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{{Short description|History of the feminist movement in India}}
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[[File:Shaheen Bagh women protesters 15 Jan 2020.jpg|thumb|Women participating in the [[Shaheen Bagh protest]] in 2020]]
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'''Feminism in India''' is a set of movements aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, and social rights and opportunities for [[women in India]]. It is the pursuit of [[women's rights]] within the society of [[India]]. Like their feminist counterparts all over the world, feminists in India seek gender equality: the right to work for equal wages, the right to equal access to health and education, and equal political rights.<ref name="Ray">[[Raka Ray|Ray, Raka]]. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=Kh2keRsHhnwC Fields of Protest: Women's Movements in India] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707064120/http://books.google.com/books?id=Kh2keRsHhnwC|date=7 July 2014}}''. University of Minnesota Press; Minneapolis, MN. 1999. Page 13.</ref> Indian feminists also have fought against culture-specific issues within India's [[patriarchy|patriarchal]] society, such as [[Dowry law in India|inheritance laws]].

The history of feminism in India can be divided into three phases: the first phase, beginning in the mid-19th century, initiated when reformists began to speak in favour of women rights by making reforms in education, customs involving women;<ref name="Chaudhuri, Maitrayee 2005"/><ref name="Gangoli 16" /> the second phase, from 1915 to Indian independence, when Gandhi incorporated women's movements into the [[Quit India movement]] and independent women's organisations began to emerge;<ref name="Kumar" /> and finally, the third phase, post-independence, which has focused on fair treatment of women at home after marriage, in the work force, and right to political parity.<ref name="Kumar" />

Despite the progress made by Indian feminist movements, women living in modern India still face many issues of discrimination.  India's patriarchal culture has made the process of gaining land-ownership rights and access to education challenging.<ref name="Ray 25"/> In the past two decades, there has also emerged a trend of [[sex-selective abortion]].<ref name="Sen" /> To Indian feminists, these are seen as injustices worth struggling against and feminism is often misunderstood by Indians as female domination rather than equality.<ref name="Gangoli 2">Gangoli (2007), page 2.</ref>

As in the [[Western countries|West]], there has been some criticism of feminist movements in India. They have especially been criticised for focusing too much on privileged women, and neglecting the needs and representation of poorer or lower [[Caste system in India|caste]] women.  This has led to the creation of caste-specific feminist organisations and movements.<ref name="Gangoli">Gangoli, Geetanjali. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=SKkzbVsmGOQC Indian Feminisms – Law, Patriarchies and Violence in India] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501041655/http://books.google.com/books?id=SKkzbVsmGOQC |date=1 May 2013 }}''. Hampshire: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2007. Print; pages 10–12.</ref>

==Definition in the Indian context==
Women's role in pre-colonial social structures reveals that feminism was theorised differently in India than in the West.<ref>Partha Chatterjee, "The Nationalist Resolution of the Women's Question," in ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=r4P0tkRXJ8IC Recasting Women: Essays in Colonial History] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707063148/http://books.google.com/books?id=r4P0tkRXJ8IC |date=7 July 2014 }},'' Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid, eds. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press.</ref> In India, women's issues first began to be addressed when the state commissioned a report on the status of women{{clarify|date=December 2018|reason=Is this referring to the 1974 Towards Equality report?}} to a group of feminist researchers and activists. The report recognised the fact that in India, women were oppressed under a system of structural hierarchies and injustices. During this period, Indian feminists were influenced by the Western debates being conducted about violence against women. However, due to the difference in the historical and social culture of India, the debate in favour of Indian women had to be conducted creatively, and certain Western ideas had to be rejected.<ref name="Gangoli 6">Gangoli (2007), page 6.</ref> Women's issues began to gain an international prominence when the decade of 1975–1985 was declared the [[International Women's Year|United Nations Decade for Women]].<ref name="Gangoli 16">Gangoli (2007), page 16.</ref>

Indian feminists face certain obstacles in Indian society that are not present or as prevalent in Western society. While Indian feminists have the same ultimate goal as their Western counterparts, their version of feminism can differ in many ways in order to tackle the kind of issues and circumstances they face in the modern-day patriarchal society of India. Indian feminists attempt to challenge the patriarchal structure of their society in a variety of ways. Sampat Pal Devi is a former government worker and mother of five, who noticed domestic abuse and violence within her own community as she grew up in India. As a result, she decided to start a vigilant group known as the 'Gulabi Gang' who track down abusers and beat them with bamboo sticks until it is believed that they have repented and victims have been sufficiently avenged. In the area of religion, Indian feminists draw attention to the powerful image of female Goddesses in Hinduism. They also point out the matriarchal pre-history of Indian society and emphasise on the fact that there have been periods of Indian history that were not patriarchal and communities that were largely female-orientated and matriarchal, existed.

Indian women negotiate survival through an array of oppressive patriarchal family structures: age, ordinal status, relationship to men through family of origin, marriage and procreation, and patriarchal attributes. Examples of patriarchal attributes include [[dowry]], siring sons etc., [[kinship]], [[caste]], community, village, market, and the [[nation state|state]]. It should, however, be noted that several communities in India, such as the [[Nair]]s of Kerala, [[Bunt (community)|Shetty]]s of Mangalore, certain [[Marathi people|Marathi]] clans, and [[Bengali people|Bengali]] families, exhibit matriarchal tendencies.{{citation needed|date=April 2015}} In these communities, the head of the family is the oldest woman, rather than the oldest man. [[Sikh]] culture is also regarded as relatively [[gender-neutral]].<ref name="Singh 2010">Singh, S. 2010. "Examining the Dharma Driven Identity of Women: Mahabharata's Kunti" – As part of an Anthology titled ''The Woman Question in the Contemporary Indian English Women Writings,'' Ed. Indu Swami Publishers Sarup: Delhi.</ref><ref name="Bhasin and Khan"/><ref group="N">The last Sikh Guru [[Guru Gobind Singh]], gave all Sikh females regardless of their age or marital status the name of [[Kaur]] meaning that they would not have to take their husband’s name if they married.</ref>

In India, of communities recognised in the [[Constitution of India|national Constitution]] as Scheduled Tribes, "some&nbsp;... [are] matriarchal and matrilineal"<ref>Mukherjee, Sucharita Sinha, ''Women's Empowerment and Gender Bias in the Birth and Survival of Girls in Urban India'', in ''Feminist Economics'', vol. 19, no. 1 (January, 2013) ({{doi|10.1080/13545701.2012.752312}}), p.&nbsp;9, citing Srinivas, Mysore Narasimhachar, ''The Cohesive Role of Sanskritization and Other Essays'' (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1989), & Agarwal, Bina, ''A Field of One's Own: Gender and Land Rights in South Asia'' (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Press, 1994).</ref> "and thus have been known to be more egalitarian."<ref>Mukherjee, Sucharita Sinha, ''Women's Empowerment and Gender Bias in the Birth and Survival of Girls in Urban India'', ''op. cit.'', p.&nbsp;9.</ref> According to interviewer Anuj Kumar, [[Manipur]], "has a matriarchal society",<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article3682202.ece Kumar, Anuj, ''Let's Anger Her!'' (''sic'')<!-- The Sic template prematurely ends the link and shouldn't be used. -->, in ''The Hindu'', July 25, 2012] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827163912/http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/metroplus/article3682202.ece |date=27 August 2012 }}, as accessed September 29, 2012 (whether statement was by Kumar or Kom is unknown).</ref> but this may not be a scholarly assessment.<ref group="N">A few people consider any non-patriarchal system to be matriarchal, thus including genderally equalitarian systems, but most academics exclude them from matriarchies strictly defined.</ref>  Manipur was ruled by strong dynasties and the need for expansions of borders, crushing any outsider threats, etc. engaged the men. So, women had to take charge of home-front.

The [[Quran]] teaches that the mind of female is half of male and are generally different biologically{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}. Therefore, [[Islam]] grants different rights to the husband and wife. In this sense, the husband may take more of a leading role in the household.

The heterogeneity of the Indian experience reveals that there are multiple patriarchies, contributing to the existence of multiple feminism. Hence, feminism in India is not a singular theoretical orientation; it has changed over time in relation to historical and cultural realities, levels of consciousness, perceptions and actions of individual women and women as a group. The widely used definition is "An awareness of women's oppression and exploitation in society, at work and within the family, and conscious action by women and men to change this situation."<ref name="Bhasin and Khan">Bhasin, Kamala and Khan, Nighat Said. "Some Questions on Feminism and Its Relevance in South Asia", ''Kali for Women'', New Delhi, 1986.</ref> Acknowledging [[sexism]] in daily life and attempting to challenge and eliminate it through [[deconstruction|deconstructing]] mutually exclusive notions of [[femininity]] and [[masculinity]] as [[biological determinism|biologically determined]] categories opens the way towards an equitable society for both men and women.<ref name="Bhasin and Khan" />

The male and female dichotomy of polar opposites with the former oppressing the latter at all times is refuted in the Indian context because it was men who initiated [[social movement|social reform movements]] against various [[social evil]]s. Patriarchy is just one of the hierarchies. Relational hierarchies between women within the same family are more adverse. Here women are pitted against one another. Not all women are powerless at all times.<ref name="Singh">Singh, S. & Singh, P. (2011). "Shobha De: Deconstructed for Maverick Feminism." In ''Contemporary Indian Women Novelists in English,'' Ed. Indu Swami, Sarup: Delhi</ref>

There have been intense debates within the Indian women's movements about the relationship between Western and Indian feminism.  Many Indian feminists simultaneously claim a specific "Indian" sensitivity as well as an international feminist solidarity with groups and individuals worldwide.<ref name="Gangoli 6" /><ref name="Ray 14">Ray (1999), page 14.</ref> The rise of liberal feminism in the West in the 1970s focused deeply on demands for equal opportunities in education and employment, as well as ending violence against women.  To a large extent, the emerging feminist movement in India was influenced by Western ideals. These called for education and equal rights but also adapted their appeals to local issues and concerns, such as dowry-related violence against women, [[Sati (practice)|Sati]], sex selective abortion, and custodial rape.  Some Indian feminists have suggested that these issues are not specifically "Indian" in nature but rather a reflection of a wider trend of patriarchal oppression of women.<ref name="Gangoli 6" />

==History==
{{Further|Bengal renaissance}}

According to Maitrayee Chaudhuri, unlike the Western feminist movement, India's movement [[Bengal renaissance|was initiated by men]], and later joined by women{{Citation needed|date=July 2021}}. But feminism as an initiative by women started independently a little later in Maharashtra by pioneering advocates of women's rights and education: [[Savitribai Phule]], who started the first school for girls in India (1848);<ref name="India Today">{{cite web|title=Who is Savitribai Phule? What did she do for women's rights in India?|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/who-is-savitribai-phule-what-did-she-do-for-womens-right-in-india/1/561392.html|publisher=India Today|access-date=24 August 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161115205458/http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/who-is-savitribai-phule-what-did-she-do-for-womens-right-in-india/1/561392.html|archive-date=15 November 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref name="thebetterindia.com">{{cite web|title=Savitribai, The Mother Of Modern Girls' Education In India|url=http://www.thebetterindia.com/8464/tbi-heroes-savitribai-the-mother-of-modern-girls-education/|website=The Better Indian|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826082519/http://www.thebetterindia.com/8464/tbi-heroes-savitribai-the-mother-of-modern-girls-education/|archive-date=26 August 2016|df=dmy-all|date=2013-10-15}}</ref> [[Tarabai Shinde]], who wrote India's first feminist text ''[[Stri Purush Tulana]]'' (''A Comparison Between Women and Men'') in 1882; and [[Pandita Ramabai]], who criticized patriarchy and caste-system in Hinduism, married outside her caste and converted to Christianity (1880s). 
The efforts of Bengali reformers included abolishing [[Sati (practice)|sati]], which was a widow's death by burning on her husband's funeral pyre,<ref name="Gangoli 16"/><ref>''Jewels of Authority: Women and Textual Tradition in Hindu India.'' New York: Oxford UP,
2002.</ref> abolishing the custom of [[child marriage]], abolishing the disfiguring of widows, introducing the marriage of upper caste [[Hindu]] widows, promoting women's education, obtaining legal rights for women to own property, and requiring the law to acknowledge women's status by granting them basic rights in matters such as adoption.<ref name="Chaudhuri, Maitrayee 2005"/>

The 19th century was the period that saw a majority of women's issues which came under the spotlight and reforms began to be made. Much of the early reforms for Indian women were conducted by men. However, by the late 19th century they were joined in their efforts by their wives, sisters, daughters, protegees and other individuals directly affected by campaigns such as those carried out for women's education. By the late 20th century, women gained greater autonomy through the formation of independent women's own organisations. By the late thirties and forties a new narrative began to be constructed regarding "women's activism". This was newly researched and expanded with the vision to create 'logical' and organic links between feminism and Marxism, as well as with anti-communalism and anti-casteism, etc. The Constitution of India did guarantee 'equality between the sexes,' which created a relative lull in women's movements until the 1970s.<ref name="Kumar">Kumar, Radha. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=68xTBT1-H4IC The History of Doing] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160110095056/https://books.google.com/books?id=68xTBT1-H4IC |date=10 January 2016 }}'', ''Kali for Women'', New Delhi, 1998.</ref>

During the formative years of women's rights movements, the difference between the sexes was more or less taken for granted in that their roles, functions, aims and desires were different. As a result, they were not only to be reared differently but treated differently also. Over the course of time, this difference itself became a major reason for initiating women's movements. Early 19th century reformers argued that the difference between men and women was no reason for the subjection of women in society. However, later reformers were of the opinion that indeed it was this particular difference that subjugated women to their roles in society, for example, as mothers. Therefore, there was a need for the proper care of women's rights. With the formation of women's organisations and their own participation in campaigns, their roles as mothers was again stressed but in a different light: this time the argument was for women's rights to speech, education and emancipation. However, the image of women with the mother as a symbol underwent changes over time – from an emphasis on family to the creation of an archetypal mother figure, evoking deep, often [[atavism|atavistic]] images.<ref name = "Kumar"/>

=== First phase: 1850–1915 ===
[[File:Kamini Roy.jpg|thumb|alt=photograph of Kamini Roy|[[Kamini Roy]] (poet and suffragette) became the first woman Honors Graduate in India in 1886.]]
The colonial venture into [[modernity]] brought concepts of democracy, [[Equality before the law|equality]] and individual [[human rights|rights]]. The rise of the concept of nationalism and introspection of discriminatory practices brought about social reform movements related to caste and gender relations. This first phase of feminism in India was initiated by men to uproot the [[social evil]]s of [[Sati (practice)|sati]] (widow immolation),<ref name="quote">Napier, William. (1851) ''History of General Sir Charles Napier's Administration of Scinde''. (P. 35). London: Chapman and Hall [https://archive.org/details/historygenerals00napigoog/page/n51 <!-- quote=History of the Administration of Scinde. -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160603171752/https://books.google.com/books?id=d84BAAAAMAAJ&vq=suttee&dq=History%20of%20the%20Administration%20of%20Scinde&pg=PA35 |date=3 June 2016 }} at books.google.com, accessed 10 July 2011</ref> to allow widow remarriage, to forbid child marriage, and to reduce illiteracy, as well as to regulate the age of consent and to ensure property rights through legal intervention. In addition to this, some upper caste Hindu women rejected constraints they faced under Brahminical traditions.<ref name = "Kumar"/> However, efforts for improving the status of women in Indian society were somewhat thwarted by the late nineteenth century, as nationalist movements emerged in India. These movements resisted 'colonial interventions in gender relations' particularly in the areas of family relations. In the mid to late nineteenth century, there was a national form of resistance to any colonial efforts made to 'modernize' the Hindu family. This included the Age of Consent controversy that erupted after the government tried to raise the age of marriage for women.<ref name="Gangoli 16" /><ref name="Gangoli 88">Gangoli (2007), pages 88–89.</ref>

Several Indian states were ruled by women during British colonial advance including [[Jhansi State|Jhansi]] ([[Rani of Jhansi|Rani Laxmibai]]), [[Kittur]] ([[Kittur Chennamma|Rani Chennama]]), [[Bhopal]] (Quidisa Begum) and [[Punjab, British India|Punjab]] ([[Jind Kaur]]).<ref name="theguardian.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/dec/31/rebel-queen-thorn-crown|title=Rebel Queen – a thorn in the crown|author=Herpreet Kaur Grewal|journal=The Guardian|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005033927/http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/dec/31/rebel-queen-thorn-crown|archive-date=5 October 2015|df=dmy-all|date=2010-12-31}}</ref>

=== Second Phase: 1915–1947 ===
During this period the struggle against colonial rule intensified. Nationalism became the pre-eminent cause. Claiming Indian superiority became the tool of cultural revivalism resulting in an essential model of Indian womanhood similar to that of [[Victorian era|Victorian]] womanhood: special yet separated from public space. [[Gandhi]] legitimized and expanded Indian women's public activities by initiating them into the non-violent [[civil disobedience]] movement against the [[British Raj]]. He exalted their feminine roles of caring, self-abnegation, sacrifice and tolerance; and carved a niche for those in the public arena. Peasant women played an important role in the rural satyagrahas of Borsad and Bardoli.<ref>{{cite web|title=Indian Women's Movement|author=Aparna Basu|url=http://www.du.ac.in/fileadmin/DU/Academics/course_material/hrge_15.pdf |access-date=24 March 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130227072617/http://du.ac.in/fileadmin/DU/Academics/course_material/hrge_15.pdf |archive-date=27 February 2013 }}</ref> Women-only organisations like [[All India Women's Conference]] (AIWC) and the [[National Federation of Indian Women]] (NFIW) emerged. Women were grappling with issues relating to the scope of women's political participation, [[votes for women|women's franchise]], communal awards, and leadership roles in political parties.<ref name="Kumar" />

The 1920s was a new era for Indian women and is defined as 'feminism' that was responsible for the creation of localized women's associations. These associations emphasized women's education issues, developed livelihood strategies for working-class women, and also organised national level women's associations such as the All India Women's Conference. AIWC was closely affiliated with the Indian National Congress. Under the leadership of [[Mahatma Gandhi]], it worked within the nationalist and anti-colonialist freedom movements. This made the mass mobilisation of women an integral part of Indian nationalism. Women therefore were a very important part of various nationalist and anti-colonial efforts, including the civil disobedience movements in the 1930s.<ref name="Kumar" />

After independence, the All India Women's Conference continued to operate and in 1954 the Indian Communist Party formed its own women's wing known as the National Federation of Indian Women. However, feminist agendas and movements became less active right after India's 1947 independence, as the nationalist agendas on nation building took precedence over feminist issues.<ref name="Gangoli 17">Gangoli (2007), page 17-18.</ref>

Women's participation in the struggle for freedom developed their critical consciousness about their role and rights in [[Partition of India|independent India]]. This resulted in the introduction of the franchise and civic rights of women in the Indian constitution. There was provision for women's upliftment through [[affirmative action]], maternal health and child care provision ([[day care|crèche]]s), equal pay for equal work etc. The state adopted a patronizing role towards women. For example, India's constitution states that women are a "weaker section" of the population, and therefore need assistance to function as equals.<ref name="Chaudhuri, Maitrayee 2005"/> Thus women in India did not have to struggle for basic rights as did women in the West. The utopia ended soon when the social and cultural ideologies and structures failed to honour the newly acquired concepts of fundamental rights and democracy.<ref name="Kumar" />

=== Post–1947 ===
[[File:Indira Gandhi 1977.jpg|thumb|[[Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi|Indira Gandhi]] (née Nehru) was the only child of the India's first Prime Minister, [[Jawaharlal Nehru]]. She is the first and only woman Prime Minister of India and the second-longest-serving Prime Minister.]]
Post independence feminists began to redefine the extent to which women were allowed to engage in the workforce. Prior to independence, most feminists accepted the sexual divide within the labour force. However, feminists in the 1970s challenged the inequalities that had been established and fought to reverse them. These inequalities included unequal wages for women, relegation of women to 'unskilled' spheres of work, and restricting women as a reserve army for labour. In other words, the feminists' aim was to abolish the free service of women who were essentially being used as cheap capital.<ref name="Kumar" /> Feminist class-consciousness also came into focus in the 1970s, with feminists recognizing the inequalities not just between men and women but also within power structures such as caste, tribe, language, religion, region, class etc. This also posed as a challenge for feminists while shaping their overreaching campaigns as there had to be a focus within efforts to ensure that fulfilling the demands of one group would not create further inequalities for another. Now, in the early twenty-first century, the focus of the Indian feminist movement has gone beyond treating women as useful members of society and a right to parity, but also having the power to decide the course of their personal lives and the right of self-determination.<ref name="Kumar"/>

In 1966 [[Indira Gandhi]] became the first female Prime Minister of India. She served as prime minister of India for three consecutive terms (1966–77) and a fourth term from 1980 until she was assassinated in 1984.<ref>{{cite web |author=The Editors |url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225198/Indira-Gandhi |title=Indira Gandhi &#124; biography - prime minister of India &#124; Encyclopædia Britannica |publisher=Britannica.com |access-date=2015-04-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150503100104/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/225198/Indira-Gandhi |archive-date=3 May 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Section 53A of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Indian law, 1973 lays down certain provisions for medical examination of the accused.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indiankanoon.org/doc/633996/|title=Section 53 in The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973|website=indiankanoon.org|access-date=2017-10-27}}</ref> Section 164A of the Code of Criminal Procedure deals with the medical examination of the victim.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/pdf/TheCCP(Amendment)Act,2005.pdf|title=The Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act, 2005|last=Viswanathan|first=T.K.|website=mha.nic.in|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171027180631/http://mha.nic.in/sites/upload_files/mha/files/pdf/TheCCP(Amendment)Act,2005.pdf|archive-date=27 October 2017}}</ref>

[[Mary Roy]] won a lawsuit in 1986, against the inheritance legislation of her [[Kerala|Keralite]] [[Syrian Malabar Nasrani|Syrian Christian]] community in the [[Supreme Court of India|Supreme Court]]. The judgement ensured equal rights for Syrian Christian women with their male siblings in regard to their ancestral property.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.rediff.com/news/sep/18arun.htm| title=Ammu may have some similarities to me, but she is not Mary Roy| author=George Iype| publisher=rediff| access-date=12 May 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/29/stories/2006052918730100.htm| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060531055244/http://www.hindu.com/2006/05/29/stories/2006052918730100.htm| url-status=dead| archive-date=31 May 2006| title=Bank seeks possession of property in Mary Roy case| work=[[The Hindu]]| date=29 May 2006| access-date=12 May 2013| author=George Jacob}}</ref> Until then, her Syrian Christian community followed the provisions of the Travancore Succession Act of 1916 and the Cochin Succession Act, 1921, while elsewhere in India the same community followed the Indian Succession Act of 1925.<ref>{{Cite news | url=http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/final-decree-in-mary-roy-case-executed/article840061.ece | title=Final decree in Mary Roy case executed | journal=The Hindu | access-date=21 October 2010| date=2010-10-20 | last1=Jacob | first1=George }}</ref>

In 1991, the Kerala High Court restricted entry of women above the age of 10 and below the age of 50 from [[Sabarimala]] Shrine as they were of the menstruating age. However, on 28 September 2018, the Supreme Court of India lifted the ban on the entry of women. It said that discrimination against women on any grounds, even religious, is unconstitutional.<ref name="Desk">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/kerala/sabarimala-temple-entry-live-updates/article25066336.ece|title=Supreme Court upholds the right of women of all ages to worship at Sabarimala {{!}} Live updates|last=Desk|first=The Hindu Net|date=2018-09-28|work=The Hindu|access-date=2018-09-28|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref><ref name="NDTV.com">{{Cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/keralas-sabarimala-temple-must-allow-women-of-all-ages-says-supreme-court-ending-restriction-1923556|title=Women Of All Ages Can Enter Sabarimala Temple, Says Top Court, Ending Ban|work=NDTV.com|access-date=2018-09-28}}</ref>

The state of [[Kerala]] is often viewed as the ideal progressive leader in the women's rights movement in India among states. Kerala maintains very high relative levels of female literacy and women's health, as well as greater female inheritance and property rights. For example, a 1998 study conducted by [[Bina Agarwal]] found that while only 13% of all women in India with landowning fathers inherited that land as daughters, 24% of such women were able to do so in the state of Kerala.<ref name=worlddev2005>Panda, Pradeep, Bina Agarwal, Population Council, New Delhi, India, and Institute of Economic Growth, University of Delhi, India. "Marital Violence, Human Development and Women’s Property Status in India." World Development (2005). 18 Mar. 2013.</ref> This is important because it has been shown that measures to improve such access to property and economic independence through channels such as education not only directly improve women's wellbeing and capabilities, but also reduce their risk of exposure to marital or any sort of [[domestic violence]].<ref name=worlddev2005/>

The [[Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005]] is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted to protect women from domestic violence. It was brought into force by the Indian government from 26 October 2006. The Act provides for the first time in Indian law a definition of "domestic violence", with this definition being broad and including not only physical violence, but also other forms of violence such as emotional/verbal, sexual, and economic abuse. It is a civil law meant primarily for protection orders and not meant to penalize criminally.However,  as per the recent study 51.5% males have experienced the violence from their wives/partner. Many men feel bad to share about they are being beaten by their wives.<ref>{{Cite journal|doi = 10.1177/2631831819894176|title = Sociocultural and Legal Aspects of Violence Against Men|year = 2019|last1 = Deshpande|first1 = Sanjay|journal = Journal of Psychosexual Health|volume = 1|issue = 3–4|pages = 246–249|s2cid = 209523024|doi-access = free}}</ref>
Also, as per the research Married men have reported the domestic violence.<ref>https://www.researchgate.net/publication/331159357_Domestic_Violence_against_Men</ref>

The [[Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013]] is a legislative act in India that seeks to protect women from sexual harassment at their place of work. The Act came into force from 9 December 2013. The [[Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013]] introduced changes to the Indian Penal Code, making sexual harassment an expressed offence under Section 354 A, which is punishable up to three years of imprisonment and or with fine. The Amendment also introduced new sections making acts like disrobing a woman without consent, [[stalking]] and sexual acts by person in authority an offense. It also made acid attacks a specific offence with a punishment of imprisonment not less than 10 years and which could extend to life imprisonment and with fine.<ref>{{cite web|title=Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 |url=http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/TheCrimnalLaw030413.pdf |publisher=Government of India |access-date=11 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130417194151/http://mha.nic.in/pdfs/TheCrimnalLaw030413.pdf |archive-date=17 April 2013 }}</ref> The definition of rape under the law was expanded to consider rape as any acts like penetration by [[human penis|penis]], or any object or any part of body to any extent, into the [[vagina]], [[mouth]], [[urethra]] or anus of a woman or making her to do so with another person or applying of mouth to sexual organs without the consent or will of the woman constitutes the offence of rape.<ref name="Reference376A">{{cite news | title = Section 376A, The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013 | url = http://indiacode.nic.in/acts-in-pdf/132013.pdf | work = [[The Gazette of India]] | publisher = Government of India | date = 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131107103627/http://indiacode.nic.in/acts-in-pdf/132013.pdf | archive-date = 7 November 2013 }}</ref> The section has also clarified that penetration means "penetration to any extent", and lack of physical resistance is immaterial for constituting an offence. Except in certain aggravated situation the punishment will be imprisonment not less than seven years but which may extend to imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine. 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.<ref name="Reference376A"/> The revised statutes of 2013 Indian law, in section 376A, also mandates minimum punishment in certain cases. For instance, if the sexual assault inflicts an injury which causes death or causes the victim to be in a [[persistent vegetative state]], then the convicted rapist must be sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of at least twenty years and up to the remainder of the natural life or with a death penalty."<ref name="Reference376A"/><ref name="rcj2013" /> In the case of "[[gang rape]]", the same mandatory sentencing is now required by law.<ref name=rcj2013>{{Cite journal | last = Jiloha | first = R.C. | title = Rape: Legal issues in mental health perspective | journal = [[Indian Journal of Psychiatry]] | volume = 55 | issue = 3 | pages = 250–255 | doi = 10.4103/0019-5545.117141 | pmc = 3777346 | date = July–September 2013 | pmid=24082245}}</ref> The convicted is also required to pay compensation to the victim which shall be reasonable to meet the medical expenses and rehabilitation of the victim, and per Section 357 B in the Code of Criminal Procedure. [[Death penalty]] for the most extreme rape cases is specified.<ref name=rcj2013/> 
The new law has made it mandatory for all government and privately run hospitals in India to give free first aid and medical treatment to victims of rape.<ref>{{cite news | last = Roy | first = Rajesh | title = India parliament clears tough rape law | url = https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887324103504578373991905281104 | work = [[The Wall Street Journal]] | date = 21 March 2013}}</ref> The 2013 law also increased the age of consent from 16 years to 18 years, and any sexual activity with anyone less than age of 18, irrespective of consent, now constitutes statutory rape.<ref name=rcj2013/>

In May 2013, the Supreme Court of India held that the [[two-finger test]] on a rape victim violates her right to privacy, and asked the [[Delhi]] government to provide better medical procedures to confirm sexual assault.<ref>{{cite news|author=PTI |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/no-twofinger-test-for-rape-sc/article4729774.ece |title=No two-finger test for rape: SC |work=The Hindu |date=2013-05-19 |access-date=2013-10-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-20/india/39392396_1_finger-test-sexual-violence-human-rights-watch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608221408/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-20/india/39392396_1_finger-test-sexual-violence-human-rights-watch |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-06-08 |title=Two-finger test should be stopped with immediate effect: SC |date=2013-05-20 |work=[[The Times of India]] |access-date=2013-10-18}}</ref>

In 2014, an Indian family court in [[Mumbai]] ruled that a husband objecting to his wife wearing a [[kurta]] and [[jeans]] and forcing her to wear a [[sari]] amounted to cruelty, which led to the wife being granted a divorce.<ref name="gulfnews1">{{cite web |author=PTI |url=http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/india/wife-s-jeans-ban-is-grounds-for-divorce-india-court-rules-1.1353273 |title=Wife's jeans ban is grounds for divorce, India court rules |publisher=GulfNews.com |date=2014-06-28 |access-date=2015-10-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207004542/http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/india/wife-s-jeans-ban-is-grounds-for-divorce-india-court-rules-1.1353273 |archive-date=7 February 2016 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> In 2016 a judgment of the [[Delhi high court]] was made public in which it was ruled that the eldest female member of a [[Hindu Undivided Family]] can be its "Karta".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Woman-can-be-kartaof-a-family-Delhi-high-court/articleshow/50799462.cms|title=Woman can be 'karta'of a family: Delhi high court|work=The Times of India|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160131231545/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Woman-can-be-kartaof-a-family-Delhi-high-court/articleshow/50799462.cms|archive-date=31 January 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>

In 2018 the Supreme Court of India struck down a law making it a crime for a man to have sex with a married woman without the permission of her husband.<ref name="bbc.com">{{Cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-45404927 | title=Adultery no longer a crime in India| journal=BBC News| date=2018-09-27| last1=Biswas| first1=Soutik}}</ref> Prior to November 2018, women were forbidden to climb [[Agasthyarkoodam]]. A court ruling removed the prohibition.<ref>{{cite web|last=Regan |first=Helen |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/01/17/asia/india-woman-mountain-kerala-intl/index.html |title=Indian woman is first to climb Kerala mountain reserved for men - CNN |publisher=Edition.cnn.com |date=2019-01-18 |access-date=2019-01-31}}</ref>

==Issues==
Despite "on-paper" advancements, many problems still remain which inhibit women from fully taking advantage of new rights and opportunities in India.

There are many traditions and customs that have been an important part of Indian culture for hundreds of years. Religious laws and expectations, or "personal laws" enumerated by each specific religion, often conflict with the Indian Constitution, eliminating rights and powers women should legally have.  Despite these crossovers in legality, the Indian government does not interfere with religion and the personal laws they hold.<ref name="Narain, Vrinda 2008"/> Indian society is largely composed of hierarchical systems within families and communities.  These [[Hierarchy|hierarchies]] can be broken down into age, sex, ordinal position, kinship relationships (within families), and caste, lineage, wealth, occupations, and relationship to ruling power (within the community).  When hierarchies emerge within the family based on [[social convention]] and economic need, girls in poorer families suffer twice the impact of vulnerability and stability.  From birth, girls are automatically entitled to less; from playtime, to food, to education, girls can expect to always be entitled to less than their brothers.  Girls also have less access to their family's income and assets, which is exacerbated among poor, rural Indian families.  From the start, it is understood that females will be burdened with strenuous work and exhausting responsibilities for the rest of their lives, always with little to no compensation or recognition.<ref>Bhatt, Ela R. ''We are Poor but So Many: the Story of Self-Employed Women in India.'' New York: Oxford UP, 2005.</ref>

India is also a [[Patriarchy|patriarchal]] society, which, by definition, describes cultures in which males as fathers or husbands are assumed to be in charge and the official heads of households. A [[Patrilineality|patrilineal]] system governs the society, where descent and inheritance are traced through the male line and men are generally in control of the distribution of family resources.<ref name="Singh" />

These traditions and ways of Indian life have been in effect for so long that this type of lifestyle is what women have become accustomed to and expect.  Indian women often do not take full advantage of their constitutional rights because they are not properly aware or informed of them.  Women also tend to have poor utilization of voting rights because they possess low levels of political awareness and sense of political efficacy.  Women are not often encouraged to become informed about issues. Due to this, political parties do not invest much time in female candidates because there is a perception that they are a "wasted investment."<ref name="Chaudhuri, Maitrayee 2005"/>

The female-to-male ratio in India is 933 to 1000, showing that there are numerically fewer women in the country than men.  This is due to several factors, including [[infanticide]]s, most commonly among female infants, and the poor care of female infants and childbearing women.  Although outlawed, infanticides are still very common in rural India, and are continuing to become even more prominent. This is due to the fact, most especially in rural areas, that families cannot afford female children because of the [[dowry]] they must pay when their daughter gets married. Like infanticide, the payment of dowry is also [[Dowry law in India|illegal]], but is still a frequent and prevalent occurrence in rural India.<ref name="Chaudhuri, Maitrayee 2005"/> Women are considered to be "worthless" by their husbands if they are not "able" to produce a male child, and can often face much abuse if this is the case.<ref>''Missing Women: Female-Selective Abortion and Infanticides.'' Dir. Manon Loizeau, Films for the Humanities & Sciences. A Films Media Group Company, 2006.</ref>

=== Birth ratio ===
Between the years of 1991 to 2001, the female-male ratio of the population of India fell from 94.5 girls per 100 boys to 92.7 girls per 100 boys.<ref name="Sen">Sen, Amartya.  "The Many Faces of Gender Inequality." ''The New Republic,'' 17 September 2001; page 39.</ref> Some parts of the country, such as [[Kerala]], did not experience such a decline, but in the richer Indian states of [[Punjab, India|Punjab]], Haryana, [[Gujarat]], and [[Maharashtra]], the female-male ratio fell very sharply (the female-male ratios in these states were between 79.3 and 87.8).<ref name="Sen" /> This is the evidence of natality inequality, and an indication that [[sex-selective abortion]] has become more pervasive.  The Indian parliament has banned the use of sex determination techniques for foetuses due to this, but enforcement of this law has been largely ignored.<ref>Sen, Amartya.  "The Many Face of Gender Inequality." ''The New Republic,'' 17 September 2001; page 40.</ref>

=== Marriage ===
Most of the average Indian woman's life is spent in marriage; many{{who|date=August 2015}} women are still married before the legal age of 18, and the incidence of non-marriage is low in India.  Childbearing and raising children are the priorities of early adulthood for Indian women. Thus, if they enter the workforce at all, it is far later than Indian men.  Urban Indian men reach the peak of their labour force participation between the ages of 25 and 29, while urban Indian women do so between the ages of 40 and 44.<ref name="Ray 25">Ray (1999), pages 25–28.</ref> Because of this, women have less time for the acquisition of skills and fewer opportunities for job improvements.

There is a poor representation of women in the Indian workforce.  Females have a ten percent higher drop-out rate than males from middle and primary schools, as well as lower levels of literacy than men.  Since unemployment is also high in India, it is easy for employers to manipulate the law, especially when it comes to women, because it is part of Indian culture for women not to argue with men.  Additionally, labour unions are insensitive to women's needs.  Women also have to settle for jobs that comply with their obligations as wives, mothers, and homemakers.<ref name="Chaudhuri, Maitrayee 2005"/><ref name="Ray 25" />

The [[Gulabi Gang]] in India wear pink saris and carry lathis (bamboo staves) for protection against physical attack, and punish abusive husbands, publicly shaming and sometimes beating them. They also watch out for and expose dowry beatings, dowry death, rape, child marriages, desertion, depriving girls of education, child molestation, and sexual harassment. They have invaded police stations to demand that police investigate these matters, and other things that affect the community such as corruption. India's police are notoriously corrupt and sometimes only the threat of a full-scale female riot will get them to act. Nobody knows quite how many of them there are. Estimates range from 270,000 to 400,000.

In 2018 the Supreme Court of India struck down a law making it a crime for a man to have sex with a married woman without the permission of her husband.<ref name="bbc.com"/>

===Clothing===
Another issue that concerns women is the [[dress code]] expected of them. Islam requires both men and women to dress modestly; this concept is known as ''[[hijab]]'' and covers a wide interpretation of behavior and garments. There is mixed opinion among feminists over extremes of externally imposed control. Women from other religions are also expected to follow dress codes.

In 2014, an Indian family court in [[Mumbai]] ruled that a husband objecting to his wife wearing a [[kurta]] and jeans and forcing her to wear a [[sari]] amounts to cruelty inflicted by the husband and can be a ground to seek divorce.<ref name="gulfnews2">{{cite web |author=PTI |url=http://gulfnews.com/news/asia/india/wife-s-jeans-ban-is-grounds-for-divorce-india-court-rules-1.1353273 |title=Wife's jeans ban is grounds for divorce, India court rules |publisher=GulfNews.com |date=28 June 2014 |access-date=28 October 2015}}</ref> The wife was thus granted a divorce on the ground of cruelty as defined under section 27(1)(d) of Special Marriage Act, 1954.<ref name="gulfnews2"/>

==Theology==
=== Hindu community ===
{{Main|Feminist theology#Hinduism}}
[[Image:Jagrata.JPG|thumb|right|180px|A jagran in honour of [[Devi]], the Hindu goddess.]]
In the [[Hindu]] religion, there has been partial success in terms of gender equality reform laws and family law. While this is a major advancement relative to other religions in India, it is still not a complete triumph in terms of feminism and relieving oppression.<ref name="Narain, Vrinda 2008"/> [[Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi|Gandhi]] came up with the term ''stree shakti'' (women power) for the concept of womanhood. In the Hindu religion, Gods are not exclusively male. Hinduism sheds a positive light on femininity; females are considered to complement and complete their male counterparts. It is important to note that both the [[Saraswati|deity of knowledge]] and the [[Lakshmi|deity of wealth]] are female.<ref name="Chaudhuri, Maitrayee 2005">Chaudhuri, Maitrayee. ''Feminism in India (Issues in Contemporary Indian Feminism)'' New York: Zed, 2005.</ref> In 1991, the Kerala High Court restricted entry of women above the age of 10 and below the age of 50 from [[Sabarimala]] Shrine as they were of the menstruating age. However, on 28 September 2018, the Supreme Court of India lifted the ban on the entry of women. It said that discrimination against women on any grounds, even religious, is unconstitutional.<ref name="Desk"/><ref name="NDTV.com"/>

There has been some criticism from [[Dalit]] groups that Indian feminism tends to represent "upper caste" and upper class Hindu women, while ignoring and marginalising the interests of Dalit women. Debates on caste and gender oppression have been furthered by [[Other Backward Class]] (OBC) members of different political parties, arguing in state assemblies that "lower caste" women's interests are best represented by women from these castes.<ref name="Gangoli" /> Working towards this end, women within Dalit castes have formed organisations such as the All India Dalit Women's Forum and the National Federation of Dalit Women and Dalit Solidarity, which focus on the gendered implications of caste based violence and oppression, such as the ways in which Dalit women suffer from urban poverty and displacement.<ref name="Gangoli" />

''' Hindu feminism ''' <br> The culture of India has a spiritual tradition in which Hindu men and women have their ideals based on their spiritual self. The culture views women as a form of Shakti, the goddess, the female energy which battles good vs evil, which regenerates, which rests on creation and destruction. The different forms of shakti in its various appearances as a light or dark skinned woman or an animal symbolize diverse biological lifeforms in India. Men rely on the notion of divine feminine which is the basis of men's psychological and spiritual identity as they are in a women centric matriarchal world.<ref>{{ cite web |url=http://readingreligion.org/books/absent-mother-god-west | title= Book- Absent mother god of the west |website=Reading religion |publisher= American academy of religion|access-date=28 April 2020}}</ref>
For a newcomer, it may be hard to understand why women are viewed the way they are, why they are given preference over men, why does the government spend most of their money on women's welfare and living.This is answered by the spiritual tradition men and women are raised in India and this is also the basis of laws and justice system in India in which women occupy a higher role in defining political and economic landscape. This gynocentric feminism is not based on consumer equality or equal rights of men and women as in western countries but it is a single theory which rests all of its arguments on the divine feminine of a spiritual tradition which is the creator and has higher power over masculine gender.<ref>{{ cite web |url=https://www.cpp.edu/~wlhip/hindu-feminism.html | title=Reflections on Hindu Feminism |website=California polytechnic pomona |publisher=California poly pomona|access-date=28 April 2020}}</ref>

=== Muslim community ===
{{Main|Islamic feminism|Timeline of first women's suffrage in majority-Muslim countries}}
The Hindu and Muslim communities in India were treated differently by the government in that separate types of concessions were made for each community in order to accommodate their separate religious laws and regulations. The case of [[Shah Bano]] begun in 1985 was one such example of [[Rajiv Gandhi]] attempting to make "concessions" for the Muslim community to in turn secure support for the Congress. Shah Bano, a 73-year-old Muslim woman, was divorced by her husband after forty-three years of marriage. According to the Sharia or Muslim Law, her husband was not required to pay her alimony. Shah Bano challenged this decision in the Supreme Court, which ultimately ruled in her favour and ordered her husband to pay her a monthly maintenance allowance. This caused chaos amongst the Muslim clerics who denounced the judgement and suggested that their religion, Islam was under attack in the country. In a fear of losing overall Muslim support, Rajiv succumbed to the pressures of the Conservative Maulavis from Muslims community and his own party and backed the Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Bill which restricts alimony for Muslim Women only for 90 days after divorce. This caused an outcry from Muslim feminists and Hindu nationalists who found the appeasement of Muslim males by the Congress for political purposes wrong and opportunistic.<ref name="Criminal Procedure Code PC">Citation: JT 2005 (6) SC 266
Honourable Judges: Arijit Pasayat and H.K. Sema, JJ.
Issue: Evidence Act, 1872 – Section 113B; Criminal Law (Second Amendment) Act, 1983; Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961; Indian Penal Code, 1860 – 
Sections 304B, 306 and 498A; Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), 1973; Constitution of India – Articles 14 and 32
Date of Judgment: 19 July 2005
Case No: Writ Petition (C) No. 141 of 2005
More cases on : Evidence Act Total [592]</ref>

Feminism was challenged by various minority groups for not entirely addressing the needs of minority populations. It was suggested that 'mainstream' feminism was upper caste and Hindu in its orientation and did not address the concerns of minority women. This led to the formation of the Awaaz-e-Niswaan (The Voice of Women) in 1987 in Mumbai in largely Muslim part of the city. The Muslim community has personal laws that often were considered harmful to the rights of Muslim women.<ref name="Gangoli 34">Gangoli (2007), page 34-35.</ref> The Muslim personal law allows Polygamy but not Polyandry.

The dynamic of women's rights in India is on the foreground of the Muslim community and the Indian Nation State. [[Article 14 of the Constitution of India|Article 14]] of the Indian Constitution states ‘Equality before law’ and grants every person equality before the law and equal protection in India. Article 15 prohibits discrimination based on religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth. Muslims women in India however are used as both an instrument and symbol for [[Islam in South Asia]]. [[Muslim personal law in India|Muslim Personal Law]] governs many aspects of a married Muslim Woman's rights in India. Personal Law serves a purpose in maintaining the democratic right to freedom of religion and preserving traditions which have been a part of India for many centuries. The idea of having ‘differential citizenship’ has resulted from the differences between constitutional and personal laws in India.

Since the partition of [[Pakistan]] and [[Bangladesh]] the Muslim community in India have been greatly reduced. Maintaining Muslim traditions in India serves as a means of achieving religious equality as well preserving their respective community under the Indian Nation State. Islam although being one of the first religions to advocate for women's rights both socially and in the political arena, has been heavily misinterpreted over the years with the death of the prophet [[Muhammad|Mohammad]] and with the residency of Islam in different societies. In India, “like Hindu women, Muslim women also demanded legal redress for polygamy, child marriage, purdah and denial of property rights..”.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=UC Berkeley Library Proxy Login|journal = Economic and Political Weekly|volume = 47|issue = 43|pages = 40–48|jstor = 41720299|last1 = Suneetha|first1 = A.|year = 2012}}</ref>

Constitutional laws in India have taken more initiative to improve gender equality than Muslim Personal Law. The political arena for Muslims in India are overwhelmingly male dominated and the Muslim society in India is heavily patriarchal. The [[Ulama]] is given massive criticism for supporting a ‘patriarchal interpretation’ and using the [[Quran]] to further their own agendas. The [[Mullah]]s who dominate the political arena for Muslims in India have not prioritized reform to the Muslim Personal Laws. In addition Muslim women in India face larger issues in “illiteracy, social conservatism...economic dependence on men, domestic and social violence, a wide gap between formal constitutional equality and actual inequality, inferiority and subordination of Indian women.".<ref>{{Cite journal|title=UC Berkeley Library Proxy Login|journal = The Indian Journal of Political Science|volume = 57|issue = 1/4|pages = 1–13|jstor = 41855734|last1 = Shukla|first1 = Shashi|last2 = Shukla|first2 = Sashi|year = 1996}}</ref>

Many Muslim women reformists are pointing to areas in the Quran and [[Sunnah|Sunna]] which address women's rights. These reformists also demand for an interpretation of the Quran to be “female friendly” and be open-minded for an Islam which has prioritized women's rights and equality. The AIMPBL (All-India Muslim Women's Personal Law Board) regards that the Muslim Personal Law is ‘not a true reflection of the intention of the Quran’. The AIMPLB points out several passages in the Quran which discuss gender equality and even distinguish Islam has a religious text which as compared to other religious texts advocates for women's rights.

One of the larger social and legal precedence with the Feminist Muslim platform reside in the framing of the issue. Push back from a largely conservative religion such as Islam is interpreted as ‘defensive’ and a flirtation of western concepts.

==Impact==
Feminism did not gain meaning or become an operational principle in Indian life until the country gained independence in 1947 and adopted a democratic government.<ref name="Chaudhuri, Maitrayee 2005" /> The [[Constitution of India|Indian Constitution]] then granted equality, freedom from discrimination based on gender or religion, and guaranteed religious freedoms.<ref name="Narain, Vrinda 2008">Narain, Vrinda. ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=qvG01Oo_9kkC Reclaiming the nation: Muslim women and the law in India] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140707064006/http://books.google.com/books?id=qvG01Oo_9kkC |date=7 July 2014 }}''. Toronto [Ont.]: University of Toronto, 2008.</ref> Also, seven [[Five-year plans of India|five-year plans]] were developed to provide health, education, employment, and welfare to women.  The sixth five-year plan even declared women "partners in development."<ref name="Chaudhuri, Maitrayee 2005"/>

===Employment===
In general, in the uneducated and rural sections of Indian society, which form a major percentage of the total population, women are seen as economic burdens.  Their contributions to productivity are mostly invisible as their familial and domestic contributions are overlooked.  Indian women were contributing nearly 36 percent of total employment in agriculture and related activities, nearly 19 percent in the service sector, and nearly 12.5 in the industry sector as of the year 2000.  High illiteracy rates among women confine them to lower paying, unskilled jobs with less job security than men.  Even in agricultural jobs where the work of men and women are highly similar, women are still more likely to be paid less for the same amount and type of work as men.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} Although the Government of India has tried to eliminate inequality in the workforce, women still receive unequal treatment. "Men are more likely to get promotions than women—besides, for men the nature of their jobs often changed with these promotions, unlike women, who usually only got increased responsibility and higher workload.".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Esteve-Volart|first=Berta|year=2004|title=Women and the Labour Market in India: Some Background|url=http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/de/dedps42.pdf|journal=Gender Discrimination and Growth: Theory and Evidence from India|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322202732/http://sticerd.lse.ac.uk/dps/de/dedps42.pdf|archive-date=22 March 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> However, [[AIIMS]] nurses union has alleged gender discrimination for Nursing Officers recruitment, giving 80 percent posts to female candidates and remaining to male candidates.<ref>https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/aiims-nurses-union-alleges-gender-discrimination-in-reservation-for-nursing-officers-recruitment/articleshow/73216731.cms</ref><ref>https://www.aninews.in/news/national/general-news/aiims-nurses-union-anguished-over-gender-reservation-in-recruitment-process-for-nursing-officers-post20200112214939/#:~:text=%22As%20a%20result%20of%20this,male%20candidates%20in%20all%20categories.</ref><ref>https://theprint.in/india/aiims-resident-doctor-attempts-suicide-over-caste-and-gender-discrimination/405340/</ref>

In 1955 the [[Bollywood]] group [[Cine Costume Make-Up Artist & Hair Dressers' Association]] (CCMAA) created a rule that did not allow women to obtain memberships as makeup artists.<ref name="telegraphindia1">{{cite web |author=Samyabrata Ray Goswami |url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141111/jsp/frontpage/story_19024241.jsp#.VTaWKul0wdk |title=Women get makeup justice |publisher=Telegraphindia.com |date=2014-11-11 |access-date=2015-04-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150131174705/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1141111/jsp/frontpage/story_19024241.jsp#.VTaWKul0wdk |archive-date=31 January 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref> However, in 2014 the [[Supreme Court of India]] ruled that this rule was in violation of the Indian constitutional guarantees granted under Article 14 (right to equality), 19(1)(g) (freedom to carry out any profession) and Article 21 (right to liberty).<ref name="telegraphindia1"/> The judges of the Supreme Court of India stated that the ban on women makeup artist members had no "rationale nexus" to the cause sought to be achieved and was "unacceptable, impermissible and inconsistent" with the constitutional rights guaranteed to the citizens.<ref name="telegraphindia1"/> The Court also found illegal the rule which mandated that for any artist, female or male, to work in the industry, they must have domicile status of five years in the state where they intend to work.<ref name="telegraphindia1"/> In 2015 it was announced that Charu Khurana had become the first woman to be registered by the Cine Costume Make-Up Artist & Hair Dressers' Association.<ref>{{cite web |author=Amit Anand Choudhary |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/bollywood/Bollywood-make-up-artists-group-inducts-first-woman-after-SC-rap/articleshow/46995208.cms |title=Bollywood make-up artists' group inducts first woman after SC rap |publisher=Timesofindia.indiatimes.com |date=April 21, 2015 |access-date=2015-04-21 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426013846/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/bollywood/Bollywood-make-up-artists-group-inducts-first-woman-after-SC-rap/articleshow/46995208.cms |archive-date=26 April 2015 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

===Globalization===
Feminists are also concerned about the impact of globalization on women in India. Some feminists argue that globalization has led to economic changes that have raised more social and economical challenges for women, particularly for working-class and lower-caste women. Multinational companies in India have been seen to exploit the labour of 'young, underpaid and disadvantaged women' in free trade zones and sweat shops, and use "Young lower middle class, educated women," in call centres. These women have few effective labour rights, or rights to collective action.<ref name="Gangoli 13">Gangoli (2007), page 13.</ref><ref name="Gangoli 124">Gangoli (2007), page 124.</ref>

In addition to this, multinational corporations are seen to advertise a homogenous image of ideal women across the country is argued to cause an increase in the [[commodification]] of women's bodies. This is also manifested in the form of nationalist pride exhibited through Indian women winning international beauty pageants. According to some feminists, such developments have offered women greater sexual autonomy and more control over their bodies.  However, many other feminists feel that such commodification of female bodies has only served the purpose of feeding to male fantasies.<ref name="Gangoli 13"/>

===Education===
[[File:KRS girls.jpg|thumb|alt=photograph of girls at the Kalleda Rural School|Girls in Kalleda Rural School, [[Andhra Pradesh]].]]

Some of the main reasons that girls are less likely to reach optimal levels of education include the fact that girls are needed to assist their mothers at home, have been raised to believe that a life of domestic work is their destined occupation, have illiterate mothers who cannot educate their children, have an economic dependency on men, and are sometimes subject to child-marriage.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}} Many poor families marry their daughters off early with a belief that the more she will stay at home, the more they'll be needed to invest in her. Plus it is a popular belief that they should be married off early so that they produce off-springs early in their life.

In 1986, the [[National Policy on Education]] (NPE) was created in India, and the government launched the program called [[Education in India|Mahila Samakhya]], whose focus was on the empowerment of women. The program's goal is to create a learning environment for women to realize their potential, learn to demand information and find the knowledge to take charge of their own lives. In certain areas of India, progress is being made and an increase in the enrollment of girls in schools and as teachers has begun to increase.  By 2001 literacy for women had exceeded 50% of the overall female population, though these statistics were still very low compared to world standards and even male literacy within India.<ref>Raman, Sita Anantha. ''Women in India: A Social and Cultural History,'' pg 236. Praeger, 2009.</ref> Efforts are still being made to improve the level of education that females receive to match that of male students.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

==== Impact ====
* At shortlisting stage [[Indian Institutes of Management|IIM Indore]] is giving extra marks to female candidates now.<ref name="economictimes.indiatimes.com">https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/education/class-of-2021-gender-diversity-gets-a-big-boost-at-iims/articleshow/70169120.cms?from=mdr#:~:text=IIM%20Lucknow%20has%20given%20extra,of%20women%20entering%20our%20class.</ref>
* [[DRDO]] launched the scholarship scheme exclusively for girls in year 2019.<ref>https://www.drdo.gov.in/message-board/drdo-scholarship-scheme-exclusively-girls-2019</ref><ref>https://drdo.gov.in/aeronautics-research-development/scholarship-schemes</ref>
* Girls in [[Haryana]] now will be getting passport with graduation degree.<ref>https://www.timesnownews.com/india/article/girl-students-in-haryana-to-get-passport-with-graduation-degree-cm-manohar-lal-khattar/620160</ref>

==Indian feminists==

* [[Ram Mohan Roy|Raja Ram Mohan Roy]] (1772–1833) – crusaded against sati, polygamy, and child marriage. Fought for education and property inheritance rights for women.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Raja Ram Mohan Roy - One of the Greatest Feminists|url=https://in.makers.yahoo.com/raja-ram-mohan-roy-one-of-the-greatest-feminists-051349920.html|access-date=2021-02-04|website=in.makers.yahoo.com|language=en-IN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2018-05-22|title=How Raja Ram Mohan Roy Was Among The Pioneers Of Indian Feminist Movement|url=https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/how-raja-ram-mohan-roy-was-among-the-pioneers-of-indian-feminist-movement-345890.html|access-date=2021-02-04|website=IndiaTimes|language=en-IN}}</ref>

* [[Jyotirao Phule]] (1827–1890) – worked with his wife, [[Savitribai Phule]] and friend, Sadashiv Ballal Govande to set up a centre against infanticide, to help widows in labor give birth.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Kashyap|first=Sanjeet|date=2019-11-28|title=The Radical Humanism of Jyotiba Phule|url=https://spontaneousorder.in/jyotiba-phule/|access-date=2021-02-04|website=Spontaneous Order|language=en-US}}</ref>
*[[Savitribai Phule]] (1831–1897) – started the first school for girls in the subcontinent.<ref name="India Today" /><ref name="thebetterindia.com" />
* [[Tarabai Shinde]] (1850–1910) – activist whose work ''[[Stri Purush Tulana]]'' is considered the first modern Indian feminist text.<ref>{{cite book|last=Tharu|first=Susie J.|author2=Ke Lalita|title=Women Writing in India: 600 B.C. to the Present (Vol. 1)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u297RJP9gvwC&q=%22Tarabai+Shinde%22+-inpublisher:icon&pg=PA221|year=1991|publisher=Feminist Press|isbn=978-1-55861-027-9|page=221|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180303194428/https://books.google.com/books?id=u297RJP9gvwC&pg=PA221&dq=%22Tarabai+Shinde%22+-inpublisher:icon&cd=1#v=onepage&q=%22Tarabai%20Shinde%22%20-inpublisher%3Aicon&f=false|archive-date=3 March 2018|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* [[Pandita Ramabai]] (1858–1922) – social reformer a champion for the emancipation of women in [[British India]].<ref>[[Pandita Ramabai]]</ref>
* [[Kamini Roy]] (1864–1933) – poet, suffragette, and first woman honors graduate in India.<ref>Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998, ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (Biographical dictionary) Vol I, {{in lang|bn}}, p83, {{ISBN|81-85626-65-0}}</ref>
* [[Sarala Devi Chaudhurani]] (1872–1945) – early feminist and founder of the [[Bharat Stree Mahamandal]], one of the first women's organisations in India.<ref>Ray, Bharati. ''Early Feminists of Colonial India: Sarala Devi Chaudhurani and Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain.'' Oxford University Press, USA. 2002.</ref>
* [[Saroj Nalini Dutt]] (1887–1925) – early social reformer who pioneered the formation of educational Women's Institutes in [[Bengal]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |editor1-last=Sengupta |editor1-first=Subhodh Chandra |editor2-last=Basu |editor2-first=Anjali |encyclopedia=Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan (Bibliographical Dictionary) |title=সরোজনলিনী দত্ত |trans-title=Saroj Nalini Dutt |language=bn |edition=4th |date=January 2002 |publisher=Shishu Sahitya Samsad |volume=Volume 1 |location=Kolkata |isbn=978-81-85626-65-9 |pages=565}}</ref>
* [[Durgabai Deshmukh]] (1909–1981) – public activist for women's emancipation and was also the founder of Andhra Mahila Sabha.<ref>[[Durgabai Deshmukh]]</ref>
* [[Barnita Bagchi]] – scholar and sociologist with a focus on women's education.<ref>[http://www.uu.nl/gw/medewerkers/BBagchi/0 Barnita Bagchi's faculty page at the University of Utrecht] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120708205033/http://www.uu.nl/gw/medewerkers/BBagchi/0 |date=8 July 2012 }} ''(Retrieved 7 December 2011)''</ref>
* [[Jasodhara Bagchi]] (1937–2015) – founder of the School of Women's Studies at [[Jadavpur University]].<ref>Mahrota, Deepti Priya. 2005. [http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=5625 "The Woman shaped by Mother."] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207142413/http://www.boloji.com/index.cfm?md=Content&sd=Articles&ArticleID=5625 |date=7 February 2012 }} ''(Retrieved 7 December 2011)''</ref>
* [[Rita Banerji]] – feminist author and founder of [http://www.50millionmissing.info The 50 Million Missing Campaign], an online, global lobby working to raise awareness about the female [[gendercide]] ([[femicide]]) in India.
* [[Prem Chowdhry]] – social scientist, feminist, Senior Academic Fellow and critic of violence against couples refusing arranged marriages. She is a Life Member of the Center for Women Studies.<ref>[[Prem Chowdhry]]</ref> She is a well-known scholar of gender studies, authority on the political economy and social history of [[Haryana]] state in [[India]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://global.oup.com/academic/product/political-economy-of-production-and-reproduction-9780198067702;jsessionid=76B4088195F4A55D75A4C5E8FB25BE5A?cc=gb&lang=en&|title=Political Economy of Production and Reproduction|access-date=20 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105222813/http://global.oup.com/academic/product/political-economy-of-production-and-reproduction-9780198067702;jsessionid=76B4088195F4A55D75A4C5E8FB25BE5A?cc=gb&lang=en&|archive-date=5 November 2013|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and daughter of Hardwari Lal,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110327/spectrum/book6.htm|title=The Sunday Tribune - Books|access-date=20 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214532/http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110327/spectrum/book6.htm|archive-date=3 March 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> the renowned educationist and [[Indian National Congress]] [[member of parliament]] for Haryana.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/socialscientist/text.html?objectid=HN681.S597_244-46_114.gif|title=Social Scientist, issues 244-46, Sept-Nov 1993, page 112. -- The Social Scientist -- Digital South Asia Library|access-date=20 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150427143215/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/books/socialscientist/text.html?objectid=HN681.S597_244-46_114.gif|archive-date=27 April 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* [[Mira Datta Gupta]] – activist for women's issues and one of the founding members of the [[All India Women's Conference]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/SR_KeyHighLights/SE_1951/STATISTICALREPORTS_51_WestBengal.pdf|title=Key Highlights of General Elections 1951 to the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal|access-date=20 April 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305020014/http://eci.nic.in/eci_main/SR_KeyHighLights/SE_1951/STATISTICALREPORTS_51_WestBengal.pdf|archive-date=5 March 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
*[[Meghna Pant]] – author known for taking a strong feminist stance in her writing and work
* [[Padma Gole]] – poet whose writings faithfully depicted the domestic lives of Indian middle-class women.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Feminism and Postfeminism: The Context of Modern Indian Women Poets Writing in English|author=Kanwar Dinesh Singh|publisher=Sarup & Sons|year=2004|location=Solan|page=38|isbn=978-81-7625-460-1}}</ref>
* [[Devaki Jain]] – founder of the Institute of Social Studies Trust and scholar in the field of [[feminist economics]].<ref>Jain, Devaki. 2005. ''Women, Development, and the UN – A Six-Year Quest for Equality and Justice.'' Bloomington: Indiana University Press. {{ISBN|0-253-34697-5}}</ref>
* [[Anuradha Ghandy]] (1954–2008) was an Indian communist, Proleterian Feminist, and revolutionary leader. She was a prominent leader of the banned [[Communist Party of India (Maoist)]] . In her book " Philosophical Trends in the Feminist Movement " , she outlines the history of the world's feminist movements and critiques them to create the foundation for proletarian feminism.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/33128290-philosophical-trends-in-the-feminist-movement|title=Anuradha Ghandy a world notable proleteriat feminist|language=en-US}}</ref>
* [[Brinda Karat]] – first woman member of the [[CPI(M)]] Politburo and former Vice President of the [[All India Democratic Women's Association]] (AIDWA).<ref>Karat, Brinda. ''Survival and Emancipation: Notes from Indian Women's Struggles''. Three Essays Collective, New Delhi, 2005. {{ISBN|81-88789-37-2}}.</ref>
* [[Madhu Kishwar]] – founding president of Manushi Sangathan, a forum that will promote greater social justice and strengthen human rights, especially for women. She founded the magazine ''[[Manushi|Manushi: A Journal about Women and Society]]'' devoted to feminism as well as to gender studies and activism in 1978 with [[Ruth Vanita]].<ref>[[Madhu Kishwar]]</ref><ref name="Manushi">[[Manushi]]</ref>
* [[Vina Mazumdar]] – secretary of the first Committee on the Status of Women in India and founding Director of [https://web.archive.org/web/20041211142951/http://www.cwds.org/index.htm Centre for Women's Development Studies] (CWDS).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.outlookindia.com/articlepopup.aspx?202376|title=First Anniversary Special – Fifty Faces, A Million Reasons: Vina Mazumdar : Gender Activist|date=23 October 1996|publisher=[[Outlook (Indian magazine)|Outlook]]|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609071453/http://www.outlookindia.com/articlepopup.aspx?202376|archive-date=9 June 2011|df=dmy-all}}</ref>
* [[Uma Narayan]] – feminist scholar, and Chair of Philosophy at [[Vassar College]].<ref>[[Uma Narayan]]</ref>
*[[Asra Nomani]] – Indian-American journalist, author of ''[[Standing Alone in Mecca|Standing Alone in Mecca: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam]]''
* [[Medha Patkar]] – feminist social worker and politician who advocates for women's rights in post-independence India.<ref name="Chaudhuri, Maitrayee 2005" /> 
* [[Angellica Aribam]] - Political activist, fourth-wave feminist working to get more women into politics.<ref>https://www.asiavillenews.com/article/womens-day-angellica-aribam-manipuri-political-activist-2659</ref>
* [[Manasi Pradhan]] – founder of [[Honour for Women National Campaign]], a nationwide movement to end violence against women in [[India]]
* [[Amrita Pritam]] – first woman to win the [[Sahitya Akademi Award]] for literature.
* [[Gita Sahgal]]<ref>[[Gita Sahgal]]</ref> – writer and journalist on issues of feminism, [[fundamentalism]], and racism, a director of prize-winning documentary films, and a [[women's rights]] and [[human rights activist]].<ref name="dd">{{cite news|url=http://www.thenation.com/doc/20100405/guttenplan_margaronis|title=Who Speaks for Human Rights? |last=Guttenplan|first=D.D.|author2=Margaronis, Maria|work=The Nation|access-date=20 March 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6iy0cLkigiEC&q=%22Gita+Sahgal%22&pg=PA205 |title=The situated politics of belonging – Google Books |access-date=4 March 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231072016/http://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=lang_en&id=6iy0cLkigiEC&oi=fnd&pg=PA205&dq=%22Gita+Sahgal%22&ots=AH_aL6Fol5&sig=lucO7p8ZlbF5dVOGtjYksPRKQ7M#v=onepage&q=%22Gita%20Sahgal%22&f=false |archive-date=31 December 2013 |df=dmy-all |isbn=9781412921015 |last1=Yuval-Davis |first1=Nira |last2=Kannabiran |first2=Kalpana |last3=Kannabirān |first3=Kalpana |last4=Vieten |first4=Ulrike |last5=Kannabiran |first5=Professor Regional Director Council for Social Development Kalpana |date=2006-08-10 }}</ref>
* [[Manikuntala Sen]] – politician in the [[Communist Party of India]] whose memoir described her experiences as a woman activist.<ref>Manikuntala Sen, ''In Search of Freedom: An Unfinished Journey'', (Calcutta: Stree, 2001). Translated from the Bengali by [[Bhatkal and Sen|Stree]]. Original Bengali title ''Shediner Katha'' (Calcutta: Nabapatra Prakashan, 1982).</ref>
* [[Vandana Shiva]] – environmentalist and prominent leader of the [[Ecofeminist]] movement.<ref>[http://www.unep.org/women_env/w_details.asp?w_id=107 Who's Who of Women and the Environment – Vandana Shiva] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121028084032/http://www.unep.org/women_env/w_details.asp?w_id=107 |date=28 October 2012 }} [[United Nations Environment Programme]] ([[UNEP]])</ref>
* [[Sophia Duleep Singh]] –<ref name="History">{{cite web|url=http://historysheroes.e2bn.org/hero/timeline/3521|title=Princess Sophia Duleep Singh – Timeline|publisher=History Heroes organization|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160614080027/http://historysheroes.e2bn.org/hero/timeline/3521|archive-date=14 June 2016|df=dmy-all}}</ref> prominent [[suffragette]] and daughter of [[Maharaja Dalip Singh|Maharaja Duleep Singh]]. She was a firebrand feminist and is best remembered for her leading role in the [[Women's Tax Resistance League]], but she also participated in other [[women's suffrage in the United Kingdom|women's suffrage]] groups including the [[Women's Social and Political Union]].<ref name="Anand">{{cite web|last=Anand|first=Anita|url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/Sophia-the-suffragette/articleshow/45839386.cms|title=Sophia, the suffragette|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=14 January 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150310025357/http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/Sophia-the-suffragette/articleshow/45839386.cms|archive-date=10 March 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Secret documents revealed her identity as a firebrand "harridan law breaker" for her diaries revealed that she maintained contacts with the leaders of the [[Indian nationalist movement]] like [[Gopalkrishna Gokhale]], [[Sarala Devi Chaudhurani|Sarala Devi]] and [[Lala Lajpat Rai]].<ref name="Anand" />
* [[Nivedita Menon]] – feminist and academic. Author of ''Seeing like a Feminist''.
* [[Nandini Sahu]] – eco-feministic Indian English poet and academic. Author of ''Sita (A poem)''.
* [[Ruth Vanita]] – academic, activist and author who specializes in lesbian and gay studies, gender studies, British and South Asian literary history. She founded the magazine ''[[Manushi|Manushi: A Journal about Women and Society]]'' devoted to feminism as well as to gender studies and activism in 1978 with [[Madhu Kishwar]].<ref name="Manushi" /><ref>[[Ruth Vanita]]</ref>
* [[Ramarao Indira]] – academic, critic, rationalist who is an expert in modern feminism thoughts. She has written many articles and books on feminism in [[Kannada]] and [[English language|English]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://r-indira.com/projects.html|title=Professor Dr. R.Indira|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219222657/http://r-indira.com/projects.html|archive-date=19 February 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-355433820.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924154647/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-355433820.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2015-09-24|title=Prof. R. Indira Elected as Secretary of Indian Sociological Society|journal=Star of Mysore (Mysore, India)|date=2014-01-13}}</ref>
* [[Theilin Phanbuh]] – chairperson of the ''Meghalaya State Commission for Women'' and [[Padma Shri]] awardee<ref name="Take stern action against girl’s murderer">{{cite web | url=http://www.ohmeghalaya.com/take-stern-action-against-girls-murderer/ | title=Take stern action against girl's murderer | publisher=Oh Meghalaya | date=6 October 2015 | access-date=December 4, 2015 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208152811/http://www.ohmeghalaya.com/take-stern-action-against-girls-murderer/ | archive-date=8 December 2015 | df=dmy-all }}</ref><ref name="Women's Commission Seeks Report on Tribal Woman's Death in Police Station">{{cite web | url=http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/womens-commission-seeks-report-on-tribal-woman-death-in-ps-779209 | title=Women's Commission Seeks Report on Tribal Woman's Death in Police Station | publisher=ND TV | date=8 July 2015 | access-date=December 4, 2015 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208051346/http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/womens-commission-seeks-report-on-tribal-woman-death-in-ps-779209 | archive-date=8 December 2015 | df=dmy-all }}</ref>
* [[Kirthi Jayakumar]] – founder of The Red Elephant Foundation, Author, Artist and Intersectional Feminist.
* [[Sharmila Rege]] – sociologist, Dalit Feminist, Activist in academia and Teacher of [[Women's studies|Women's Studies]] at [[Krantijyoti Savitribai Phule Women's Studies Center]], [[Savitribai Phule Pune University]], Pune.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=John|first=Mary|date=2013|title=Obituary Sharmila Rege, 1964–2013|journal=Contributions to Indian Sociology|volume=47|issue=3|pages=445–448|doi=10.1177/0069966713506396|s2cid=147554093}}</ref> 
* [[Neera Desai]] – founder of first Research Centre for Women's Studies in [[SNDT Women's University]]. She wrote her M.A. thesis on Women in Modern India, with a particular focus on the [[Bhakti movement|Bhakti Movement]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Indian Association for Women's Studies (IAWS) • Special Issue • December 2009, Volume II, No.5}}</ref> 
*[[Rajeswari Sunder Rajan]] – contemporary feminist and academic. Author of ''Real and Imagined Women: Gender, Culture, and Postcolonialism''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://as.nyu.edu/content/nyu-as/as/faculty/rajeswari-rajan.html|title=Rajeswari Sunder Rajan|website=as.nyu.edu|language=en-US|access-date=2018-11-17}}</ref>
*[[Gita Sen]] – academic, scholar, and activist specializing in population policy. She has worked with the [[United Nations System]] and is the General Coordinator of DAWN ([[Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era]]). Currently,{{when|date=January 2019}} Sen is an adjunct professor at [[Harvard University]] and a Professor Emeritus at the [[Indian Institute of Management Bangalore]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://icpdtaskforce.org/member/gita-sen/|title=Gita Sen » High-Level Task Force for the International Conference on Population and Development (Secretariat)|language=en|access-date=2018-12-15}}</ref>
*[[Nandini Sahu]] – contemporary eco-feministic Indian English Poet and Professor at IGNOU. Author of ''Sita (An Epic) ''
*[[Jyoti Puri]] - Hazel Dick Leonard Chair and Professor of Sociology at [[Simmons University]]. She is a leading feminist sociologist who advocates for [[Transnationalism|transnational]] and [[Postcolonialism|postcolonial]] approaches to the study of gender, sexuality, state, nationalism, and death and migration. Focus includes anti-[[sodomy]] laws in [[India]].

==See also==
{{Div col|colwidth=15em}}
* [[Dalit feminism]]
* [[Domestic violence in India]]
* [[Dowry system in India]]
* [[Female foeticide in India]]
* [[Feminist theology]]
* [[Gender inequality in India]]
* [[Gender pay gap in India]]
* [[Islamic feminism]]
* [[Men's rights movement in India]]
* [[National Commission for Women]]
* [[Rape in India]]
* [[Sexism in India]]
* [[Welfare schemes for women in India]]
* [[Women in agriculture in India]]
* [[Women in Hinduism]]
* [[Women in India]]
* [[Women in Islam]]
* [[Women in Indian Armed Forces]]
* [[Women's Reservation Bill]]
* [[Women's suffrage in India]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{Reflist|group=N}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | last1 = Bhasin | first1 = Kamla | last2 = Khan | first2 = Nighat Said | title = Some questions on feminism and its relevance in South Asia | publisher = [[Kali for Women]] | location = New Delhi | year = 1986 | isbn = 9788185107141 }}
* {{cite book | last = Chaudhuri | first = Maitrayee | title = Feminism in India | publisher = Zed Books | location = London New York New York | series = Issues in Contemporary Indian Feminism | year = 2005 | isbn = 9781842776025 }}
* Madhavananda, and R. C. Majumdar.  Great women of India. Mayavati (2014)
* {{citation | last1 = Jain | first1 = Pratibha | last2 = Sharma | first2 = Sangeeta | contribution = Women in the freedom struggle: invisible images | editor-last1 = Jain | editor-first1 = Pratibha | editor-last2 = Sharma | editor-first2 = Sangeeta | title = Women images | publisher = Rawat Publications | location = Jaipur | year = 1995 | oclc = 34318242 | postscript = .}}
* {{Cite journal | last1 = Singh | first = Maina Chawla | title = Feminism in India | journal = [[Asian Journal of Women's Studies]] | volume = 10 | issue = 2 | pages = BR2 | date = June 2004 | url = http://home.ewha.ac.kr/~acws/eng/ | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160118221223/http://home.ewha.ac.kr/~acws/eng/ | url-status = dead | archive-date = 2016-01-18 }} 
* {{cite book | last = Kishwar | first = Madhu | author-link = Madhu Kishwar | title = Zealous reformers, deadly laws: battling stereotypes | publisher = [[Sage Publications]] | location = Los Angeles | year = 2008 | isbn = 9780761936374 }}
*Madhu Kishwar."The Daughters of Aryavarta: Women in the Arya Samaj movement, Punjab." In Women in Colonial India; Essays on Survival, Work and the State, edited by J. Krishnamurthy, Oxford University Press, 1989.

==External links==
*[http://www.manushi.in/  Manushi – Forum for Women’s Rights and Democratic Reforms]
*[http://womennewsnetwork.net/2007/11/05/nothing-to-go-back-to-the-fate-of-the-widows-of-vrindavan-india/ "Nothing to Go Back To – The Fate of the Widows of Vrindavan, India"] WNN – Women News Network 5 Nov 2007

{{Asia topic|Feminism in}}
{{Social issues in India}}
{{Religion and politics}}

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[[Category:Feminism in India| ]]
[[Category:Indian culture]]
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[[Category:Feminism by country|India]]