leadership, social privilege, moral authority, and control
of the property. In other words, in a matriarchal society, the power lies with women.

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The word matriarchy comes from the Greek words matēr (mother) and archein (to
rule).
Matriarchy is the opposite of patriarchy, where men hold all the powerful
positions in society. Patriarchy is far more common in societies than the patriarchy.
It’s also important to know that non-patriarchies are not essentially matriarchies.
Absolute matriarchies were and are extremely rare. The concept of matriarchy is seen
in the legends of the Amazonian women, the Cham of central Vietnam, the Germanic
tribe of the Sitonians, and stories of the queen-priestess of Minoan Crete. But there
is no conclusive evidence to prove their existence.
Many anthropologists classify the Mosuo tribe of China as a matriarchal
society. This is a matrilineal society that does have some characteristics of a
matriarchal society. In this society, women act as the head of the household, they
make business decisions, and the property is passed down through the female line;
however, we cannot describe it as a complete matriarchy.
Matriarchal Societies Around The World
1. Minangkabau In Indonesia
2. Bribri In Costa Rica
3. Khasi In India
4. Mosuo In China
5. Garo In India

Difference Between Matrilineal and Matriarchal

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Nature
Matrilineality involves tracing kinship or descent through the female line,
while matriarchy is a social system in which women hold the power in society.
In Society
Furthermore, matrilineality is more common in societies than in matriarchy.
Absolute mariachis are extremely rare, almost non-existent.
Opposites
Patrilineal is the opposite of matrilineal while patriarchal is the opposite of
matriarchal. In addition, patrilineality and patriarchy are far more common in society
than matrilineality and mariachi.
Conclusion
The main difference between matrilineal and matriarchal is that matrilineal
denotes kinship with mother’s or female line while matriarchal denotes a form of
social organization ruled by women. Furthermore, matrilineality is more common in
societies than in matriarchy. In addition, absolute mariachis are almost non-
existent.

WOMEN MOVEMENTS IN GLOBAL

Women have experienced many movements and three (some debate four)
waves of feminism throughout the last 100 years. These movements range from
seeking out legal rights to personal freedom and equal opportunity.
Every year March 08, we celebrated International Women’s Day. It is a day
defined as being “about unity, celebration, reflection, advocacy, and action for
women.” The first National Women’s Day was observed across the United States in
1911.
International Women’s Day was born out of the first wave of feminism, caught
in the midst of the rise of radical ideologies and a period of booming expansion.
Women everywhere were coming together for one cause: to gain equal legal rights. As
Gloria Steinem said, “The story of women’s struggle for equality belongs to no single
feminist nor to any one organization but to the collective efforts of all who care about
human rights.”
100 years ago women’s rights in the United States were severely limited.
Women were bound to only a few jobs, and the right to vote wasn’t granted until late
1920. Only 50 years ago, the lives and opportunities of women were drastically
different then the lives we have now still. In 1970, women could only dream of one
day having a female Speaker of the House or Secretary of State. There were no women

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with a realistic shot at becoming President and no women heading Fortune 500
companies. The first woman to sit as an acting Supreme Court justice wouldn’t
happen until 1981. But what were the movements that deciphered change? Here we
outline the top ten women’s movements since 1920 that have helped create a more
perfect union and establish better opportunities for all women.

WAVES OF FEMINISM

First Wave

 The first wave in the late 19th-century was not the first appearance of feminist
ideals but it was the first real political movement for the Western world.
 In 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft published the revolutionary Vindication of the
Rights of Woman.
 Reproductive rights also became an important issue for early feminists.

Second Wave

 Second-wave feminism took place in the 1960s and ‘70s.

 It built on first-wave feminism and challenged what women’s role in society should
be.
 Three main types of feminism emerged: mainstream/liberal, radical, and cultural.
 Mainstream feminism focused on institutional reforms, which meant reducing
gender discrimination, giving women access to male-dominated spaces, and
promoting equality.
 Radical feminism wanted to reshape society entirely, saying that the system was
inherently patriarchal and only an overhaul would bring liberation. It resisted the
belief that men and women were basically the same.
 Cultural feminism had a similar view and taught that there’s a “female essence”
that’s distinct from men.

Third Wave

 Third-wave feminism also became more conscious of race.

 Kimberle Crenshaw, a gender and critical-race scholar, coined the phrase
“intersectionality” in 1989.

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 The term refers to how different kinds of oppression – like those based on gender
and race – intersect with each other.
 While mainstream first and second-wave feminism had largely ignored or
neglected racial disparities within gender, the Third wave paid more attention.
 The phrase “third-wave feminism” was coined in 1992 by Rebecca Walker, a 23-
year old Black bisexual woman.

Fourth Wave

 With the MeToo movement and a resurgence of attacks on women’s rights, many
believe we’re living in a new wave.
 Social media activism has propelled the movement firmly into the technological
age.
 It builds on the third wave’s emphasis on inclusivity and asks hard questions
about what empowerment, equality, and freedom really mean.

Major Women Movements

i) Passage of the 19th Amendment

On August 18, 1920, Congress

ratified the 19th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, declaring “the right to
citizens of the United States to vote shall
not be denied or abridged by the United
States or any State on account of sex.”

It was nicknamed the “Susan B.

Anthony Amendment” in honour of her
work on behalf of women’s suffrage. In
theory, it granted the right to women of
all races, but in practice it remained difficult for black women to vote, especially in
the South until 1965.

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ii) Women Take Over

During World War II, women had to take

over many of men’s roles in order to maintain the
economy. This time period was immortalized by
Rosie the Riveter and the iconic poster with the
catchphrase, “We can do it!” showing off her arm
muscles. After World War II, women’s lives
changed drastically. Although there was
tremendous growth in the service sector, and
women proved that they could do the same jobs as
men with the same efficiency, women’s roles in
society were restricted by cultural attitudes and
legal precedents.

iii) Mystique Movement

February 19, 1963, Betty Friedan’s The Feminine Mystique came out and sold
over 3 million copies within 3 years. This phenomenon came to be associated with
the second wave of feminism. Unlike the first wave which solely sought out legal
rights for women, the second wave sought not only equal rights, but also equal
opportunities and greater personal
freedom for women. It’s goal was to
change the way society thought about
women. The Feminine Mystique railed
against systemic sexism or “the problem
that has no name.” It brought to light
that women are taught that their place
was in the home and if they were
unhappy in this role, society deemed her
broken and perverse.
Friedman argued that the fault
didn’t lie with women, but with a narrow-
minded society that refused to let women tap into their creativity and intellect. It was
not revolutionary in it’s thinking, but it was revolutionary in it’s reach. 3 million
readers now had justification to be angry and were ready to rally for a unifying goal:
social equality.

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This rally cry brought about systemic change both socially and politically for
women over the next 15 years. These include: passage of Title VII of the Civil Rights
Act which bars discrimination in employment on the basis of race and sex, the
founding of the National Organization for Women (NOW) by a group of feminists
including Betty Friedan, and signing Title IX into law which gave women the equal
opportunity to education.
iv) Equal Pay Act

On June 10, 1963, John F. Kennedy

signed the Equal Pay Act into law. It was
a landmark piece drafted by Ester
Peterson, head of the Women’s Bureau
of the Department of Labour. It
prohibited employers from paying
employees differently, on the basis of
gender, for work that required “equal
skill, effort, and responsibility.” This was
the very first anti-discrimination law to
address gender-based pay disparities.
President Kennedy acknowledged the
bill would not solve all the economic equality issues surrounding pay, but was an
important first step to affirm “our determination that when women enter the labour
force they will find equality in their pay envelopes.” Unfortunately as the pay gap
shows, over fifty years later and we still haven’t gotten there.

v) March for Women’s Lives

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On April 25, 2004, 1.4 million

participants took to the streets of
Washington D.C. The demonstration was
led by seven groups: National
Organization for Women (NOW),
American Civil Liberties Union, Black
Women’s Health Imperative, Feminist
Majority, NARAL Pro-Choice America,
National Latina Institute for Reproductive
Health, and Planned Parenthood
Federation of America. The march was
intended to address topics such as
abortion rights, reproductive healthcare, women’s rights, and others.

In 1992, NOW had organized the first March for Women’s Lives, with a turnout
of 750,000 participants. The second March for Women’s Lives was organized with a
broader coalition that included groups that focused on LGBT rights, immigrant
women, indigenous women, and women of color. With a more inclusive movement,
the turnout surpassed expectations and showed the power of a new, more
comprehensive women’s movement.

vi) UN Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing

The landmark UN Fourth World Conference on Women brought an
unprecedented 17,000 official participants and 30,000 activists to Beijing, China,
and galvanized progress for the advancement of women worldwide. At the
conference, which addressed issues of human rights, poverty, economic
inclusion, and gender-based violence, then-U.S. First Lady Hillary Rodham
Clinton famously proclaimed that “women’s rights are human rights,” which
became a rallying cry around the world. The conference resulted in the
unanimous adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platfo rm for Action by 189
countries, and global reviews held every five years since the declaration’s passage
have evaluated progress toward its realization.

WOMEN’S MOVEMENTS IN LOCAL

INTRODUCTION

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The beginning of women’s movements can be observed first from a social

reform movement in the 19th century. During the colonial period women’s
movements in India were born out of the same historical circumstances and social
milieu as earlier 19th century social reform movements, which provoked a new
thinking about various social institutions, practices and social reform legislations.
The women’s movements ideological and social content changed from time to time
and continued into our times.

The movement in its entirety can be divided into three distinct phases.

Phase I: Social reform movement, national movement and social reform

legislation in the colonial period.

Phase II: Women’s movements in the post-colonial period.

Phase III: Women’s movements in India since the 1970s.

Patriarchy, caste system and several other social and religious ideas and practices
which have originated in the ancient Indian social milieu continue to dominate our
anthropological thinking about the social status and position of Indian women and
are still relevant issues and therefore when one discusses them a historical overview
is a necessity.

WOMEN’S MOVEMENTS IN INDIA

Social Reform Movements during Colonial period

 The women’s movements began as a social reform movement in the 19th

century.
 Purred 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 etc. all of which they believed were
impediments to progress of women.
 There were two groups of social reformers,
o 1) Liberal Reformers
o 2) The Revivalists.
 Both the groups undoubtedly recognised the oppressive social institutions’
customs of India.

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 Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Keshab Chandra Sen, Iswarachandra Vidya Sagar,
Kandukuri Veeresalingam Panthulu, M. G. Ranade, Karve, Swami
Vivekanantia, Swami Dayanand Saraswathi and others provided leadership to
the women’s movement by frankly acknowledging the degraded position of
Indian women.

Women’s Movements as part of Nationalist Movements

The characteristics of the second phase of women’s movement i.e. the national
movement are: for the first time many women belonging to the middle class started
taking part in the political activities.

In 1919, the national movement was limited to the urban upper class and it
was later with Gandhi’s entrance into the national movement, participation of the
masses began to take place.

In this phase, political developments and women’s participation in the

National movement went hand in hand.

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
women’s lives.

These regional organisations were followed by national organisations like

Women’s Indian Association (1917) and The National Council of Women in India
(1920).

Post-Independent India

According to Vina Mazumdar, after Indian independence, ‘for all practical

purposes, the women’s question disappeared from the public arena for over twenty
years’.

However, from the mid 1960s onwards, we see the birth of new socio-political
movements as poverty and unemployment were widespread and people grew
disillusioned with government development policies, the prevalent economic rights,
land rights and the price rise.

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India saw a series of struggles and peasant movements in the early 1970s
such as the anti-price-rise agitation in Bombay and Gujarat between 1972 and 1975
and the Chipko Movement which began in 1973.

Of particular importance to the women’s movement were the agitations such

as the Shahada agitation and the subsequent formation of the Shramik Sangatana
in the 1970s of the Bhil (tribal) landless labourers against the exploitative landlords
which was triggered off after the rape of two Bhil women.
Major Women movements in India
i) Telangana Movement
The Telangana Movement began in 1946 and continued till 1951. It is one of
the two major post-war insurrectionary peasant struggles in India. The Telangana
Movement (1946-51) was a protest of the people who wanted both food and freedom
from the oppressive regime of the Nizam, the Patils and the Jagirdars in Hyderabad
State. The peasants on the Nizam’s personal estate were bonded to the ruler. Under
Jagirdari system various illegal taxes and forced labour were extracted from peasants
by the landlords. Apart from this there were the Deshmukhs and Despandes
(principal revenue officers of a district who became land owners overtime) or tax
collectors of the Nizam who grabbed thousands of acres of land and made it their
own property. Peasants thus became tenants at will. One common social
phenomenon was the Vetti system of forced labour and exactions imposed on all
peasant sections in varying degrees.
Each family had to send someone to collect wood for fuel, carry post to other
villages, carry supplies etc. Foot wear, agricultural implements, pots or cloth had to
be supplied free to landlords. Another system that prevailed was keeping of peasant
girls as slaves in the landlord’s house. When landlord’s daughters were married these
with were often sent with them to serve as concubines. When the exactions of the
landlords reached the point of evicting peasants from their land, the peasants began
to resist. Sporadic struggles were launched in 1946 against the Deshmukhs of
Visunur, Suryapet, Babasahebpet and Kalluru.
Large number of women who were desperate because of extreme poverty,
slavery and sexual exploitation by the feudal lords fought courageously in this
movement. In order to mobilise and develop political acumen among women, the
communist party formed a women’s organisation which published a woman’s
Journal Andhra Vanitha. Through this they campaigned against child marriage,
widow remarriage, increased wages etc.

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Crucially affected by the oppression of landlords and money lenders, women

who were a large section of the agricultural labour and tobacco leaf pickers became
militant in the struggle for land, better wages, fair, rent, reasonable interest on cash
and grain loans.
Among the bonded class, rape, becoming concubines to landlords’ married
daughters etc. were prevalent. The oppression of the upper class women was kept
under wraps as the violence they faced was not visible and structural purdah was
strictly observed both by high caste Hindu and Muslim women. Child marriage and
early widowhood were common. Education for women was unheard of. In Telangana
the cultural dominance of Muslim feudal rule kept women out of the mainstream for
long. Andhra Maha Sabha, which sprung up to assert the cultural identity of the
people, added women’s education to their agenda of constitutional reform and civil
liberties. Thus many women, who were drawn into the cultural movements, drew
closer to the communist party which was working through the Andhra Maha Sabha.
When the Andhra Maha Sabha added basic agrarian reforms to its programme of
action these women also plunged into the struggle.
Women from all classes participated in the movement with energy and
commitment where both the urban middle class as well as the peasant sections of
the population, drew their support slowly but surely into the movement. The
communist party which seriously took up issues of social reforms for women like
widow remarriage, prohibition of child marriage, education for women and
opportunities, also began to identify women of ability to make the movement
stronger. Some of the women who took active part in the movement were Dubala
Salamma, Ch. Kamalamma, Regulla Achamma, Chityala Ailamma, Pesaru
Satbamma, Malla Swarajyam, Dayani Kausalya, Pramila Tail, Chakilam Lalithamma,
Bullemma, Narasamma, Vajramma, Saidamma, Suganamma, etc.
The Communist party in Andhra served as a rear base for the Telangana
struggle, arranging for relief and supplies. The entry of the Indian Army into
Hyderabad in September 1948 brought about the surrender of the Nizam and the
disbanding of the Razakars. The force of the Army was then turned on the peasants,
the communist party was banned and repression increased. The rich peasantry
withdrew its support once the Nizam was gone and the squads had to move into the
forests. Finally the struggle was withdrawn in 1951.
Some changes took place after the withdrawal. Forced labour was abolished,
village became active and people resisted the return of the old Jagirdari system. The
demand for division along linguistic zones to facilitate all round political, social and

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cultural development of the people was also subsequently pushed forward. More
important was the fact that it had set a revolutionary tradition among Telugu people.

ii) Women's Revolt in Bengal

The Tebhaga movement erupted in 1946 in Bengal on the eve of the withdrawal
of the British. Although the tide of Tebhaga receded as fast as it rose, the uprising stands
out as one of the most important political events in twentieth century Bengal. Among the
unique features of the movement is the large-scale participation of women on par with
men. The landless and poor peasant women formed fighting troops called nari bahini
and took a front rank role in defending the gains of the movement and in countering the
repression of the state. The article describes and analyses the role of women in the
Tebhaga movement and seeks to throw light on fundamental questions such as why,
despite women's demonstrated capacity to organise, struggle and lead progressive
movements, male dominance remains unbroken.

iii) Participation of Women in the Quit India Movement

The nationalist movement as led by Gandhi was based on non-violence.

Metaphorically the streets were viewed as moral battlefields and this ideology guided
women to step over the thresholds of their homes. During the quit India movement
in the 1940s, 20 years after the non-cooperation movement and 10 years past civil
disobedience, more women came forward to participate because of the precedence in
the past two decades.

When most of the men-folk were in prison, women came forward to take
charge of the struggle. Mahatma Gandhi remarked: “When the history of India’s fight
for independence comes to be written, the sacrifice made by the women of India will
occupy the foremost place.” Uneducated and educated women sacrificed time and
materials, volunteering, campaigning, protesting, fasting, and donating to the causes
of freedom. Women's early contribution to the national movement started in the late
19 th century with women's participation in the Indian National Congress. Their

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nature of struggle was not just non-violent, but also included armed movement.
Some women students protested against the British rule by picketing the Secretariat.

Women who participated in the Quit India Movement The long list of women
who participated in the quit India movement, some of whom also championed
women’s rights, includes:

 A.V. Kuttimalu Amma

 Ambujammal
 Padmaja Naidu
 Rukmini Lakshmipathi
 Maya Thomas
 Sister Subbalakshmi

iv) Anti Arrack Movement

Since mid-seventies, tribal women in different parts of country—Andhra

Pradesh, Manipur, Maharashtra have been fighting against alcohol sale inducing
alcoholism among men resulting in the devastation of families and domestic violence
against women and children. In Andhra Pradesh, the anti-arrack movement was
strong in 1992 to 1993 and it spread into other states at different levels. More than
40,000 women uniting and blocking the arrack auction in Andhra was a historic
chapter in the Indian women’s movement.

Women have played a historic role in bringing about a ban on consumption

and sale of distilled liquor in Andhra Pradesh. The movement indeed was not just for
elimination of liquor but for the protection and survival of their lives and culture.
The rural women in the villages raised their voices against the degeneration of the
progress of their families through the damage caused by their men to their children
and themselves.

The movement was started in a small village, Dubagunta, in Nellore district of

Andhra Pradesh. The main reason for the movement was said to be the successful
literacy mission that has been going in Nellore district. The National literacy Mission
(NLM) was officially launched in Nellore District from 2nd January 1990 and was
implemented from January 1991. This program was implemented in a very
innovative way with recognition of development as an instrument of change and

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empowerment of women. Hence a campaign approach was adopted to spread the

message of literacy. Primers were written, popular performances used and a center
for people’s awareness created. Besides this, cultural committees were organised to
convey the meaning and need for literacy in the forms of songs, dance-dramas and
street plays.

In Maharashtra, the elected women representatives in local self-government

institutions, Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) have forced the state government to
declare their block/village/taluk ‘alcohol free zone’ if 50% of women in the area give
their vote against sale and distribution of alcohol.

v) Munnar Plantation Strike

The majority of workers in the Munnar plantation in Kerala were women, who
were easy to exploit with long working hours, with a pay of just Rs. 234 a day.On 6th
September 2015, the workers began a strike with about 5000 workers when the
plantation’s management slashed the bonus from 20% from previous year to 10%.

The agitation was lead and organized by women who demanded a hike in their
pay, as well as in the salary, refusing to involve men, and the country’s major trade
unions citing that men did less labor and the trade unions did little to improve their
conditions.

The one and a half month long agitation that spread to other plantations in
the state of Kerala was finally called off with the government involving and the
management giving into the demands of the workers.

vi) Stop Acid Sale

Laxmi Agarwal was just 15 when a group of men threw acid at her, disfiguring
her face and body. The reason: she refused to marry one of them. Until then, the
news of acid attacks were just another part of the news section, but Laxmi wanted
to bring an end to the attacks once and for all.

She gathered 27,000 signatures for a petition to curb the sales of acid and
took the issue to the Supreme court, with her campaign, StopAcidSale . The
campaigned gained momentum nationwide, with many victims of acid attacks and
public, voicing their stance against acid sale. In 2013, the Supreme Court ruled in
favor of her plea and introduced restrictions on the sale of acid, showing a significant
decline in acid attacks in the year from the previous.

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vii) Save Silent Valley Movement

In 1928, the Kerala State Electricity Board proposes a location along the
Kunthipuzha River ideal for electricity generation, and the Planning Commission
approves it on 1973, threatening to bring an end to around 8 sq. km. of evergreen
forest by submerging it. Romulus Whitaker, founder of Madras Snake Park and
Madras Crocodile Bank, was the first to bring attention to the issue, with KSSP (A
voluntary science group), gathering people to protest the planning commission’s
approval.

Sugathakumari, a conservationist, lead the Save Silent Valley Movement to

save some of the oldest natural forests in the country. Her poem “Marathinu Stuthi”
(Ode to a Tree) became a symbol of the protest, becoming the opening song of the
movement’s meetings.

Petitions, campaigns, and protests spread wildly, mounting pressure on the

Central government, where Indira Gandhi declares the Silent Valley to be protected
in 1981, with PM Rajiv Gandhi inaugurating the valley as a National Park in 1981.

viii) The Chipko movement

Chandi Prasad Bhatt, a social worker, started a small workshop in

Gopeshwar, Uttar Pradesh to make farm tools for local use. However, as the forest
resources were contracted out to big companies, the abusing of the resources lead to
landslides and created ecological imbalances. The villagers protested in small groups,
leading upto the protest with drums and slogan-shouting on 24th April 1973,
sending the lumbermen back from the forest, making it the first confrontation of the
movement.

On 25 March 1974, Gaura Devi, head of the village Mahila Mangal Dal, with
27 women, went to protest the felling of trees by contractors, by confronting with the
workers and hugging the trees when the confrontation failed. This news spread like
wildfire and many people from several villages joined the protest, which lasted four
days until the contractors withdrew. A committee was set up by CM of UP, which
ruled out in favor of the villagers.

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The participation of female villagers en masse played a vital role in turning the
movement into a successful one, putting the movement as a fore-runner to many
other movement against deforestation in the country.

Google has dedicated a doodle for the 45th anniversary of the Chipko movement
on 26th March 2018.

Reference:

1. Ismail T. 2020. Emergence of Gender Studies as an Academic

Discipline: Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Perspectives. Journal of
Society in Kashmir. 10(1) 23-33.
2. https://slideplayer.com/slide/16406995/
3. https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/41972/1/Unit-1.pdf
4. “Matrilineality.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 7 Mar.
2021, Available here.
2. “Matriarchy.” New World Encyclopedia, Available here.
5. https://www.beyondpinkworld.com/featurestories/culture/matriarch
al-societies-world-2998

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