WOMEN’S MOVEMENT IN INDIA

1. Telangana Movement – Against forced labor

2. Chipko Movement - Against the government officials

3. Anti Arrack Movement – against the use of liquor and to banned liquor shops

4. Me too Movement – to brought up the issues of harassment and assault

 INTRODUCTION
• Women’s movement in India have their genesis in deeply rooted backward traditions like sati, child
marriage or ill treatment of widow in the 19th century to issues of rape , dowry , domestic violence ,
unequal pay at work, sexual harassment at work, an unequal division of labor and low representation of
women in politics in the more recent times .
• The Women’s questions arose in modern India as a part of the early 19 th century middle class social
reform movements. These issues varied across region , religion and class. The issues are constantly
evolving and are embedded with the learning from the issues raised in the past . Issues like education
and equal voting rights demanded in this movement became tool for the next generation of women’s
movement
 EARLY MOVEMENTS
• Early movement were largely led by men with little say from the women. Some of the issues raised were
• Discrimination based on traditional practices in society on the grounds of humanitarian and natural
rights
• Demand for education
• Reformers like sir Sayyed Ahmed khan and Dayanand Saraswati sought for women’s education
• Participation of women in the national movement also brought forward issues of equal voting rights , the
right to hold public offices etc. These issues were inspired from the ideals of the national movement
itself.
• Eg In 1931 the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress issued a declaration on the fundamental
rights of citizenship in India whereby it committed itself to women’s equality
• Also the issues of equality , non discrimination based on sex , employment found their ways in the
constitution in India
 20 TH CENTURY WOMEN’S MOVEMENT

• Starting from 1970s these movements were mostly led by middle class and educated women . The movements
largely revolved around the issues of women’s control over their own bodies, equal spaces in the social
institutions like Marriage and family and an acknowledged for the dignity of their identity. Apart from this ,
movements like Chipko movement led by women encompassed wider issues like environmental concerns.
• Law became a major site of reform and legislative changes were demanded in
• Work opportunities
• Political participation
• Distribution of resources
• Against social evils
 WOMENS MOVEMENT IN THE 21 CENTURY
• The contemporary women’s movements have become more inclusive and have gone beyond the binary of man and
women . The movements have transformed into the site of demand for dignity by various gender identities and not
just women. For example the demand for rights by LGBT community
• Technological advancement and globalization have brought new spaces of power struggle and issues raised are
• Expansion in the definition of rape and violence in the legal context and including marital rape in the context of rape
• Protection against cybercrime
• Radical changes in the education system , social structures like marriage and parenthood and making them more
gender sensitive
• Ex . The demand for recognizing women as head of families, increase in paternity leaves, sexual autonomy, right to
choose ones life partner etc.
• A change in the system of governance to include the equitable allocation of resources and planning based on the
perspective of gender , eg gender budgeting
 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 was a protest of the people who wanted both food and freedom
from the oppressive regime of the Nizam , Patils , and the Jagirdars in Hyderabad state .
Under Jagirdari system various illegal taxes and forced labour were extracted from peasants by the landlords . Apart
from this there were Deshmukhs and Deshpandes or tax collector of the Nizam who grabbed thousands of acres of land
and made it their own property. Peasants thus became tenants at will.
Large number of women who were desperate because of extreme poverty, slavery and sexual exploitation by the feudal
lords fought courageously in this movement. Inorder to mobilise and develop political acumen among women. The
communist party formed a womens organisation which published a women journal Andhra Vanitha. Though they
campaigned against child marriage , widow remaariage, increased wages etc.
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 by high caste hindu and muslim women
CONTINUE
• Child marriage and early wideowhood were common. Education for women was unheard of . In
Telangana the cultural dominance of muslim feudal rule kept women out of the mainstream of
society
• Women from all classes participated in the movement with energy and commitment where both the
urban middle classes as well as the peasant sections of the society drew their support slowly but
surely int 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. The
communist party in Andhra served as a rear base for the Telangana struggle and arranging relief and
supplies and then forced labor was abolished.
 ANTI ARRACK MOVEMENT
• The anti arrack movement of women in Andhra Pradesh was one of the most historic and significant
movements of the 1990s. The historic bangle waged by the women of Andhra Pradesh against the social
evil of alcohol drinking is a magnum war in Indian social history. 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. This programe was implemented in a very innovative way with recognition of development as an
instrument of change and empowerment of women
• Sharing of problems through such medium helped women to create a close bonding . They decided to fight
the vice of drinking . The women were reasoned if the arrack shops were closed then men would not get
liquor and hence would not drink. These women then marched together the next day and were able to get
the arrack shop closed in the villages
 CONTINUE
• In many villages women’s committee’s were formed . Their fight turned into a larger issue involving
contractors , the excise department and the state itself. The women wanted to know why their village
did not have drinking water , schools for children and proper wages but plenty of arrack shops
• The anti arrack movement though started as a spontaneous outburst of lower class and lower caste
women . Soon it became a rage through classes and castes against arrack shops , excise officials ,
liquor contractors and all the machineries of state involved in the trade.
• Soon all the arrack supply sources were blocked .
 ME TOO MOVEMENT
• The Me Too Movement in India brought to light up numerous allegations of sexual harassment and assault
and helped to raise awareness of the issue in the country. There are several examples of me too movement
which includes scenarios such as one coworker making repeated unwanted sexual advances towards another
whether they were told to stop or not. A superior asking for sexual favors from an employee in exchange
for some benefit in the workplace such as promotion or a raise.
• The mee too movement was founded in 2006 by Tarana Burke to support survivors of sexual violence
particularly young women of color from low wealth communities to find pathways to healing . The impacts
of me too movement is that it heightened the public awareness and sensitivity to issue of sexual harassment
and sexual assault.
• While me too movement started out in the entertainment industry, it went on to hit the political fraternity
with few big names coming out in the open
CONTINUE
• In spite of being the worlds largest democracy, politics in India has always been sensationalized .
Movement should not be politicized as there are some causes and some issues which simply
can’t be politicized. This is peoples movement Mee too is not about evidence It is something
which victim accept that it happened with them. It is about speaking about it without shame and
fear .