India and feminism: the long journey towards equity

Translated by Irene Cecchi

Feminism in India is an extremely difficult journey, rooted in the history of a country that didn’t manage to turn “rights” into emancipation. Since the first reformist movements of the colonial era to the current fights for an equal political representation, Indian women in history challenged oppressive rules changing the legislative panorama.

Colonialism and traditional practices

The English colonial era introduced a period of social reforms where law could become an embankment against rooted cultural discriminatory practices. The first feminist movements focused on symbolic unhuman issues like “sati”, child marriage and femal education.

The abolition of sati was a moral and legislative turning point since it was very culturally rooted. The sati practice obliged widows to sacrifice themselves on the husband’s funeral pyre and it was made illegal in 1829 by the British Governor Lord William Bentinck. A new law was introduced, stating that sati was “repugnant for human nature” and considered the promoters as killers. The abolition of sati was the first legislative win for women’s rights even though in 1862 the Indian Law reduced it again to be considered as incitement to suicide. This compromise was the result of the English will to avoid conflicts with the higher casts but still it was the proof that law could be used as a tool to challenge oppressive habits considered evergreen.

The 1929 “Child Marriage Restraint Act”, a controversial reform on child marriage fixed the minimum age of 14 for girls and 18 for boys, a margin that still allowed a system in which girls were prematurely obliged to family duties, lost of fundamental rights and domestic violence. Moreover, the application of the rule was relatively efficient in rural areas where the practice kept on.

In 2007 the "Child Marriage Restraint Act” was abolished and the "Prohibition of Child Marriage Act" (PCMA) was introduced stating that the minimum age to marry is 18 for girls and 21 for boys. This law aims to hinder child marriages also through preventive measures and victims’ aid. The innovative element is the institution of the role of "Child Marriage Prohibition Officer" (CMPO), officers who work to prevent child marriages, collect proofs for trials, raise awarness of physical, psychological and legal risks of this practice among communities and offers victims support. Moreover, CMPOs can directly intervene to stop ongoing marriages. Despite all good intentions, the success of this law largely depends on girls’ awareness of their rights, especially the possibility of requesting the annulment within two years after turning 18.

Promoting female education is a cultural challenge that leaders like Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar and Jyotirao Phule are carrying on, the same ones who led the campaigns to open the first female schools, challenging the bias that education would have “corrupted” women. This is how they set the basis for a feminism focused on intellectual and economic emancipation.

The post-independence India: constitutional rights and transformative laws.

In 1947 India adopted a Constitution that stated that gender equality is a fundamental right. The articles 14, 15 and 39 set a legal framework to eliminate discrimination, promote equal opportunities and guarantee women legal protection.

After gaining independence, the prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru and his government considered it to be necessary to reform these laws to guarantee gender equality and adapt them to a modern and secular society. The laws of the Hindu Code Bill were divided into four main legal acts, approved between 1955 and 1956:

Hindu Marriage Act (1955):
- Regulates marriage, divorce and separation.
- Allows divorce under specific circumstances (like cruelty, adultery and dereliction).
- Set the minimum age for marriage.
- Forbid hindus to practice polygamy.
Hindu Succession Act (1956):
- Sets more equal rights for male and female for legacies.
- Gives daughters the same rights as sons on family properties.
3. Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act (1956):
- Regulates child custody and the role of tutor.
- Prioritize children's well-being.
4. Hindu Adoptions and Maintenance Act (1956):
- Allows legal adoption for male and females with equal rights.
- Sets women’s right to ask for maintenance after divorce or separation.

At the same time, more and more women took part in farmers and workers movements, fighting against economic inequalities and including gender issues in the bigger picture of human rights. During the 70s the Indian feminism grew and approached themes like sexual abuse, work discrimination and marginalized women’s rights.

The Mathura case, a young girl from a tribe that was raped by police officers, led to a national mobilisation that finally made the government change the law on rape. These changes included harsher punishments and protection measures during trials, making criminal law a tool for women. Today, a lot of rape reports are still unresolved and justice can’t always ensure a fair trial, with many cases reportedly covered up or contaminated. The Indian caste system weasel a “priority scale” on protecting victims according to which the lowest ones, the dalits, can’t often reach. The request of a dowry kept perpetuating violence, so they promulgated the 1961 “Dowry Prohibition Act”. The law aimed to eradicate this practice but its implementation was problematic with a lot of femicides linked to it. In 2013, as a response to the 2012 Delhi group rape of a 23 years old girl who was sexually tortured with an iron rod on a moving bus, the parliament introduced the “Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013”, a law that extended the definition of sexual violence and included the death sentence for the worst cases, taking a firm stance regarding public demonstrations.

2024 has been a year of progress and contradictions. The implementation of the “Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam”, according to which 33% of parliamentary seats are destined to women, it’s a huge milestone. Anyways, female political commitment is still limited, with only 12% of candidates in parties being women. Severe human rights violations are still going on, as shown by the campaign in the Assam state against child marriages that lead to the detention of thousand of people and several traumas, including suicides by girls involved. Feminism in India took important steps forward but it’s not enough. It’s fundamental to firmly implement the existing law, to promote female education, to guarantee economic opportunities and to get rid of cultural barriers in the political representation and of institutionalized sexism. Law proved to be a powerful tool for emancipation but legislative progress has to be paired with a cultural deconstruction.

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