What comes to your mind when you listen “feminist”? The meaning of feminism has often been misinterpreted and misunderstood by the masses. Many are unaware of the first and second waves of feminism which came in different parts of the globe and uplifted women in innumerable ways.
Feminism is a movement that induced the male dominated societies to eliminate misogynistic practices and establish a structure where women are treated as equals. India has seen several trends in the feminism movement with the encouragement and bravery of various feminists. The most popular feminists have strictly advocated for equal wages, right to education and employment and personal liberty.
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Looking at the condition of women in India with all parameters, it has been reiterated by many upcoming feminists as well that we, as a country are in a dire need of feminism. As we keep surfing on the surface, these most popular feminists in India have proven that every wall can be shaken with power and sensibility.
Kamla Bhasin
An active member of JAGORI, a Women’s Resource and Training Centre, Kamla Bhasin is a popular name in the town of feminism. Her determination and courage has uplifted several classes of women who didn’t have a voice of their own. Education, hunger, media and gender are some of the substantial issues that she has essentially worked on for years. Since 1972, she has been a prominent femininst leader in the sphere of upliftment of rural and socially backward women.
Not only this, her campaign Freedom from Hunger gained massive recognition, after which she started associating with several NGOs to facilitate and support women development. Currently she is an advisor at SANGAT, a South Asian Feminist network.
Amrita Pritam
One of the best female writers of India, Pritam is not just a feminist icon but also an ardent opposer of casteism. She was the first woman to have won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Sunehade and also won Bharatiya Jnanpith Award (the highest literary award in India) for Kagaz Te Canvas in 1982. Her works in the forms of stories, poems, essays, novels and articles laid down her thoughts about the women around the world.
Most significantly, it was impossible for a woman to write what Amrita wrote at her time. Always a rebel against the societal norms, the characters that she wrote discarded all oppressive societal norms. They were mostly liberating and joyful. Her writing vastly exolpoored the female desires and their plight in Indian culture. Her most famous work, Pinjra, a novel explored violence against women and was soon made into a film. The film won even a National Award.
Sampat Pal Devi
Only the women who have seen the reality on ground, can know what it is like to be a ‘woman’ in india. Sampat Pal Devi became a popular name in the feminist movement of India with her Gulabi Gang. Facing the patriarchal norms in Indian culture, she was tired of watching and facing domestic violence throughout her life. In India, every second woman has faced domestic violence in her life.
Sampat Devi is epitome of courage and confidence. She created a gang of women wearing pink sarees beating up men who abused their wives with lathis. The men in the Bundelkhand region would fear her Gulabi Gang and soon the word spread in different villages too. Since 2006, her Gulabi Gang has created a substantial impact in remote villages of the country. She became a threat to domestic abusers and voice to the victims of domestic abuse.
Kavita Krishnan
A brave and courageous voice for women, Krishnan hails from Coonor, Tamil Nadu. She became a popular face in the feminism movement after the Delhi Gang Rape in 2012. Her speeches were heard worldwide and influenced the masses. With her exemplary oratory skills, she soon became a household name for those who fought for women rights and discarded violence against women.
Secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association, she can often be spotted in various national protests voicining her opinion against death penalty. She is a part of the politburo of CPI-ML and the editor of its monthly publication, Liberation. Her strong personality and opinions make her a pivotal figure in feminist movememt of India.
Irom Sharmila
A name that can never be forgotten, Irom Sharmila. The record holfer of world’s longest hunger strike is not just a popular feminist icon but also a writer, poet and civil rights activist. Her hunger strike started from 5th November, 2000 and lasted till 9th August, 2016. Her struggle of 16 years ended with her sad demise.
However, her struggle taught the country to fight against what is wrong. Known as ‘The Iron Lady’ or ‘Mengoubi’, her strike commenced to protest against the Malcolm massacre, where the Assam Rifles military opened fire at cvilianskilling 10 of them. For her continuous efforts and firm determination, he even won national awards and international recognition from the UN Human Commission.
Savitribai Phule
Phule was the first female to address the issue of lack of education of girl children. She was a reformer, an activist and a poet too. Residing in Maharashtra, she opened a school for the downtrodden in several villages with the support of her husband, Jyotirao Phule. When she went to school to teach children from backward castes, she had to receive casteist slurs and sometimes, even a cow dunk was thrown at her. But her undying will and determination made her the greataest feminist icon the Indian history. She was also an adamant advocate for dalit rights.
A philanthropist, marathi writer and great educationist, Savitri bai is known as the mother of feminism as she was the first female who stood against patriarchal and brahminical norms of the society. She headed the social reform movement and in Maharashtra which spread to the rest of india against casteism and gender discrimnation.
Indira Jaising
Indira Jaising is a supremely talented and badass lawyer who has won many historical cases. She even started Lawyers Collective, a human rights organization tirelessly fighting to preserve the human rights of citizens of India. The verdict and Priya Pillai’s case gained her massive appreciation and recognition, after which she got some landmark judgments.
She has always been an arduous activist for human rights. She was the first woman to be appointed as an Additional Solicitor General of India in 2009. Indira Jaising has always made headlines for her fierce and fearless attitude in the courtroom and outside too. She has been quite vocal about her concerns of women rights in India.
Leila Seth
It was quite difficult for women to voice their opinions and create a safe space for themselves in the past years. The condition has improved but still, there is substantial scope for betterment. Leila Seth, the mother of celebrated author Vikram Seth, was a woman more of actions than words. She should better be called Justice Leila Seth as she was the first woman judge on the Delhi High Court and the first woman to become the Chief Justice of a state High Court.
In an era, where women were struggling to get jobs and fulfill their basic employment needs, Seth proved that nothing was impossible if you have will power. Her thorough studies, experience and contribution in legal and social field led to the amendment of the Hindu Succession Amendment Act (2005). The amendment ensured that daughters have equal rights to joint family property. She is indeed a historic feminist icon and must be remebered for several years to come.
Vrinda Grover
One requires tonnes of hard work, knowledge and experience to become one of the best lawyers in the country. Vrinda Grover has been identified by TIME magazine as one of the 100 most influential women in 2013. This lawyer and human rights activist has brought a substantial change in the condition of women rights in India. Her significant efforts and contributions has given more strength to the feminist movement.
In the drafting of the Criminal Law Amendment of 2013, the POCSO Act 2012 and the Prevention of Torture Bill, 2010, she has played a signifacnt role. Domestic violence is quite prevalent in India, in order to uproot it entirely, consistent efforts are required socially and legally. Grover has actively dealt with domestic violence cases and cases involving sexual minorities. Her representation for the victims in the Soni Sori rape case has alwyas been appluaded and considered influential..
Nivedita Menon
Nivedita Menon is known to be the one of the greatest feminist pioneers, not just in india but the world. Her prominent involvements and contributions in political and social work is commendable. She is a professor of political thought at Jawaharlal Nehru University, but apart from that she is also known to be a noted feminist, translator, author and activist.
Her regular writings voicing her opinions and addressing the issues at hand have been quite impressive and commendable. Amongst all the books written on feminist schools of thought, her book ‘Seeing Like a Feminist’ holds utmost importamce as it escalates the idea of equality. Her on ground work and articles in various publications make her a name which will be remembered in the history of the feminism movement in India.