Feminism in India

Feminism in India is a set of movements that aim to define, establish, and defend the equal political, economic, and social rights of Indian women, as well as to achieve equal opportunities within Indian society. It is the pursuit of women's rights within India's society, having among its goals: equal pay, equal access to health and education and equal political rights. Indian feminists have also fought against cultural issues concrete examples of patriarchal Indian society such as the laws of inheritance or the Satí rite, the act of immolation of widowed women.

The history of feminism in India has been structured in three phases. The first begins in the middle of the eighteenth century when the European male colonizers begin to publicly denounce the evils of the Satí rite. The second phase stretches from 1915 to independence from India, when Gandhi incorporates women's movements into the Indian Anti-colonial Movement and independent women's organizations begin to emerge and spread. The third phase, after independence to date, has been focused on achieving fair treatment of women in the home after marriage, increasing labor rights and achieving political parity. Despite the advances made by Indian women's movements, women living in modern India continue to face many discrimination issues. Among the challenges of the movement within the framework of the Indian patriarchal culture continues the access to land ownership and education. In recent decades they have also mobilized against selective abortion by sex.

As in Western countries, there have been criticisms of feminist movements in India. Among the critics is the overrepresentation of privileged women, disregarding the needs and lack of representation of the poorest women or the lowest caste. This has led to the emergence of specific caste feminist organizations and movements. Notes

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