Woospire

Author: Mayuravarshini Mohana

  • Feminism and Womanism

    Feminism and Womanism

    ‘Feminism’ is a word that the majority of us are familiar with. It occupies our discussions, our debates, our spats, our thoughts, our writing and our lifestyle. As pervasive as feminism is today, a lot of us remain unaware of womanism.

    What exactly is womanism? Well, let’s find out!

    Womanism

    Over the years a lot of African American women advocating social equality have expressed their dissatisfaction with feminism. They feel that feminism is not for them. Why? They find the movement not sufficiently inclusive. Sheri Parks, a professor of American studies at the University of Maryland and author of Fierce Angels: The Strong Black Woman in American Life and Culture said to USA Today, “The things that black women need to push for are quite different than what we think of as the mainstream feminist movement.”

    Womanism is the feminism adopted by women of colour, particularly Black feminists, at the intersection of race, class and gender. Unlike feminism, it does not isolate the impact of sexism but looks at its interplay with racial and classist discrimination. It challenges the racist discrimination of feminism and sexist discrimination within the African American community.

    The term ‘womanist’ was first used by Alice Walker in her 1979 short story ‘Coming Apart’ and later in her 1983 book “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens: Womanist Prose.” ‘Womanism’ draws from the expression of Black mothers who call their courageous, serious, responsible and wilful daughters as ‘womanish’. It contrasts the girlish ways of behaviour expected of them. The term differs succinctly from feminism because it is rooted in femininity as well as culture, while also encompassing the sensibilities of feminism and spirituality. It is visionary in nature for it conceives of a humanist community that springs from the concrete experiences of oppression undergone by African American women.

    To further explicate, Walker provides the metaphor of a garden, where there is room for all flowers to bloom. Womanism is a humanist ideology of which feminism is a subtype. It commits itself to the welfare of both men and women. It is for everybody. Womanism was adopted to counter the exclusivity of the feminist movement which paraded as a championing of women’s causes, when the ‘women’ in question referred only to White middle class college-educated females.

    Intersectionality and Criticism of the Second Wave

    We are well aware that patriarchal societies are modelled on clear cut gender roles through which the oppression of women is achieved. Men are declared breadwinners and women are to be primary caregivers. Today, however, we witness many women having successful careers of their own. Women’s advent into white collar workforce is largely owed to the second wave of feminism which spanned from early 1960s to mid-1980s in the United States.

    When a large number of American men had left to fight in the Second World War, women stepped in to perform professional tasks. But as soon as the war ended and the men returned, women were expected to return to their homes.

    An increasing assertion on ‘ideal’ femininity post-war meant that women were forced to resign to their traditional role of housewife. Women were expected to be of a doll-like nature, submissive and with no political opinions of their own. It was alleged that women drew their purpose, happiness and satisfaction only from within the sphere of domesticity, a place where they truly belonged. Friedan’s Feminine Mystique addressed this as ‘the problem that had no name’. What Friedan saw was a curbing of a natural human desire to grow and that these women were suffering from acute boredom. They sensed a stagnated self and a profound unhappiness caught in the rut of the mundane ‘femininity’. Clearly, they aspired for more. “We can no longer ignore that voice within women that says: ‘I want something more than my husband and my children and my home.’”- Friedan concludes the first chapter. The voice of these women longed for personal fulfilment through an advent into the professional sphere. The second wave feminist movement was thus purposed with the admission of women to the hitherto space of the White male.

    At this point, the word ‘woman’ requires a microscopic inspection for therein lies the problem. Who are these women who are so incredibly bored that they lose a sense of purpose? Who exactly does Friedan refer to when she says ‘the voice within women’? What Friedan’s feminism brandished as ‘the’ sexist issue was truly the experience of the middle-class White woman. The Feminine Mystique had turned a blind eye to Black women and women of colour. It advocated what bell hooks termed a ‘one dimensional perspective’.

    The prominent concerns of the second-wave feminist movement were the assertion of women’s right to work, in addition to expanding reproductive rights. At every step, the movement appeared to ignore the discrimination encountered by the larger mass of women. When the movement sounded the clarion for women’s entry into the workforce, women of colour and poor white women were already performing blue collar jobs for generations. Their experience of discrimination was more on terms of race and class. Sexism did not define their oppression but only furthered it. And so the movement came under heavy criticism from feminist scholars like Audre Lorde, bell hooks and Angela Davis. Intersectionality gained momentum.

    Womanism- Intersectionality and Beyond

    Kimberle Crenshaw an American law professor coined the term ‘Intersectionality’ in 1989. It considers the overlapping of a person’s myriad social identities and their interplay in effecting oppression and discrimination. It is not only race, class and gender that intersect but also factors such as ableism, body norms, age, sexuality and so on. As a result, the experience of social inequality is bound to vary among individuals.

    African American women continue to embrace womanism because it is inclusive, dynamic and rooted in culture. It is workable both on an academic level as well as in ground-reality. It is centred on intersectionality but its approach brings together theology, spirituality and communal healing. Clenora Hudson-Weems finds that womanism is ‘family-oriented’ while feminism is ‘female-oriented’.

    It is undeniable that womanism is more dynamic than feminism. As Alice Walker famously stated, “Womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender.”

  • Sexism and Stereotyping in Advertisements

    Sexism and Stereotyping in Advertisements

    Advertisements most often advocate a fantastical pseudo reality where a single product or service can quell all your troubles, and life becomes picture-perfect. A true brain-child of capitalism, they convert our wants into needs. They even redefine and reshape the notions of social dynamics. Consider the plethora of advertisements that tell us we aren’t ‘cool’ enough unless we have that soft drink, and that if we are ‘really’ popular why haven’t we purchased this bike yet?

    The fundamental idea behind advertisements is to tell us what we don’t have and what we ought to. Too tired to do the dishes, here’s a dishwasher! Want to crack the job interview for which you’ve been working hard but to no avail, here’s the right perfume for the task! As entertaining as they sometimes are, advertisements are also guilty of something bigger. Most of the time, it isn’t only products that they promote. They sell stereotypes, misogyny, unattainable beauty standards and body norms.

    Sexism in advertisements is both on lines of the target audience as well as the portrayal of its featured characters. The former entails what is called gender targeting. Most of us would have noticed that there are certain products which are purely aimed at a specific gender. When they do, it mostly targets women. Think of the countless advertisements for cleaning products, kitchen ware, masalas, condiments, washing machines, baby care products and so on. Apparently whatever concerns the hearth concerns women. Such advertisements are based off stereotypes that propagate age old gender norms and essentialism. It enunciates what feminism fights to erase- traditional gender roles.

    Sexism even pervades the parameters by which companies advertise their products. For instance, adverts for female inner garments seem to focus more on comfort, while those for men promise ‘female attention’. Advertisements which look for a masculine appeal to the products, almost always objectify women.

    Let’s Sample Some Sexism!

    American advertisements from the Mad Men Era (the 1950s and 60s) are infamous for their rampant sexism. At a time when the second wave feminism was in its nascent stage, the American society largely embraced male chauvinism. In a majority of the ads women were dull, subservient, doll-like and meant to be ‘put in their place’. In fact they were so riddled with incapability that the tagline for a twist off ketchup bottle went ‘You mean a woman can open it?’ And not to forget, women are terrible drivers…

    A 1970s ad featured in Playboy magazine shows a beautiful, bare-breasted woman lying on the floor gazing at a man’s shoe. The slogan reads: “Keep her where she belongs …”

    ..and being a housewife was their true calling. A 1969 Ford Cortina advertisement advised men, their primary audience, that if they were to buy their wife the cross-flow Cortina they better make her take a pledge to get all the housework done before driving away to show it off. Here’s a sample of the delightful pledge: ‘I WILL spend more time behind the wheel of the sewing machine than the padded wheel of my Cortina and running through my smooth automatic transmission’

    Sneaky Sexism

    We might think times have changed. Advertisements are no longer so rashly sexist. Well, Philippa Roberts and Jane Cunningham disagree. Their book Brandsplaining: Why Marketing is (Still) Sexist, exposes that brands appear to adopt gender positivity while still being sexist under the table. The authors call it ‘sneaky sexism’. They point out that when ads are closely looked at they still use age old practises such as objectification and shaming. Tokenism is also a favourite. ‘Weight-loss’ is sold as ‘wellness’ and anti-ageing as ‘ageless’. So instead of saying ‘you aren’t slim enough’ advertisements take a pseudo-good will stance of cheering ‘you can do it!!’

    Impact

    Tim Parkin, global brand marketing expert, told Forbes magazine that by the time a girl reaches 17 years of age, she would have seen around a quarter of a million advertisements, a majority of which advocate stereotypes. The role of advertisements in gender socialisation could never become more apparent. Girls and boys are taught from a young age to behave a certain way. Since advertisements glorify conventional masculinity and femininity through the stereotypes, they become tools that coerce individuals to play out their assigned parts. Individuals willingly perform their roles for social acceptance, thereby strengthening stereotypes.

    The lack of gender inclusivity is apparent in the predominance of heteronormative characters that populate advertisements. The dynamics played out in a majority of ads, albeit problematic, envision a world exclusive to heterosexual cis men and cis women. By vehemently portraying a skewed reality, they ‘advertise’ not only products, schemes or services but systemic discrimination at large.

    Femvertising

    Femvertising is a change in the course of advertising, where adverts become opportunities to promote images and messages of women and girl empowerment. They tear through the pseudo-reality to present women as they truly are. Dove’s self-esteem project is a wonderful example. When done right, femvertising is a glorious piece of human effort towards gender positivity.

    When done right.

    On August 7, 2017 the fashion brand Boohoo launched #allgirls, an ‘inclusive’ campaign that missed the mark. It brandished body positivity while failing to include disabled, plus-sized or trans girls among many others. They also brandished a ‘girls of all ages, going through life’s stages’ claim, while coming under heavy criticism for not having casted anyone who looked above 30.

    The Unstereotype Alliance

    All is not bleak.

    A platform convened by Un Women, The Unstereotype Alliance brings together global marketers in an effort to eradicate detrimental gender-stereotypes that are found in media and advertising in a step towards conducing gender equality.
    Here’s to hoping that henceforth, the only way we move is forward.

  • Is Reverse Sexism Real?

    Is Reverse Sexism Real?

    Feminism is often accused of reverse sexism i.e. discrimination against men and boys. But those who hurl these claims lack a fundamental understanding of the movement. They claim that it attempts to reverse the existing hierarchy and in the processes ‘oppresses’ men.

    Clearly, nothing can be farther from the truth.

    Melissa. A .Fabello in her iconic essay Why Reverse Oppression Simply Cannot Exist rightfully calls the concept ‘the straw man of reverse oppression’. A straw man argument is an attempt to refute the opposition’s proposition by misrepresenting it. Reverse sexism is based off a skewed perception of feminism. What requires fundamental understanding is that feminism is not an attack on men. Instead, the movement challenges the systems and institutions which facilitate the dominance of one gender over the other. Instead it is an egalitarian movement that beseeches a society where access to opportunities and resources is equally available.

    Many scholars and feminists argue that reverse sexism isn’t real. What is referred to in its name is a dictionary definition of sexism- ‘prejudice, stereotyping or discrimination on the basis of sex.’ This definition implies that men and women can equally practise sexism against the other.

    What is sexism?

    Sexism is not just discrimination based on gender. It is so much more. It works as part of a social hierarchy among genders and is sustained by methodically devised systems of oppression. It is perpetrated through customs, rites, and cultural beliefs over a long period of time. Sexism against women constructs an essentialist concept of womanhood as inferior and incapable.

    Sexism is to otherise women.

    Sexism, is telling a woman that she is impure because she bleeds or that she isn’t ‘womanly’ if she doesn’t; it is to stage witch hunts because women who transgress subservience must have made a deal with the devil; it is to isolate women from societal participation, to underrepresent women in leadership roles, to practise female infanticide, to normalise marital abuse, harassment and violence, to objectify women, to treat her as property, to question a woman’s character if she walks out of a marriage, to make it women’s duty to flatter male ego, to victim blame because ‘girls mature faster than boys’…

    It is without doubt that the cornerstones of sexism are ‘to deny, to dismiss and to disparage.’ Sexism against women translates to denied education, digital gender divide, lack of economic independence, pay gap, disparity in rights and so on. It is embedded in our history. Since it is a time sustained institution, a large social machine, it revitalises, revamps and adapts itself to changing times.

    Why Reverse Sexism Does not Exist

    The keywords of sexism are: methodical oppression, power relations, privilege and hierarchy.

    When women discriminate against men, hold prejudices based on stereotypes it doesn’t translate to sexism. By doing so women don’t attain a higher social position; the pervasive gender hierarchy is not inverted. Oppression by nature is unidirectional, flowing from the oppressor to the oppressed; so what is passed as ‘oppression’ in reverse sexism isn’t so.

    Moreover, men are not systemically denied education, economic independence, equal pay, equal opportunities or equal rights based solely on their gender. Sexism does not integrate into their very fabric of existence, governing every aspect of their life.

    By no means does the argument invalidate the discrimination faced by men. Patriarchal norms such as ideal masculinity and heteronormativity do take a toll on men who don’t conform to these notions. The claim is not that all men wield absolute power in society. However, it is undeniable that in a patriarchal society being a man is inherently advantageous.

    Reverse sexism is only a desperate retaliation, a weak counterthrust to the thrust of a movement that seeks to dismantle the hierarchy. To claim that feminism attempts to put women in power over men stems from a blinkered attitude. Reverse sexism does not exist.

  • The Prominent Challenges Faced by Women Journalists

    The Prominent Challenges Faced by Women Journalists

    ‘Women don’t have what it takes’
    ‘The job is too risky for you’

    These are things a girl is bound to here when she expresses an interest in journalism. For a great period of time, journalism remained exclusively a man’s job. Eventually women did venture in and when they did, they faced sexist discrimination. They were often side-lined to cover ‘women’s topics’ such as food, fashion, family and furniture. Fast forward to the 21st century and things don’t look very bright. Even today, journalists like Barkha Dutt complain of a gendering of opportunities. To break through the stereotypes, women are forced to work twice as hard, yet receive substandard entitlements.

    Female journalists are targeted for the work they do, as well as for their gender. The challenges they face are hybrids of both these aspects. Since journalism has a crucial importance in democracy and society at large, the challenges that women face are exacerbated as they are exposed to the larger misogyny of the public. Here are some of the prominent challenges erected against female journalists.

    Under-representation of women

    Un Women, citing a study called The Global Media Monitoring Project that spanned 20 years across 114 countries, states that as of 2015 only 24 per cent of the persons seen, heard or read about in a newspaper, television and radio news are women. There is a striking imbalance in gender representation and it perpetuates a skewed image of media as a boy’s club. Moreover, women are ghettoised during prime time coverage where viewership is at its maximum. According to The European Platform of Regulatory Authorities (EPRA), in France women representation drops to 29% during peak hours.

    With journalism being acclaimed as the fourth pillar of democracy, gender inclusivity becomes all the more essential. Gender imbalanced portrayal of the fourth estate reaffirms existing stereotypes and widens the gender gap in women’s participation. It is without doubt that organisations must make sincere efforts in increasing women participation beyond the limits of tokenism. However, the fact remains that merely increasing the number of women does not uproot workplace sexism such as gender pay gap, discrimination in assignments and the glass ceiling.

    The glass-ceiling

    Glass ceiling is a term coined in 1986 by a column in the Wall Street Journal. It refers to a barrier in a person’s career growth stemming from organisational bias or prejudice. It is identified as a restrictive system that hinders women and members of ethnic minorities from climbing up the ladder. The discriminatory practices in work cultures, from which journalism is not exempt, fails to admit women into the upper echelons of the field.

    It is believed that most women journalists are unable to break the glass ceiling because they quit their jobs after having kids. The demanding nature of journalistic work is tough on work-life balance. Without sufficient time to discharge the ‘caregiver’ duties at home, most women experience pressure from their families and ultimately resign their positions. Social norms hold only women in charge of caregiving, as a result of which their career becomes dispensable.

    Leadership Gap

    The representation of women in leadership roles continues to be a major feminist concern. A factsheet by Reuters, 2020 analysing 200 major offline and online news outlets points out that only 20% among the sample had women editors. In Japan, none of the major news outlets under consideration had a woman editor.
    Most organisations across the corporate world still consider cis men as default leaders. Stereotyped masculinity is considered more capable and hence befitting of leadership roles. If women are appointed, it is most often a case of the glass cliff or of companies having a circumstantial preference for stereotypical female straits in leadership roles. Either way, women are discriminated against. What surprises most is that, as the factsheet reports, even countries such as South Korea and Germany which have fared well in the UN Gender Inequality Index have very few women in editorial roles.

    Gender Pay Gap

    In early 2020, Samira Ahmed, the Newswatch presenter won an employment tribunal against BBC. The accusation was that Jeremy Vine, her male counterpart, was paid £3000 per episode as opposed to Ahmed’s remuneration of £440. The tribunal agreed that the broadcaster had no convincing evidence to justify the disparity. It was a clear case of gender discrimination.

    Gender pay gap is an issue that women encounter across professions. Even in jobs that are considered traditionally female, like nursing, men earn higher. This attitudinal bias asserts that men are the primary bread winners and it affects women severely. In addition to unfair compensation of work, pay gaps also translate to limited savings and weaker retirement funds for women.

    To counter the disparity, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) had launched the global campaign #PayMeEqual on International Women’s Day 2021 to advocate equal pay for women journalists. The BBC, under former director general Tony Hall had set out to close the gender gap by 2020. Though they had failed to achieve the target, Tim Davie, Hall’s replacement, believe they should be proud of the progress.

    Harassment

    It is well known that ethical journalism takes a lot of courage and is done at the risk of retortive violence, verbal and/or physical. When it comes to women journalists, the threats become more sexually targeted. A report released by Reporters Without Borders in March 2021, concluded that female journalists fear working in nearly 40 countries and that they cite sexual harassment as the most prominent threat they face in their home countries.

    In response to an international survey fielded by the International Centre for Journalists and UNESCO, 73% of the female respondents stated that they had encountered online abuse and harassment. For 20% of them the threats had concretised to physical attacks. The pandemic has worsened things. In what is being termed ‘shadow pandemic’, the rise in violence against women during Covid-19 period exacerbates the online violence encountered by women journalists.
    Even if online threats don’t spill over to physical violence, the abusive and misogynist backlash faced by female journalists affect their mental health. Some journalists even turn to therapy to deal with it. Such constant misogyny and inimical treatment discourage a lot of women from venturing into the profession, furthering the gender gap.

    It is disheartening that journalism continues to be looked at as an unsuitable career for women, part on account of safety and part on stereotype. Despite the hostile challenges and threats, accomplished journalists such as Faye D’souza, Nidhi Razdhan and Neha Dixit push the boundaries set by organised sexism and continue to inspire many aspiring journalists. It is truly empowering to realise that they assert their voices in a system that persists in its attempt to silence them.

  • How important is Learning, Unlearning and Relearning to Feminism

    How important is Learning, Unlearning and Relearning to Feminism

    “When any real progress is made, we unlearn and learn anew what we thought we knew before”

    – H.D. Thoreau

    Learning is fundamental to human existence. Every inch of progress made right from the day we learnt to harness fire, to craft spears, to grow our own food and to build houses is owed to our wonderful ability to learn. Without it, we would have ceased to evolve. Standing alongside learning in importance is unlearning and relearning. As far as feminism is concerned, they have an integral part to play.

    Learning

    Feminism is certainly a movement that has become more inclusive and dynamic over the years. At its root it is an egalitarian movement working against social discrimination. Beginning with the demand for suffrage and reproductive rights, feminism grew over the period to encompass various concerns of oppression in an ever changing world, as and when they came up. It goes without saying that understanding the onset and course of a movement is crucial to further its cause.
    However, learning in feminism cannot be limited to the history and development of the movement.

    The first step in learning, as far as feminism is concerned, is to open oneself up to the ideas of the movement. Our understanding of the world and its inhabitants is largely guided by the stereotypes we have internalised. Take for instance the portrayal of the trans community in Indian films. Not only do most films propagate stereotyping, they are often fundamentally offensive in nature. In this light, learning is also a synchronic awareness of the varied and complex expressions of patriarchy. The pandemic for instance has facilitated what V (formerly Eve Ensler) terms disaster patriarchy in her famous essay “Disaster patriarchy: how the pandemic has unleashed a war on women”. It is the opportunistic usage of a crisis to reassert male dominance and patriarchal norms.

    The absence of learning signals complacency, and thence begins the stagnation of a movement. If not for the readiness to learn, feminism would have long since shut itself within the chapters of the past.

    Unlearning

    Caught within the large system of patriarchy, none of us are truly free. Patriarchy is a stringent restriction upon genuine expressions of self. To put it in simple terms, in a patriarchal world we cannot be who we truly are. Instead, we have to be a certain kind of someone based on our intersecting identities of caste, class, gender, nationality, sexuality and so on. Instead of authenticity we recommend stereotypes. Instead of honest self-expression we promote pretentiousness. Through an intricately crafted reward-punishment system the majority of us are made to conform to social norms.

    From a very young age we have learnt a good deal about the way the world allegedly works. We’ve learnt even more on what is ‘normal’ and what is not. Unlearning is not a process of reversal. You don’t wipe existing knowledge from memory and start again. Instead you learn that what you thought to be right and what you were taught to be right is not so. Without unlearning, any attempt to transgress stereotypes and normative behaviour only reaffirms the misogyny, the homophobia, the transphobia and the several other products of our jaundiced outlook.

    A girl who wishes to resist normative femininity would abhor ‘girly’ traits and those who exhibit it. She would disapprove of girls who genuinely like the colour pink or makeup and dismiss them as being stereotypical. Discrimination will still remain in play. The purpose of unlearning is to realise that as long as we work within the design of an oppressive framework, we ultimately validate it.

    Relearning

    On a more intimate level, relearning is to reform yourself. In addition to learning and unlearning, it is important to relearn so that when you look around and see a woman in a miniskirt, a guy with painted nails, a man expressing emotional vulnerability, an adoptive parent, a girl in control of her sexuality, a gay couple or a stay-at home dad, you wouldn’t toss your head in disapproval. Instead, you would celebrate the diversity of human expression and experience, and the emancipation from stereotypes. By doing so, you grow as a person.

    Unlearning and relearning will cause great perplexity. It will stir up a battle in your inner self. You will be torn apart by the already internalised patriarchy and the growing feminist. An anonymous reader of an advice column by Eleanor Gordon-Smith in The Guardian poised a succinctly phrased question. In it, they wrote, ‘There are two wolves inside me. One is a feminist. The other wants to be thin and beautiful. I am so tired of being caught between them” Chances are, most of us committed to the feminist cause experience this rift between feeling and awareness. What makes patriarchy a formidable opponent is that it is sown into us and nurtured from a very tender age. Young minds are like wet clay, easy to impress upon. That way, gender socialisation scores big in corrupting us. But we are all the wiser for having realised the oppressive nature of patriarchy. Relearning is an effort to reconstitute ourselves, and I admit it is a massive project. But it is one truly worth the effort.

    Feminism is a constant process of learning, unlearning and relearning. A feminist is not someone who has it all figured out. What matters is to commit to the cause of social equality across socially constructed identities, to embrace what could be a lifetime’s worth of relearning, and never look back.

  • Remembering the Women who paved way for Women’s Education in India

    Remembering the Women who paved way for Women’s Education in India

    The significance of education in any society is beyond debate. It has the miraculous power to dispel ignorance and empower a person to grow holistically. In a societal setting, it promotes social progress, and is the ultimate weapon against poverty and other social evils. It is no wonder that comprehensive and healthy education is considered a panacea.

    Feminism has embraced women’s education because in many ways it counters patriarchy. It facilitates economic independence and empowers women to reclaim their rights. As a country we have come far in acknowledging the importance of women’s education. ‘If you educate a woman you educate a nation’ says an African proverb.

    It is no secret that women were denied access to education for ages. But all that has changed due to the consistent and relentless work of many women who have challenged oppressive systems and have collectively brought education to women. Here, we remember a few of them.

    Chandraprabha Saikiani

    Chandraprabha Saikiani
    Chandraprabha Saikiani

    Considered the pioneer of feminist movement in Assam, Chandraprabha Saikiani was a freedom fighter, writer, activist and social reformer. Born on 16 March, 1901 in Assam, Chandraprabha remains an extolled figure till date. The lack of a girl’s school in her locality did not discourage her relentless pursuit of education. Instead, she travelled a considerable distance to study at a boy’s school. True to the generous spirit of any social reformer, in the evenings Chandraprabha would teach the girls of her village the day’s learning. To that end she established a girl’s school, a makeshift shed, in Akaya village at the age of 13. This is where Neelkanta Barua, a school inspector, spotted her and facilitated a scholarship for Chandraprabha and her sister Rajaniprabha at Nagaon Mission School. Rajaniprabha would later on become the first female doctor of Assam.

    Chandraprabha’s activism was well-rounded in that it actively sought equality of all sections of the society. She fiercely challenged anything that came in the way. She founded the Assam Pradeshik Mahila Samiti in 1926, to tackle child marriage and discrimination against women in addition to addressing women’s education.

    The society she lived in was plagued by casteist and sexist restrictions. It was unfathomable for a person of a lower caste to have access to any of the social entitlements accorded to the dominant castes. The patriarchy was so pervasive that it was unusual for a woman to have a voice and an opinion of her own. At a time when panels where exclusive to men, Chandraprabha delivered her opinion on the damaging effects of opium consumption to a large audience. It was the first time a woman addressed a public gathering in Assam. Seeing that women were banned from entering certain temples, she constructed the Hajo Hayagriva Madhava temple which was open to all, irrespective of class, gender and caste. Chandraprabha Saikiani, with her fierce and rebellious activism, was certainly a godsend anomaly.

    Savitribai Phule

    Savitribai Phule
    Savitribai Phule

    Any discourse on women’s education in India cannot go past the soaring edifice of Savitribai Phule. . Known as the mother of feminism in India, Savitribai was born on January 3, 1831 in Naigaon village in Maharashtra. She is credited with starting the first school for girls in India at Pune in 1848. She was illiterate and only nine years of age when she married Jyotiba Phule. Being a staunch advocate of education for social equality, Jyotiba Phule taught his wife whenever she brought lunch for him in the field. He later enrolled her in a teacher’s training institute in Pune. Savitribai’s contribution to education was such that efforts were taken to mark January 3rd as Teacher’s Day. Nevertheless the day is observed as Balika Din in Maharashtra.

    The couple were against oppression and sedulously sought the emancipation and social progress of the deprived sections. They started a school at Bhide Wada with a western curriculum encompassing science, maths and social sciences. The unique teaching methodology practised in their schools drastically increased girl child enrolment. By 1851, they had three schools for girls under their belt. Their egalitarian outlook and commitment to each other and their cause makes them a power couple in Indian history.

    Any reform movement that threatens orthodoxy and prevalent norms is destined to face counterinsurgency from the society. History is abounding with testimonies. So it is not surprising that the gatekeepers of oppression rallied in opposition to the revolutionary radicalism of the Phules. They lived in a period when education was monopolised and the Phules’ initiative to democratize it angered the crowd. Their work had been termed ‘evil’ and as a consequence the couple had extensively faced harassment. Every day as Savitribai walked to her school, stone, mud and dirt were flung at her, none of which managed to deter her. She faced resistance even from her own brother who was so convinced of the sanctity of oppressive social order that he believed his sister was garnering insult to the family.

    In a letter to her husband in 1856, Savitribai eloquently points out that the absence of education is symptomatic of ‘gross bestiality’. Her conviction of the empowering potential of education guided her vision and mission throughout what is irrefutably a remarkable life. Despite all the resistance and attacks hurled at her by a casteist and sexist society, her fiery spirit penned down one of the primordial chapters of Indian feminism.

    Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy

    Muthulakshmi Reddy
    Muthulakshmi Reddy

    The multifaceted Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy is often considered the unsung feminist of India. Donning the hats of educator, legislator and social reformer, she set precedent as an empowered woman with her academic and reformist achievements. When she wished to pursue her higher education at the Maharajas College at Pudukottai, a men’s college, she suffered great backlash. Several protests erupted and the parents of the enrolled students threatened to withdraw their wards. Yet, the progressive Raja of Pudukottai admitted her against all opposition, and history was made.

    With numerous achievements to her merit such as the founding of the Adyar Cancer Institute, becoming the first female Indian member of a Legislative Council and one of the first woman doctors of the country, Muthulakshmi’s contribution to women’s education, especially that of devadasis, is to be remembered.
    During her period, while reform through legislation was underway, a deep-rooted social stigma still haunted the devadasis. When a few girls sought refuge with Muthulakshmi from the devadasi system, she started the Avvai home in 1931, which functions to date. The home also opened itself to orphaned girls and destitute women across social barriers and committed itself to educating them. Even today, the mission statement of Avvai home remains, ‘Life of Dignity through Education’.

    Woman Educator of Today- Muktaben Dagli

    An inspiration to many, Muktaben Dagli was not discouraged by her visual impairment and founded Pragnachaksu Mahila Seva Kunj in 1995, a nonprofit school for blind and visually impaired women. Charging no fee for education, the school imparts knowledge on an array of different skills such as computer coding and braille studies. Many of the students have gone on to have successful careers.

    While gender equality remains a work in progress, feminist movements, true to its name, will always be in motion. While our country inches towards 100% literacy, the prominent gender gap in education is to be comprehensively addressed. Poverty, child marriage and the stigma around menstruation are a few factors curbing women’s education. Activism that addresses any or all of these elements is paving way to reduce the gender gap. When women’s education is still a social concern, we will always be in need of social reformers and activists. While pioneers such as Anutai Wagh, Tarabai Shinde and Begum Zafar Ali adorn the pages of our feminist history, it is equally important to remember contemporary leaders like Muktaben Dagil and take collective responsibility in carrying the torch.