"Second-Wave Feminism's Legacy and Women's Empowerment in India"
Patriarchy
a social, economic, and cultural system that values men more than women and concentrates power in male hands.
Second-wave feminism
the 1960s–70s feminist movement that expanded beyond voting rights to reproductive rights, workplace equality, and domestic violence.
Feminist movements have evolved through distinct waves, each responding to the social conditions of its time. The first wave focused on legal rights, especially voting rights. The second wave, which emerged in the 1960s and 1970s, broadened the agenda to include reproductive rights, workplace equality, and domestic violence. A defining insight of this wave was that the personal is political: private experiences of women in the home, in relationships, and in healthcare are shaped by public power structures and must be addressed through political action. Three broad streams emerged within this tradition. Liberal feminism sought fuller integration of women into existing power structures. Radical feminism called for a revolutionary reordering of society along non-hierarchical lines. Cultural or difference feminism argued for recognising and valuing the distinct qualities women bring to public life.
In India, feminist organising has deep roots in both the independence movement and post-independence social reform. Figures such as Savitribai Phule, Sarojini Naidu, and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay built movements that were not transplants of Western thought but grew from Indian social conditions. The Constitution of India provides a strong normative foundation: Article 14 guarantees equality before law, Article 15(3) permits the state to make special provisions for women and children, and Article 21 protects the right to life and personal liberty, which courts have interpreted to include bodily autonomy. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 are legislative expressions of feminist advocacy translated into law. Yet the persistence of patriarchal social attitudes, even after decades of legal reform, is the central challenge that feminist movements continue to address.
Patriarchy, as feminist theory defines it, is a social, economic, and cultural system that values men more than women and concentrates power in male hands. Crucially, feminists distinguish between sex (biological difference) and gender (socially constructed roles). The biological fact that women can bear children does not, by itself, require that only women should raise them. This distinction is foundational: it shows that much of the inequality between men and women is produced by society, not by nature, and is therefore changeable.
Feminist movement-building goes beyond winning individual legal battles. It involves shifting social norms through sustained collective action. Community-level practices such as Talking Circles, structured spaces where women share experiences and build solidarity, are one such tool. These practices build social capital: the networks of trust, reciprocity, and shared norms that enable collective action. …
Though women in post-independent India have excelled in various fields, the social attitude towards women and feminist movement has been patriarchal. Apart from women education and women empowerment schemes, what interventions can help change this milieu?
Women's social capital complements in advancing empowerment and gender equity. Explain.
Globalisation has increased urban migration by skilled, young, unmarried women from various classes. How has this trend impacted upon their personal freedom and relationship with family?
Consider the following statements regarding constitutional provisions related to gender equality in India:
1.Article 14 guarantees equality before law to all persons.
2.Article 15(3) permits the state to make special provisions for women and children.
3.Article 21 has been judicially interpreted to include bodily autonomy and reproductive rights.
4.Article 44 mandates the state to provide equal pay for equal work for women.
Which of the statements given above are correct?
Consider the following pairs:
Legislation — Key Provision
1.Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 — First Indian law to recognise domestic violence as a civil wrong
2.Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 — Mandates Internal Complaints Committee in organisations with 10 or more employees
3.Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Amendment Act, 2021 — Expanded abortion access to survivors of sexual assault and women with disabilities
4.Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 — Constituted the Justice Verma Committee
How many of the above pairs are correctly matched?
The Vishaka Guidelines (1997), laid down by the Supreme Court of India, were significant because they:
1.Established employer liability for workplace sexual harassment for the first time.
2.Were issued in the absence of existing legislation on the subject.
3.Were later codified into the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the following statements regarding the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Amendment Act, 2021:
1.It expanded access to abortion for survivors of sexual assault.
2.It expanded access to abortion for women with disabilities.
3.It removed the requirement for any medical opinion for termination up to 20 weeks of pregnancy.
4.It included women in humanitarian settings as a vulnerable category.
How many of the above statements are correct?
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