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I. (A) Personal Details
Role Name Affiliation Principal Investigator Prof.SumitaParmar Allahabad University, Allahabad Paper Coordinator Prof. Rekha Pande University of Hyderabad,
Hyderabad Content Writer/Author (CW)
Dr. Kala Selvi. K.T. Pondicherry University Pondicherry
Content Reviewer (CR) Prof. Rekha Pandey Universiy of Hyderabad Language Editor (LE) (B) Description of Module
Items Description of Module Subject Name Women’s Studies Paper Name Women and History Module Name/ Title, description
Grass Root Women’s Activism .
Module ID Paper-3, Module-31 Pre-requisites The reader is expected to have some idea
about the different social movements of the country.
Objectives To make the reader understand the meaning of grass root women’s activism and its contribution at various levels.
Keywords Grass root women’s movement, pre independence, post independence, patriarchal structure, gender rights.
Grass Root Women’s Activism
This module deals with grass root women’s activism in contemporary India. Women’s
activism in movements has a long history. In the Indian context it is relevant to understand that
the variation in concerns and strategies of women’s activism has been the outcome of the
plurality of perspectives within the movement. Some movements had the support of intellectual
groups and in some places mass movements emerged in support of certain causes while there are
some that existed for years with evolving agendas. The ideologies also vary from socialist,
liberal, radical, Marxist and Gandhian to the new fundamentalist.
While tracing the origins of women’s activism in India, the concept of Shakti, the female
power principle must be taken into cognizance. In this form women’s activism in movements is
to be recognized as the development of positive force inspiring men and women alike rather than
a negative reaction to oppression. Urvashi Butalia (1998) and Ritu Menon and Kamala Bhasin
(1998) have already highlighted the deliberate absence of a record of women’s voice and
contribution to political situations in pre-independent India and the patriarchal nature of our
documented history.
Women’s leadership in the nationalist phase however, emerged from a small section of the
urban, educated middle-class and invariably was in some way linked to movements or
organizations in the west. In the 19th century the middle class women with the support of male
social reformers, who were influenced by western liberal democratic values, initiated the process
to fight against female infanticide, sati, child marriage, widow remarriage and segregation of
women from the public life (Desouza.2011).
There are many special cases where individual women have been leaders in a struggle for
women’s rights, but whose voices have not been accounted for in the patriarchal recording of
history. In Maharashtra Savitribai Phule was an Indian social reformer and poet from dalit
community. Along with her husband Jyotirao Phule a noted social reformer founded the first
women's school at Bhide Wada in Pune in 1848. She also worked to abolish discrimination and
unfair treatment of people based on caste and gender. Savitribai Phule started ‘Mahila Seva
Mandal’ in 1852, which worked for raising women’s consciousness about their human rights,
dignity of life and other social issues (Attri Pardeep Singh, 2010).
In the year 1882 Swarnakumari Devi, less heard of than her brother Rabindranath Tagore,
from West Bengal started the Ladies Theosophical Society (a multi-religion association of
women) and later became a member of the Indian National Congress. Then the Theosophical
Society was associated more with Annie Besant, a British woman supporter of the Indian
nationalist movement. Swarnakumari’s daughter Sarala Devi started training women in the use
of the sword and lathi in 1903, as she was actively involved in nationalism of a militant kind.
Pandita Ramabai from Canara district in the British period (present Karnataka)was one of the 10
women delegates to the Indian National Congress in 1889 and she was instrumental in setting up
of several women’s organizations, schools for girls, and homes for widows, apart from her other
contributions to society.
Middle class educated women initiated a few organizations. Several issues that were taken
up as concerns for social reforms were, in fact, issues that exclusively benefited women of the
upper social classes or those of higher caste. In 1904, a women’s wing was started in the
National Social Conference, which was later called the Indian Women’s Conference. The All
India Women’s Conference opened branches in several smaller states in India. The Women’s
Indian Association, which had links with the British women’s movement for suffrage, was
commenced in 1917 by Margaret Cousins, Dorothy Jinarjadasa and Annie Besant. The National
Council of Women, a branch of the International Council of Women, was founded by Lady Tata
and Lady Aberdeen in 1925. In 1927, the All India Women’s Conference was set up by Margaret
Cousins which later merged with the Women’s Indian Association in the 1930s (Kumar, 1993).
To quote other side of women’s movement, in North East after the annexation of Manipur by
British, the history of Manipur was famous for two female’s warfare. In 1904 the House of
British Political Agent ordered the villagers to fetch teak wood, to collect bamboos, thatches,
reeds and other materials. While men collected those materials, women in a group snatched those
materials and threw them in to Nambul River. Though the agitation was controlled, women
disobeyed the orders and demonstration of women continued for several days. The army was
called to restore peace. All the women resorted to strike and bazaar was completely closed.
The second agitation was in 1939 for banning the export of rice. In 1939 excessive rain
had seriously damaged the standing crops which resulted in severe shortage of rice. The rice
export was exclusively controlled by Marwari traders. More than 15000 women demonstrated
before the Darbar hall of Maharaja and shouted slogans to stop the export of rice. Since the
economy of the state could suffer if women continued the boycott the monopoly of Marwari
traders, this monopoly was cut down and export of rice was cut short (Karna, 1998).
In Tamil Nadu the Self Respect Movement under the leadership of Ramasamy who is well
known as Periyar used their conferences to take up women’s issues and encouraged women’s
participation in politics. A demand for equal property rights for men and women was insisted in
its first conference. The second conference at Virudunagar insisted that women should be
inducted into the army and police as well. They also called for local magistrates to identify those
temples which encouraged the devadasi system and proceed with severe actions. Being a
devadasi, Movalur Ramamirthammaiyar emerged as an activist championing the cause of
women, devoting herself to the abolition of the devadasi system. The efforts of the various
women activists have played a role in alleviating the degree of suppression of women in various
spheres. Though many women had actively participated in the Dravidian movement, not much
has been written about them (Seshadri, 2008).
In 1946 Tebhaga movement erupted in Bengal on the eve of the withdrawal of the British.
In rural Bengal, the Kisan Sabha responded to the major threat of crop failure through the
Tebhaga movement which organized sharecroppers. This was a mass struggle against the
landlords’ traditional claim to two-thirds of the crop harvested by the sharecroppers. Mahila
Samitis questioned gender discrimination in the Kisan Sabha by raising issues of domestic
violence and gender discrimination. Women in large scale participated in the movement on par
with men. The landless poor peasant women formed fighting troops called Naribahini and
acquired a front rank role in defending the gains of the movement and in countering the
repression of state (Custers, Peter, 1986).
Women’s activism in Freedom struggle
Women shouldered critical responsibilities in India's struggle for freedom. They held public
meetings, organized picketing of shops selling foreign alcohol and articles, sold Khadi and
actively participated in National Movements. Large number of Grass root women participated
actively in Swadeshi and Civil Disobedience Movements. Swadeshi Movement emanated from
the partition of Bengal, 1905 and continued up to 1908. It was a successful economic strategy to
remove the British Empire from power and improve economic conditions in India through
following the principles of Swadeshi (self-sufficiency). Women joined men to protest this
division by boycotting foreign goods and buying only Swadeshi goods, i.e. goods produced in
the territory of Bengal.
During the Dandi Salt March (1930)Gandhi installed the Civil Disobedience Movement by
conducting the historic Dandi Salt March, where he broke the Salt Laws imposed by the British
Government. Women played an active role in the struggle under the leadership of Sarojini Naidu,
Aruna Asaf Ali and Bhikaji Cama. There were endless number of women who daringly fought
for India’s freedom with their true spirit and undaunted courage. It is pertinent to document a
few women’s militancy during freedom struggle (Milestones in freedom struggle)
Rani of Jhansi Regiment was the women’s regiment of the Indian National Army, the armed
force formed by Indian nationalists in 1942 in Southeast Asia with the aim of overthrowing the
British Raj in colonial India It was one of the very few all-female combat regiments of the
Second World War on any side led by Captain Lakshmi Sahgal. The unit was raised in July
1943 with one hundred and seventy women volunteers from the expatriate Indian population in
South Asia (Wikipedia)
Women’s activism in Post Independence The years after independence proved to be the site of a severe setback for women
activism. Despite the acceptance of the principle of equality between men and women, its
implications were not fully worked out. Women continued to be the victims of several forms of
discrimination in and out of home. Disillusionment was setting in gradually. From the mid 1960s
onwards, new socio-political movements emerged as poverty and unemployment were
widespread and the people were disappointed with the government development policies, the
prevalent economic rights, land rights and the price rise. In the nineteen seventies constitutional
guarantee of equality was critically analyzed and the movement which started in the seventies
and eighties was a very different one, growing out of a number of radical movements of the time.
A large number of women’s organizations emerged and old ones revitalized by the nineteen
eighties. A special category of women’s activism arose characterized by new dimensions.
During the late sixties and early seventies many older women’s organizations like All
India Women’s Conference (AIWC), The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) and
the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) activated a new phase of activity marked by
increasing interaction and cooperation with one another. This time the focus was not only on
mobilizing women but also on understanding and attacking the sources of their oppression.
During 1970s and 1980s, the women’s movement highlighted marginalization of women from
the economy. The efforts of women activists were directed in agitation and propaganda for
women’s rights, street-fighting against escalating violence against assertive women and team-
building to counter sexual harassment at work-place. In the 1990, the women’s movement was
demanding its legitimate place within the mainstream with its own agenda of empowerment of
women with partnership with men (Khullar, 2005).
In Independent India there have been concerted struggles waged by different communities in
different parts of the state for control over resources and land. Women’s activism in those
movements proved their involvement and commitment towards the cause. Women on par with
men played an active role in peasant movements, eco movements, trade union movements,
women’s rights movements and social movements. When they raised their voice for social
justice, they critically analyzed gender roles and able to ascertain their gender concerns. Brief
look at following movements highlight grass root women’s activism in modern times.
Peasant movements
Immediately after Independence, the land rights militant movement in Telangana (Andhra
Pradesh) in 1946 posed relevant questions to the newly formed Indian state. Speaking of feudal
and cultural domination, the central focus of the Telangana struggle was the liberation of women
from violent subjugation. And the participation of women in this struggle is historic - Mallu
Swarajyam and Chityala Ailamma continue to be widely revered icons. Three decades later,
Telangana, more specifically Hyderabad, was the centre of the emergence of the autonomous
women's movement which put the articulation of women's rights in place nationally - the agenda
that was drawn up then continues to influence public policy and party politics across the board
even today(Kannabiran,2010).
The Bodhgaya’s peasant Movement was commenced in 1978 demanding the state to
release the Math lands to peasants in the Ganga district of Bihar. In 1982 at the Vahini’s Bihar
State Conference, attended by Bodhgaya women activists and peasants, a decision was taken that
women should be given land in their own names in any future distribution. Women’s
participation in the struggle was recognized by the men due to the growing solidarity among
women and their articulation of their gender specific interests. It was the first land struggle in
South Asia in which women’s land rights were explicitly taken into account and carried forward
with some success. Women got equal rights on the land released from Math (Agarwal, 1994).
The movement of adivasis and the growth of Sharmik Sanghathan in Maharashtra’s
Dhulia district in 1972 is another significant pre- emergency movement. In essence, it was a
movement for the restoration of the social anti- economic dignity of the disinherited tribal
peasantry of Shahad whose lands and assets had been appropriated by the settlers from outside.
The frequent sexual violation of the tribal women was a symbol of the humiliation of the entire
tribe triggered the movement eventually (Joseph, 2006).
.Eco movements
Chipko Movement, started in 1970's, in Uttarakhand was a non-violent movement aimed
at the protection and conservation of trees and forests from being destroyed. In the case of
women's role in the Chipko Movement, Chipko, a Hindi word meaning "hugging", is used to
describe the movement because local village women literally "hugged" trees, interposing their
bodies between the trees and the loggers to prevent their being cut down (Uttarakhand
Encyclopedia).
Ganga Mukthi Movement in 1980s has been waging non-violent battle against
monopoly of water lords over Ganga water and for acquiring fishing rights. Women played an
active role and succeeded in getting fishing rights. The fisher women asserted themselves and
secured more than 50% of seats in the committee, which was conducting the movement and
gained control of the fund collected for the movement, as they felt that men squandered the
money over useless things. They even succeeded in picketing local liquor shops which was
responsible for many wrong doings on the part of the men folk. The movement also incorporated
several women related issues. In 1990 nearly 80 kms of area under Panidari system was freed
and the movement spread to other areas along the Ganga River. In January 1991 Bihar
government had declared that the fisher folk would be given free fishing right in all rivers
passing through the state. The process of acquiring fishing rights had truly empowered the fisher
women, as it led to capacity building, autonomy in decision making, access to and control over
their valued productive resources and the fruits of their labour deriving from control over their
lives. But they did not stop here, now these empowered women came forward with fresh energy
against ecological degradation and destruction of the micro eco-system of the Ganges, which
resulted into a call for factories that polluted the Ganga. This movement was revolutionary that
initiated a process in which women were both subjects of change and agents of social change
(Shrivastav, 2013).
APPIKO movement
APPIKO is a 25-year-old movement, which reminds the people of the need to conserve
sensitive eco sphere. In 1983, the villagers in Sirsi taluka of North Kanara district launched an
'embrace the trees' campaign. In 1950, forests covered more than 81 percent of the geographical
area in Uttara Kannada (or North Kanara) district. But being declared a 'backward' district, the
area was selected for major industries and a chain of hydroelectric dams constructed to harness
the rivers. Women participated actively in the agitations and stopped the cutting of trees by
embracing them. Appiko is seen by some as a kind of echo of the more prominent Chipko
movement of north India (One India, 2008).
Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) is a non-governmental organization (NGO) that mobilized
tribal people, farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against the Sardar Sarovar
Dam being built across the Narmada River in Gujarat. In 1987 it originally focused on the
environmental issues related to trees that would be submerged under the dam water. Recently it
has re-focused with the aim to enable the poor citizens especially the ousters to get the full
rehabilitation facilities from the government. Women played an equal role on par with men in
defending their rights (Suyoggothi, 2013).
Trade Union Movements
Nipani is a town situated in Kerala with a population of 40,000 ruled by tobacco merchants
who wield more power than the government. In 1980s against the mechanization of beedi
production women irrespective of religion and caste united together and demanded for job
security, raised income and put an end to sexual harassment in the work place. The economic
necessities forced women to change their value systems and adopt new values. The experience of
Nipani beedi workers, Tamilnadu construction workers, Rajanandgaon textile workers all base
themselves on trade union structure. The sheer size of the women membership exerts a pressure
on the union to take up trade union and social issues that focus on women. From the Nipani
struggle an attack on social practices that oppress women such as the devadasi system has
emerged.
The Kerala Workers Movement developed out of the crisis in the traditional fisheries
sector in the wake of mechanized fishing. Although women in Kerala don’t fish, they undertake
the major responsibility for marketing the catch. As far as women specifically are concerned the
organizers took up the issue of women’s rights to public transport for vending fish. Within the
movement too, a significant debate took place on organizational models for women’s
involvement. The demand that women be accorded full union membership began in the
Trivandrum unit where women were the strongest in leadership positions (Shah, 2004).
Chattisgarh Dalli- Rajhra manual mines women constitute almost half the work force. From
the first executive itself, Chattisgarh Mines Shramik Sangh (CMSS) had women in its committee
which is rare in Indian Trade Union movement. In 1979 the active involvement of women not
only fought for better working conditions such as wage increase, fixed working hours but also
practically eliminated the sexual violation of women by contractors and their henchmen, once the
scourge of Dalli-Rajhara mines. Due to widespread alcoholism among the male workers the
increased wage was of no use. It was against this background that the CMSS took up an anti-
liquor campaign. The campaign and its effective implementation was made possible by the
participation of women workers (Niyoki Shankar Guha, 1991).
The Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) movement in Ahmedabad led by Ela Bhatt,
which was a sort of pioneering women’s trade union movement that began in 1972, was another
such landmark in the history of the contemporary women’s movement. It is a membership-based
organization from a combination of the labour, women, and cooperative movements, to organize
self-employed women in the informal economy and assist their collective struggle for social
justice, equality and fair treatment. Women involved in various trades in the informal sector were
brought together by their shared experiences such as low earnings, harassment at home,
harassment by contractors and the police, poor work conditions, non-recognition of their labour
to list just a few. Apart from collective bargaining, the movement strove to improve working
conditions through training (Chapter.7. Self Employed Women Association, 2011).
Women’s Rights Movements
Between 1977 and 1979 new women’s groups emerged in the cities like Delhi, Banglore,
Hyderabad, Bombay, Ahmedabad, Patna, and Madras. They organized protest actions against
dowry murders, beauty contests, sexist portrayal of women in media, pornographic films and
literature imported from abroad, the introduction of virginity tests by the U.K. immigration
authorities, custodial rape and pitiable condition of women in prison.
Nationwide anti-rape campaign in 1980 resulted into the emergence and proliferation of the
autonomous women’s organizations in several cities and towns of India. These groups such as
Forum Against Oppression of Women (Mumbai), Saheli (Delhi), Stree Shakti Sangathana
(Hyderabad), Vimochana (Banglore) managed to get tremendous publicity in the print as well as
the audio-visual media because at that time ’violence against women’ was the most sensational
and the newest issue(Patel, 1985).
Vachathi is a Dalit dominated village situated in Dharmapuri district, Tamilnadu. In 1992 a
team comprising forest personnel, policemen and revenue officials entered in, searching for
smuggled sandalwood. Under the pretext of conducting a search, the team ransacked the
villagers' property, destroyed their houses, and raped 18 women. Women with the help of
activists filed a case against the violators. Nearly two decades after the incident, a special court
sentenced 215 men from police, forest and revenue department to jail terms ranging from one to
10 years for atrocities on tribals and women. Women faced the trials with determination and
courage (The Hindu, Sep 30, 2011).
North East women struggle:
In 2004, a group of middle-aged Manipuri women protested against army by stripping naked in
front of an army barracks in Imphal and unfurling a banner that read: “Indian Army: Rape Us.”
After torching government buildings and parading naked to protest the suspected custodial rape
and killing of a woman by federal soldiers, women in Manipur vow to intensify their fight
against frequent atrocities in the restive northeast Indian state (Hussain, 2004).
The Gulabi Gang (known as pink army) was founded by Sampat Pal Devi in 2006. Since
then, it has grown to over 20,000 members. Mainly comprised of female activists, the women
vigilantes are reported to have originated from Bundelkhand, Uttar Pradesh, but are now active
across North India. Wrapped in bright pink saris, the women are often seen protesting patriarchal
culture, rigid caste division, female illiteracy, and domestic violence, child labor, as well as
dowry demands. And in 2008, the gang stormed into an electricity office and forced officials to
turn back on the power which had been cut in order to extract bribes. The women proudly
proclaim that they are not a gang in the usual sense of the term but a gang for justice. Their
fearlessness has touched the lives of many and has even inspired media makers (Froelich, 2013).
Social Movements
The Anti Price Rise Movement
In 1972 the Anti Price Rise movement mobilized large numbers of women in cities like Bombay
and Ahmedabad. Loosely organized and flexible in structure the movement adopted innovative
forms of protests but failed to sustain itself in the absence of a solid organization structure. This
movement called for a total revolution. Gender discriminatory practices, family violence, rape,
unequal distribution of work and resources were debated openly and created a widespread
ferment among its women cadres.
Nava Nirman Movement
The Nav Nirman movement of 1974, which began as a student movement in Gujarat, chiefly
against corruption, was another such turning point in the history of agitations for ‘rights’ and
‘lokniti’ (people’s rule of law). Influenced by concepts of ‘revolution’, the movement critiqued
the caste system and religious rituals. Besides involvement in political and economic issues it
was also concerned with those that were considered private such as family violence, domestic
roles and challenged patriarchal stereotypes.
Anti Arrack Movements:
Since mid seventies, tribal women in different parts of country – Andra Pradesh, Manipur,
Maharashtra have been fighting against alcohol/liquor sale inducing alcoholism among men
resulting into devastation of families and domestic violence against women and children. In
Andhra Pradesh, the anti-arrack movement was strong in 1992 to 93 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. 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 (Patel).
In Tamilnadu elected women representatives networking with SHGs showed tremendous
changes in their village panchayats. Using the social capital with the support of family and other
stake holders a few women could able to ascertain their position. Though the percentage is less
the 73rd amendment’s thirty three percent reservation for women in local governance provided
an excellent opportunity for grass root women’s’ activism in local governance (Kalaiselvi,2013).
Conclusion
In short it is evident that grass root women’s activism was invisible due to the patriarchal
documented history in pre independence movements. There is a clear cut distinction between pre
independence movements and post independence movements. While the pre independence
movements were essentially about social reforms, initiated by middle class educated women
without challenging the patriarchal structure on the other hand the post independence movements
demanded gender equality, questioned gender- based division of labor involved grass root
women at various levels .Conscious efforts are required to be taken by scholars to document and
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