WOMEN’S MOVEMENTS IN INDIA AND RELATED LEGAL

REFORMS: A SOCIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Submitted by:

Moon Mishra (SF0117029)

Faculty in-charge: Mrs. Preeti Priyam Sharma

Assistant Professor of Sociology

NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY, ASSAM

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. Literature Review
1.2. Scope and Objectives
1.3. Research problem
1.4. Research Methodology

2. HISTORY OF WOMEN’S MOVEMENT INDIA

2.1. Social Reformation in Pre- Independence Movement Period
2.2. Participation in the Indian Freedom Struggle

3. CONTEMPORARY WOMEN’S MOVEMENTS

4. LEGAL RFORMS: RESULT OF WOMEN’S MOVEMENTS IN INDIA

4.1. Social repercussions of these reforms

5. CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

2
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Women in India have been considered as subservient and subjugated to patriarchy since time
immemorial. The bulk of the Indian society has been paradoxical. On one hand, they worship
women as Goddesses for wealth, power and knowledge; on the other hand, the society leaves no
stone unturned to bring down women as objects under their control. However, when a thorough
study of the status of women in India is conducted, it is evident that liberal ideas have surely hit
the Indian society. Position of women has undergone massive changes in the past two centuries.
Thus, this research work would focus itself to a comprehensive study of the women‟s
movements in India. The second chapter would deal with the evolution of women‟s movements
in India- social reform movements which were mainly taken up by the male social reformers,
there would be a discussion on the involvement of women in the Indian Freedom Struggle and
thereby their newly asserted position in the society. Women participation in the struggle was at
par with their male counterpart‟s involvement. They participated in large numbers, broke the
shackles and fought with passion and zeal. This was also the time when they staged their fight
against their legal disabilities, for grant of women suffrage and other basic civil rights.

The third chapter deals with the second phase of women‟s movements in India which began from
the 1970s. In the mid-1970s there was a renewal of the women‟s movement in India. While
many of the concerns remained the same, there were changes both in terms of organisational
strategy as well as ideologies. There was the growth of what is termed as the autonomous
women‟s movements. The term „autonomy‟ referred to the fact that they were „autonomous‟ or
independent from political parties as distinct from those women‟s organisations that had links
with political parties.1

1
NCERT, Social Change and Development in India, Textbook in Sociology for Class XII, New Delhi, April, 2007,
pp. 158
2
Pitam Singh, Women Legislators in Indian Politics, 1st Edition, 2003 pp. 27 3
The fourth chapter deals with legal reforms and amendments that came up as a result of these
movements. The chapter will also look into the social repercussions of these reforms as they
have been received by the society. Whether these reforms and the movements have been able to
bring about changes in lives of Indian women would be the crux of this research work.

Chapter 5 would finally provide a brief conclusion to the research work.

1.1.Literature Review :
AparnaBasu, Indian Women’s Movements, Foundation Course, Human Rights, Gender
and Environment
This article by AparnaBasu provides an overview to the progress of the Indian Women‟s
Movements throughout history. It traces the beginning of the women‟s movements in India
from the 19th century where the initial steps were taken by men who fought for providing the
basic civil and domestic rights for women, such as prohibition of sati, polygamy, and
allowing widow remarriage. Following this period, women‟s organizations were set up and
thus, they directly got involved in the movements for their rights. Then during the period of
the two world wars, the focus of rights shifted to political rights and personal laws. Women
also actively participated in the national movement and this broadened the base of the
National Movement.
Thus, the article, in providing an assessment of the two phases of the women‟s movements in
India helps the research work immensely.

 Lucy Carroll, Law, Custom and Statutory Social Reform: The Hindu Widows’
Remarriage Act of 1856, Women and Volume I, Social Reform in Modern India,
Permanent Black, Ranikhet, 2007
This article by Lucy Carroll which is included in the book Social Reform in Modern India is
a case study of the Hindu Widows‟ Remarriage Act, 1856. The article provides information
on the legal situation prevailing in India during the British rule and the issues concerning the
jurisdiction of courts in matters of personal laws. According to the author, during the British
rule, personal laws were applicable where question arose in matters of divorce, inheritance,
adoption or marriage. Following an agitation by IshwarchandraVidyasagar, the Hindu
Widows‟ Remarriage Act was passedin 1856. However, this too was highly criticized for
having treated all castes and tribes from the view point of upper caste Hindus. Thus, while
4
 the courts of Bombay, Madras and Calcutta replaced the customary laws, the other courts
were apprehensive to do so as it would harm the interest of the rest of the casts and tribes.
This article, thus, provides the research work with an insight to the relation between
movement, legal reform and their social consequences.

1.2.Scope and Objectives

The research work aims to provide a sociological analysis of the legal reforms in India as a
result of the women‟s movements.
Objectives-
1.2.1. To trace the development of women‟s movements in India throughout different time
periods.
1.2.2. To elucidate upon the contemporary women‟s movements in India
1.2.3. To highlight the legal reforms that followed the years of struggle of the movements.

1.2.4. To discuss the social response to these legal reforms.

1.3. Research Questions-

1.3.1. What is the history of Women‟s Movement in India?

1.3.2 What are Women‟s Movements in India in the present time?

1.3.3. What are the legal reforms that followed the years of struggle of the movements ?

1.3.4 What is the social response to these legal reforms?

1.4.Research Methodology-
Doctrinal Method of Explanatory Research Design has been employed by the researcher for
the in-depth study of Women‟s Movements in India and the related legal reforms.

Explanatory Research Design: The researcher has used this method in order to understand,
analyse and comprehensively explain the reasons, nature and legal consequences of various
women‟s uprisings in India.

5
For the collection of information for the research work, secondary sources of data such as
books, articles and journals have been used.

6
 CHAPTER- 2
HISTORY OF WOMEN’S MOVENTS IN INDIA

The position of women in India is subject to the changing needs of men. In India, women has
had the experience of both being treated as the supreme divine in the form of Shakti as well as
being the „other‟ of the society. In verse 56 of Chapter 3 of the Manusmriti, it has been quoted
that- “yatrnaryastopojyantay, ramantaytatrdevta” which means that “where women are provided
place of honor, gods are pleased and reside there in that household” which renders it clear that
women in ancient times were given respect and considered as an important part of the society.
The Rig Veda reveals how prominent women took part in rituals because of their talent in music,
which they learnt as part of their education.2 Thus, the position of women at the dawn of Indian
civilization during the Vedic age was fairly satisfactory. However, as history progresses we can
see that alongwith various economic and political changes, status of women also undergoes a
massive change. It was in the age of later Samhitas, Brahmanas and Upanishadas that changes in
the position of women was gradual.3 With the passage of time, women were denied access to
education, religious rituals and other privileges that they had been enjoying. Moreover, there was
an emergence of social evils such as the „Sati Pratha‟ and prohibition on Widow Re-marriage.
Moreover, with the advent of the Muslim rule in India, the position of women in India underwent
further declination. While the purdah system became stricter amongst the Muslims, the Hindu
society witnessed the emergence of another social evil- the „Jauhar‟, in which the Rajput women
jumped down into wells to avoid being captured by the Muslim rulers who had defeated the
women‟s husbands. At the time of the advent of the British in India, the position of women in
India was at its lowest ebb.4 Thus, it was from this period that women‟s movement saw its light
of hope in India. The Women‟s Movements in India have been categorized into three waves-
firstly, from 1880s- 1940s; secondly, from period of independence to 1960s; and finally a revival
of the women‟s movement from 1970s onwards.

2.1. SOCIAL REFORMATION IN THE PRE- INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENT PERIOD

2
Pitam Singh, Women Legislators in Indian Politics, 1st Edition, 2003 pp. 27
3
Ibid.
4
Maya Majumdar, Encyclopaedia of Gender Equality Through Women Empowerment, Vol. 2, 1st Edition, 2005, pp.
11
7
The advent of the British brought with itself 200 years of colonial rule in India. However, it also
introduced to the people Western education characterized by the principles of liberty, equality
5
and democracy. English education broadened the outlook of Indians to a considerable extent.
The privileged section took advantage of the facilities given by the British government. 6 A
number of idealists emerged who took inspiration from the Western liberal ideas and wanted to
free society from evils of sati and child marriage. The most prominent amongst them were Raja
Ram Mohan Roy, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Keshab Chandra Sen, DayanandSaraswati,
Mahatma Gandhi, to name a few. Thus, the initial steps in the emancipation of women were
taken by men.
In 1825, Raja Ram Mohan Roy set up the BrahmoSamaj which attempted to remove restrictions
and prejudices against women. The BrahmoSamaj was the first of the reform movements of its
kind. Roy‟s agitation bore fruit in 1829 when the British Government passed a resolution by
which sati was made a crime of culpable homicide, punishable with fine, imprisonment or both.7
This legislation was strongly opposed vehemently by the masses and condemned as being an
interference by the British in the religious matters of India. Raja Ram Mohan Roy represented
the views of Enlightened India, and he pleaded for the confirmation of the Act and adduced
arguments to show that sati practice had no religious sanction in India. 8 Thus, with his efforts,
Sati bas abolished in India. While Raja Ram Mohan Roy is remembered for his anti- Sati
Movement, Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar is more often remembered for his widow remarriage
campaign.9 Similar other organisations were set up by different people in different parts of the
country. While BrahmoSamaj remained confine in the east, PrarthanaSamajwas established in
the West. The issues that were taken up by them were Sati, ill treatment of widows, ban on
widow remarriage, polygyny, child marriage and denial of property rights to women and the
need to educate women. Struggle for women‟s education initiated by men resulted in setting up
of women‟s schools, colleges, hostels, widow homes, protection homes etc .Thus, stage was set
for the empowerment of women in India.

The social reform movements also paved way for the setting up of organisations by women. By
the end of the nineteenth century, women from reformed home broke away from their cocoons

5
Maya Majumdar, Encyclopaedia of Gender Equality through Women Empowerment, Vol. 2, 1st Edition, 2005, pp.
11
6
Rama Mehta, Socio- Legal Status of Women in India, 1st Edition, 1987, pp. 50
7
Maya Majumdar, Encyclopaedia of Gender Equality Through Women Empowerment, Vol. 2, 1st Edition, 2005, pp.
11
8
Ibid.
9
AparnaBasu, Indian Women‟s Movements, Foundation Course, Human Rights, Gender and Environment, pp. 1
8
and formed organisations of their own. The first amongst them was the Ladies‟ Society in
Calcutta set up by Swarnakumari Devi, daughter of Devendranath Tagore.10 Another important
step was taken by the Begum of Bhopal who founded the All India Muslim Women‟s
Conference in 1916 with education of women as a prime agenda, apart from provisions of other
remedial services for women and changing oppressive practices such as polygamy.11 Muslim
social reformers actively debated the meaning of polygamy and purdah. A resolution against the
evils of polygamy was proposed by Jahanara Shah Nawas at the All India Muslim Ladies
Conference. The resolution condemning polygamy caused considerable debate in the Muslim
press. Tahsib-e-Niswan, the leading journal for women in the Punjab, came out in favour of the
resolve, but others disapproved.12 However, these organisations could not serve a national cause
because they were confined to their own geographical areas. One of the first national
organization set up by women was the Bharat Stree Mandal established by Sarla Devi
Chaudhurani, daughter of Swarnakumari Devi. Its main aim was to promote education by setting
up branches in different parts and accordingly, branches of the Bharat Stree Mandal were set up
in Lahore, Allahabad, Amritsar, Hyderabad, Delhi, Karachi and other cities.13
In the later stage, the women took up two important issues- Political rights and reforms in
personal laws. The first demand for political rights was brought into light through the setting up
of Women‟s India Association in 1917 under the leadership of Annie Besant, Margaret Cousins
and Dorothy Jinarajadasa. This organization was stuck to the notion of women suffrage in India.
Due to the success of theorganisations, women, in 1937 elections women had displayed active
participation.
The All India Women‟s Conference was established in 1927 at the initiative of Margaret Cousins
to take up the problem of women‟s education. Women from different parts of India belonging to
different religions, castes and communities attended the first session in Pune that was a great
success. AIWC‟s initial concern was with education but it realized that girls did not go to school
because of purdah, child marriage, and other social customs. It therefore took up these issues. It
waged a vigorous campaign for raising the age of marriage which led to the passing of the Sarda
Act in 1929. AIWC took up the cause of reform of personal law.14

10
AparnaBasu, Indian Women‟s Movements, Foundation Course, Human Rights, Gender and Environment, pp. 2
11
ShailaDesouza, „Organising women for empowerment: a study of an experiment in Goa‟ (Dept. of Social Sciences,
Tata Institute of Social Sciences, 2011)
12
NCERT, Social Change and Development in India, Textbook in Sociology for Class XII, New Delhi, April, 2007
13
AparnaBasu, Indian Women‟s Movements, Foundation Course, Human Rights, Gender and Environment, pp. 2
14
AparnaBasu, Indian Women‟s Movements, Foundation Course, Human Rights, Gender and Environment, pp. 2
9
Thus, it is seen that women by the 20th century had broken the shackle of their life within the
four walls and were coming to the fore front in the political matters.

2.2. PARTICIPATION IN THE FREEDOM STRUGGLE

Women had been a part of the Freedom Struggle since the first War of Independence in 1857.
However, at that time only a few from the privileged class participated in the struggle. The mass
participation of women in the freedom movement can be seen only from the Swadeshi
Movement of 1905.Some 500 women held a meeting at Jenokand village in Murshidabad
District to protest against the Government decision. They urged the people to boycott foreign
goods and use only indigenous articles, whence the movement came to be called the Swadeshi
Movement.15
With the coming of Mahatma Gandhi in the political scene, participation of women multiplied
manifold. Gandhiji had iterated time and again that freedom struggle to be successful had to be a
struggle of the masses.16 Thus, he called upon people from all spheres of life- men or women,
Brahman or Shudra, to contribute to the national cause. Thus, in the Non Co-operation
Movement, Civil Disobedience Movement and the Quit India Movement, women participated
actively by picketing at shops, organizing mass boycott of foreign goods and liquor etc.
Moreover, women bravely carried forward the national movement when most of their male
counterparts were in jail, imprisoned by the British authorities.
Thus, it is seen that with the passage of time, women‟s causes got diluted with the national
interest. Hence, women‟s participation broadened the spectrum of Indian Freedom Struggle.
It is often assumed that only middle class educated women are involved in social movements.
Part of the struggle has been to remember the forgotten history of women‟s participation.
Women participated along with men in struggles and revolts originating in tribal and rural areas
in the colonial period. The Tebhaga movement in Bengal, the Telangana arms struggle from the
erstwhile Nizam‟s rule, and the Warlitribal‟s revolt against bondage in Maharashtra are some
examples.The first phase of Women‟s Movements in India, came to a subtle end with the
attainment of Independence in 1947.17

15
Naresh Kumar, „Recent trends in crime against women: a study of judicial response and social perceptions‟ (Dept.
of Law, Maharishi Dayanand University, 2015)
16
Pitam Singh, Women Legislators in Indian Politics, 1st Edition, 2003 pp. 27
17
NCERT, Social Change and Development in India, Textbook in Sociology for Class XII, New Delhi, April, 2007
10
 CHAPTER- 3
CONTEMPORARY WOMEN’S MOVEMENTS
The contemporary women‟s movements in India can be traced from the post- Independence era.
While these early movements were primarily focussed on agrarian rights, women then started
raising voice against all the atrocities that they were subjected to, whether be it domestic or
social.
In 1974 the Indian government published a report, Towards Equality, that put status of women
forcefully on the national agenda by arguing that the position of Indian women had declined, not
improved, since 1911 (Committee on the Status of Women 1974). As a result development and
progress became gender issues.18 At the same time violence against women was on the rise and
widely reported in the media. There were cases of rape in police custody, wife murder on a large
scale, and sexual harassment in the workplace and on the street. Women‟s issues entered the
fields of culture, religion, and law; of family and community structures; of the problems of and
official responses to population, poverty, illiteracy, and labor; and of the new social movements
of dalits, environmentalists, tribals, anti-dam activists, peasants, and trade unions.19
Amongst the first women‟s movements in India after Independence, the TebhagaMovement in
West Bengal and the Telangana Movement in Andhra Pradesh are the most important ones as
these movements also saw traces of the entry of voices of protest for violence against women in
the domestic realm. Both these movements, though predominantly taken up by men, witnessed
for the first time issues of domestic violence coming into the lime light.
Thereafter, the third phase of the women‟s movement began from the 1970s when the nation was
undergoing a period of turbulence as Emergency was proclaimed in 1975. Emergency was not
only a period of political disturbance but it also had adverse effects on women because women in
this period were forcefully sterilised and were deprived of their conjugal rights. Following this
period, there were several women‟s movements in India, dealing with various issues. Some of
them have been highlighted below-
Rape:

It was the widespread, national level campaign, in the course of 1979-80, on the Mathura case
which brought women‟s issues onto the public agenda. The Supreme Court‟s acquittal of two
policemen involved in the rape of a minor tribal girl brought to the fore several crucial aspects of

18
Samita Sen, „Toward a Feminist Politics? The Indian Women‟s Movement in Historical Perspective‟, Working
paper series 9, Policy Research Report on Gender and Development, The World Bank Research Group, April, 2000
19
Ibid.
11
women‟s oppression, viz., the roles of class and caste in oppression of women, and the issue of
accountability of public servants and the judiciary in achieving constitutional
guarantees.20Though the agitation sparked off by the Mathura case led to significant changes in
the Evidence Act, the Criminal Procedure Code and the Indian Penal Code, including the
introduction of a category of custodial rape, the changes introduced were not sufficient. While
the movement‟s understanding of the issue has widened, success has been limited to both
lacunae in the conceptual definition as well as monitoring of procedures. The definition of rape
does not extend to marital rape and anomalies exist between the Child Marriage Restraint Act
and the rape law in that consent is not required for intercourse in marriage before the age of 18.21

The Anti Dowry Agitation-

One of the most significant agitations of this period was the anti dowry agitation. The atrocities
against women headline, attracted attention in the post-emergency scenario of excesses and the
„Brides Are Not for Burning‟ slogan focused media attention both in India and abroad on
women‟s lives.22
One of the amendments passed after this period was the addition of Section 498 which expanded
the view of the section to mean not only „physical cruelty‟ but also „mental cruelty‟.
In 1982, various organisations in Delhi including DahejVirodhChetnaManch(DVCM)began
collecting evidences of various dowry deaths that were passed on as suicides or accidents. Thus,
under the aegis of the DVCM, various other organisations mounted pressure on the Government
to take stringent steps on improving laws and the implementation of the Dowry Prohibition Act,
1961. It was highlighted that in 21 years, i.e., from 1961- 1982, only one person had been
convicted under the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961.23 Thus, a law commission was set up to look
into these matters.
Aminocentesis and Sex Selection:
In 1974, the Department of Human Cytogenics of AIIMS began a sample survey with the help of
aminocentesis to find any foetal anamoly. However, by 1975, it was being misused in Punjab and
Amritsar for sex selective births. Not only this, hospitals openly advertised this feature with the
slogan “daughters are a liability‟ to the family and a „threat‟ to the nation‟s population

20
Mala Khullar,
21
Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
Ibid.
12
problem”24 Thus, at a meeting convened in 1982 by AIIMS in Delhi, a three point position was
arrived where in:
“(a) government was requestedto restrict use of amniocentesis to only teaching and
researchestablishments;
(b) the Indian Medical Council was requested totake severe action against members
indulging in unethical practices; and
(c) women‟s organizations were to remain vigilant against the spread of the practice for
commercial purposes”25
Though the government issued circulars to curb the problem but it was of no effect. Thus,
women organisations rose up to seek further laws in the matter and this finally, was met with the
passing Pre Natal Diagnostics Testing Act, 1994.
The third phase of the women‟s movements can be extended till date as various movements
demanding various rights for women are still cropping up time and again. The effects of these
movements have been discussed in the following chapters.

24
InduAghnihotri and VinaMazumdar, „ Changing terms of Political Discourse: Women‟s Movements in India,
1970s-1980s‟, Journal for Political Science, Vol. 3, 2004
25
Mala Khullar, Writing Women‟s Movements: a Reader, 1st Edition, 2005
13
 CHAPTER- 4
LEGAL REFORMS: RESULT OF WOMEN’S MOVEMENTS IN INDIA

One of the most immediate repercussion to a movement of the masses is the adoption of new or
change in the existing legislations. Legal reforms are perceived as a catalyst for bringing about
change in the society. Thus, women‟s movements in India too witnesses a number of legal
reforms arising from the needs of the torch- bearers.
COLONIAL PERIOD:
The history of women‟s movements in India can be traced back to the nineteenth century when
male social reformers, such as Raja Ram Mohun Roy, IshwarchandraVidyasagar and others who
took up issues concerning women and started women‟s organisations. One of the first legal
reforms that came up as a result of the efforts of the women‟s movements was the Hindu Widow
Re-marriage Act, 1856. This movement was led by IshwarchandraVidyasagar over his
dissatisfaction for prohibition of re-marriage of widow of the higher caste and the labelling of
children from such marriages as illegitimate. As the word “social reform” suggests, every social
reform movement should have a social reaction, usually intended to be desirable consequences.
The reaction to this legislation varied according to the geographical jurisdictions of the High
Courts. Within the jurisdictions of the High Courts of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay the result
undoubtedly was the displacement of the Customary Laws as regards re-marriage and the
establishment in its stead of Brahminical values which held widow marriage in disrepute and
insisted on some penalty being imposed for a breach of the preferred norm of the chaste,
prayerful widow.26This Act was also seen by some as Hinduisation of tribals and
Brahiminization of lower castes. Thus, though this Act tended to Vidyasagar‟s agitation for the
right women to re-marriage but the interpretation of the provisions was subjected to immense
criticism.
The first phase of Indian feminism has been attributed to the period from 1880- 1940. Women
came to the fore-front to fight for their rights themselves. They started forming their own
organisations by the end of the 19th century. The main issues of this time were the plight of
widows, polygamy, child marriage and women‟s education. In 1891, the Age of Consent Act was
passed which increased the legal age for marriage from 10 to 12. There was also a
conceptualisation of a Hindu Code Bill to introduce a Uniform Civil Code. This Bill also
included views for equal property rights to wives, daughters and widows, sections banning

26
Lucy Carroll, Law, Custom and Statutory Social Reform: The Hindu Widows‟ Remarriage Act of 1856, Women
and Volume I, Social Reform in Modern India, Permanent Black, Ranikhet, 2007, pp. 130
14
polygamy, legalising inter-caste marriages and made divorce possible on several grounds.
However, this Bill was rejected as it was seen as a challenge to male domination and not to
British colonialism. In pre-independent India, women issues of political or economic importance
such as suffrage and employment were received with less resistance while, domestic or private
concerns such as marriage and inheritance faced much resistance.
The need for political rights also emerged amongst women. Thus, in 1918, Sarojini Naidu spoke
on behalf of women‟s suffrage at the special session of
Congress held in Bombay, to extend the franchise to women was rational, scientifically and
politically sound, compatible with tradition, and consistent with human rights. As a result of the
continued struggle by various women leaders and organizations, Bombay and Madras became
the first provinces to extend this franchise to women in 1920; the United Provinces followed in
1923; Punjab and Bengal in 1926; and finally Assam, the Central Provinces, and Bihar and
Orissa in 1930. Following this period, women issues got diluted with the national movement for
independence.
POST INDEPENDENCE PERIOD:
As a result of the commitment made by the Congress as early as 1931, the equality clauses were
passed by the Constituent Assembly without any debate or discussion.27The Constitution of India
reflects the effects of those initial movements for women‟s rights. Some of the provisions
highlighting the Constitution‟s urge to bring gender equality are-
Article 15(3) under „Fundamental Rights‟ reads, “Nothing in this article shall prevent
the State from making special provision for women and children”.
Article 16(1) guarantees “equality of opportunity for all citizens in matters relating to
employment for appointment to any office under the State”
Article 16(2) forbids discrimination “in respect of any employment of office under the
State” on the grounds of “religion, race, caste, sex, descent, place of birth, residence or
any of them”.
Part IV of the Constitution deals with the Directive Principles of State Policy (Articles
36to 51). Some of the Directive Principles are „women-specific‟. Others concern women
directly or by implication. Among those, which concern women directly and have a
special bearing on their status, are the following:
1. The State is required to “direct its policy towards securing”: That the citizens, men
and women equally have the right to an adequate means of livelihood — Article 39(a);

27
Pitam Singh, Women Legislators in Indian Politics, 1st Edition, 2003 pp. 32
15
 2. That there is equal pay for equal work for both men and women — Article 39(d);
3. That the health and strength of workers, men and women, are not abused — Article
39(e);
4. The State is also required to make provision for securing just and human conditions
of work and for maternity benefits— Article 42.28

As a result of these laws, the legal position of Hindu women has improved considerably. These
laws include the ban on bigamy, the provision of right of divorce and right to inherit a share of
parental property. While legal reform has improved considerably the status of Hindu women,
similar reforms have not taken place in all the other systems of personal law prevalent in India.
The second phase of feminism began in India in the 1970s, particularly after the atrocities
committed during the dark years of India, i.e. the period of Emergency from 1975- 1977. The
issue of violence against women, in its various forms has occupied much of the energy of
women‟s movement in the last three decades. The movement has addressed a whole array of
forms of violence from custodial, rape, gang rape, rape of lower caste women by upper caste
men, child rape, incest, dowry related violence, domestic violence, “honour” killings, communal
sexual violence, violence against women in situations of armed conflict, violence of population
policies, pre-birth elimination of female fetuses, sexual violence by state agencies and so on.29

The third phase began in the 1980s with the first legal reform resulting from the efforts of the
Women‟s Movements. There were amendments in the rape laws. The custodial-rape trials of
Mathura and Rameeza Bee revealed that in order to prove that the women had consented in the
sexual act and therefore were not raped; the arguments of immoral and low character of women
were freely used. There were also legislations brought up against the dowry, Dowry prohibition
Amendment Act, 1984, again amended in 1986 and two amendments in Indian penal Code by
adding Section 498A and 304B. The importance of these amendments was that for the first time
the violence that women faced within the confines of home was given a public and legal
recognition.30 These reforms were a result of the anti- dowry movement led by
DahejVirodhiChetnaManch in Delhi.
Women have also taken active part in environment related movements in India, the prominent
being MedhaPatkar who has been fighting for the rights of the people being displaced from the
areas around the SardarSarovar Dam for the construction of the dam. However, the Supreme
28
Constitution of India, 1950
29
Sadhna Arya, Law, Institutions and Women, Foundation Course, Human Rights, Gender and Environment, pp.7
30
Ibid. pp.9
16
Court had upheld the decision of the Tribunal Court and the construction of the dam continued.
Women had also played a very crucial role in the Chipko Movement of Uttarakhand where the
prominent women leaders were SarlaBahn from Lakshmi Ashram and other women groups.
Another important legislation that was brought up as a result of women‟s movement was the
Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act,2013 which was
passed after the case of Vishakha vs. State of Rajasthan whereby a group of ladies filed a PIL
against the gang rape of Bhanwri Devi, a social worker who had to face the brutal consequence
for trying to stop a child marriage in her village.
However, though many legal reforms have been brought about as a result of the women‟s
movements in India, but their proper implementation and a positive social response to all of them
is yet a dream to be achieved.

4.1. SOCIAL REPURCUSSIONS TO THESE MOVEMENTS

From the time movements had started to bring reforms in the lives of women, legislations had
been passed to satisfy the growing demands. Changing laws alone means little unless there is a
will to implement them and unless there is education and literacy which makes women aware of
their rights and allows them to exercise them effectively.31Sati was banned in 1829,yet in 1987,
RoopKanwar, a young widow, was forcibly put on the funeral pyre of her husband and burnt to
death in a village in Rajasthan. Women‟s groups rose in protest and declared this to be a cold-
blooded murder. They demanded a new Sati Prevention Bill.32
There was an upsurge regarding change of rape laws in India after the Nirbhayarape case in the
heart of the capital in 2012. Thereafter, many changes were brought about in the Criminal law of
the country by the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013 incorporating acid attack, sexual
harassment, voyeurism, stalking into the Indian Penal Code. Moreover, the amendment also
prescribed for stricter rape laws which extended punishment to a minimum of 7 years and liable
for fine. Moreover, in aggravated situations, punishment will be rigorous imprisonment for a
term which shall not be less than ten years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and
shall also be liable to fine.
Despite these changes, the situation of crime against women has not improved per say. As per
the data issued by the National Crime Records Bureau, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government
of India in the name of SNAPSHOTS – 2013, incidences of crime against women have increased
from 2,44,2709 in 2012 to 3, 09,546 in 2013. The proportion of IPC crimes committed against
31
AparnaBasu, Indian Women‟s Movements, Foundation Course, Human Rights, Gender and Environment
32
Ibid.
17
women under total IPC crimes has increased during last 5 years from 9.2% in the year 2009 to
11.2% during the year 201318. Madhya Pradesh has reported the highest number of rape cases
(4,335), assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty (8,252 cases) and West Bengal has
reported highest number of importation of girls from foreign country (9 cases) accounting for
12.9%, 11.7% and 29.0% respectively of total such cases reported in the country.33
Moving on from criminal offences, status of women has remained the same in socio- economic
and political sphere of the country. Though, equality has been granted to women, yet women
representation in the political sphere still remains minimal. The 16thLok Sabha has only 11.3%
[61 out of the total strength] representation of women. Even in grass root level democracy where
women have been granted 33% reservation by the 73rd and 74th amendment of the Constitution, it
can be seen that those women coming up as leaders are actually backed by their husbands so that
the latter could indirectly be at the helm of political affairs. Though women have been
guaranteed equal salary by the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976, yet there still remains disparities
in the salary of male and female employees in most of the sectors in India.
An important reason for such dismal condition of women in India, inspite of so- called successful
women‟s movements in India is due to the apprehension of the masses to move away from the
patriarchal society. Moreover, lack of awareness of rights of women in rural areas and lack of
education adds fuel to this fire.
Thus it has been rightly said by Gail Omvedt-
„Indian women have benefited from the democratizing aspects of the National movement, but it is
primarily upper class women who have been able to consolidate these gains‟34

33
National Crime Rates Bureau of India, 2014
34
Gail Omvedt, Violence against Women: New Movements and New Theories in India, Kali for Women, Third
Impression, New Delhi, 1997
18
 CHAPTER-5
CONCLUSION

Women in India form 48.5% of the total population35, yet equal respect and position in the
society for them still remains a distant dream. From the research work, thus concluded, it is
evident that there have been movements for women‟s rights time and again which have been
followed by changes in laws but the lack of awareness and a proper sphere to develop has
defeated the purpose of those legislations. Though movements have helped a certain class of
women to rise up but significant portion of women still remain untouched by the changes
brought about by the legislations.Crime and violence against women are on a relentless rise in
one form or another, inspite of various laws and legislations to curb it. The main cause for it lies
in the very roots of our upbringing of our children.36 From the very beginning male child is
taught that he is superior than his female counterpart, and this superiority feeling grows with him
and when in future he has to compete with female counterparts he look down upon them but
when they prove superior to him, the feeling of revenge is vent out in various forms, or often
anger is released on female as they are considered as physically weak and under their right and
control by male. So, before anything else this mentality is required to be changed. First of all we
will have to acknowledge that women also humans as male are, only after we can bring change
to the existing situation. Though movements have a major role to play in bringing about a legal
change but for bringing about a holistic development in the society, it is necessary that proper
mechanisms should be developed to spread awareness and education.
Position of women in India has gone through different phases. While in the early Vedic period,
she was given a status similar to that of men, her status and position in the society underwent a
gradual declination in the later Vedic period and thereafter, it was only with the advent of the
British in India and the ideals of western education that they brought with themselves, did the
position of women in India see a ray of hope.
In present times, though the status of women in India is better than what it had been in the Pre-
Independent era, yet, equality in its truest sense is yet to be achieved.

35
Census of India 2011
36
Naresh Kumar, „Recent trends in crime against women: a study of judicial response and social perceptions‟ (Dept.
of Law, Maharishi Dayanand University, 2015)
19
 REFERENCES
Primary Sources:
Statutes:
 Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929
 Constitution of India, 1950
 Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013
 Dowry Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 1984
 Hindu Widow Remarriage Act, 1856
 Sexual Harassment at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013

Secondary Sources:
Books:
 Maya Majumdar, Encyclopaedia of Gender Equality through Women Empowerment, Vol.
2, 1st Edition, 2005
 Pitam Singh, Women Legislators in Indian Politics, 1st Edition, 2003
 Rama Mehta, Socio- Legal Status of Women in India, 1st Edition, 1987
 Mala Khullar, Writing Women‟s Movements: a Reader, 1st Edition, 2005

Articles:
 AparnaBasu, Indian Women‟s Movements, Foundation Course, Human Rights, Gender
and Environment
 Lucy Carroll, Law, Custom and Statutory Social Reform: The Hindu Widows‟
Remarriage Act of 1856, Women and Volume I, Social Reform in Modern India,
Permanent Black, Ranikhet, 2007
 Sadhna Arya, Law, Institutions and Women, Foundation Course, Human Rights, Gender
and Environment

Theses:

 Naresh Kumar, „Recent trends in crime against women: a study of judicial response and
social perceptions‟ (Dept. of Law, Maharishi Dayanand University, 2015)
 ShailaDesouza, „Organising women for empowerment: a study of an experiment in Goa‟
(Dept. of Social Sciences, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, 2011)

20