Role of Women & Women’s Organization

The roots of the Indian women’s movement go back to the early 19th century when social reformers, beginning with Raja Rammohun Roy began to focus on issues concerning women. By the end of the century, a few women emerged from the reformed families who formed organizations of their own. Answer: E.g. formation of Ladies’ Theosophical Society in Calcutta in 1882 by Swarnakumari Devi for educating and imparting skills to widows and poor women to make them economically self-reliant. The early 20th century saw the growth of women’s organization at a national and local level such as the National Council for Women in India (1925), Women’s India Association, National Council of Indian Women and All India Women’s Conference. Significant campaign of them was against child marriage. In post-independence India, large number of women’s autonomous groups has sprung up challenging patriarchy and taking up a variety of issues such as violence against women, greater share for women in political decision making etc. both at the activist and academic level.

• New organisations such as Self-Employment Women’s Association (Gujarat), Working Women’s Forum (Tamil Nadu), Shramik Mahila Sangathan (Maharashtra) concerned themselves with the plight of women workers in the unorganised sector on issues like wages, working conditions, exploitation, health hazards etc.
• In the late seventies, several women’s organisations emerged which were not affiliated to political parties or to trade unions. They adopted ‘protest politics’ for mobilising women on specific issues. For example, Chipko movement was led by women tackling specific issues of ecology.
• Various issue-based movements include taking up issues related to women’s oppression like dowry, violence within the family, alcoholism among men and wife-beating. discrimination at the work place etc. to mobilise women for collective action.

• Anti-dowry Movements: In the 1980s several women’s and other progressive organisations formed groups such as Forum Against Oppression of Women (Mumbai), Saheli (Delhi), Stree Shakti Sangathana (Hyderabad), Vimochana (Bangalore). These groups campaigned through protest, demonstrations, discussions, street theatre, posters etc. against the ghastly murders of young brides for dowry.
• Anti-rape Movement: Women activists forced the government to review Rape Laws. Several women’s organisations and legal and social activists held discussions with the Law Commission to amend the law and in 1983 Criminal Law (Amendment) Act was passed.
• Anti-Alcohol movement: Since mid-seventies, tribal women in different parts of country – Andhra 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, more than 40,000 women united and blocked the auction.

• Reform of Personal Laws pursued by several women’s groups (Saheli, Vimochana, and Forum against Oppression of Women) and human rights lawyers’ team (The Lawyers Collective, Mumbai and Indian Social Institute, Delhi) have prepared drafts containing technical detail of gender just and secular family laws.
• Various organizations led by women are pushing the envelope further to tackle gender based issues on a daily basis. These include:

• SAYFTY: Empowering women to not tolerate sexual violence and harassment, and helping them voice their experiences, opinions, and stance.
• AYZH: Providing women with healthcare and sanitary products to protect themselves against infectious diseases, allowing them to continue to be productive in their lives.

India has a rich and vibrant women’s movement and has substantial success on various issues concerning women’s plight, however, it has still a long way to go to achieve gender equality and gender justice.