The second wave refers to the ideas and actions associated with the women's liberation movement beginning in the 1960s (which campaigned for legal and social rights for women). The third wave refers to a continuation of, and a reaction to the perceived failures of, second-wave feminism, beginning in the 1990s

Types of Feminism:

Feminism is not a simple or unified philosophy. Many different women (and men) call themselves feminists, and the beliefs of these groups of people vary quite a bit. Here's a quick primer on some of the different kinds of feminism.

Liberal Feminism:

Liberal feminism is characterized by an individualistic emphasis on equality. According to this philosophy, society itself does not need a major service, but rather laws need to be changed and opportunities have to be opened up to allow women to become equals in society. To a liberal feminist, evidence of progress is seen largely by the numbers of women in positions previous occupied by men, especially powerful positions. In the United States and much of the Western world, liberal feminism is the most mainstream form of feminism.

Socialist Feminism:

Socialist feminism or Marxist feminism connects the oppression of women to Marxist ideas about exploitation, oppression and labor. Socialist feminists think unequal standing in both the workplace and the domestic sphere holds women down. Socialist feminists see prostitution, domestic work, childcare and marriage as ways in which women are exploited by a patriarchal system that devalues women and the substantial work they do. Socialist feminists focus their energies on broad change that affects society as a whole, rather than on an individual basis. They see the need to work alongside not just men, but all other groups, as they see the oppression of women as a part of a larger pattern that affects everyone involved in the capitalist system⁵.

Marx felt when class oppression was overcome; gender oppression would vanish as well⁶. According to some socialist feminists, this view of gender oppression as a sub-class of class oppression⁷ is naive and much of the work of socialist feminists has gone towards separating gender phenomena from class phenomena. Some contributors to socialist feminism have criticized these traditional Marxist ideas for being largely silent on gender oppression except to subsume it underneath broader class oppression. Other socialist feminists, many of whom belong to Radical Women and the Freedom Socialist Party.

Radical Feminism:

Radical feminism is similar to socialist feminism in that it emphasizes the need for dramatic social change in order to achieve genuine equality for women (and sometimes these two philosophies are grouped together). Radical feminists⁸ believe that society is extremely patriarchal, and until patriarchy is transformed on all levels, the system will remain unjust. A minority of radical feminists are separatist feminists, who believe that men and women need to maintain separate institutions and relationships⁹.

Third Wave Feminism:

Third Wave feminism is popular among younger women, many of whom are children of feminists from the 1970s (who are referred to as Second Wave Feminists). Similar to liberal feminism, Third Wave feminism is very individualistic. Although it does not reject political activism, Third Wave feminism is focused more on personal empowerment as a starting place for social change. Third Wave feminism celebrates the construction of individual identities in a complex, postmodern world, and invites women to define themselves as they wish from the smorgasbord of possibilities.

Feminism in India:

The history of feminism in India is regarded as mainly a practical effort and mostly non-existent. Compared to some other countries there has been only sparse theoretical writing in feminism.

Defining Feminism in the Indian context:

Pre-colonial social structures and women’s role in them reveal that feminism was theorized differently in India than in the west. Colonial essentialization of "Indian culture" and reconstruction of Indian womanhood as the epitome of that culture through social reform movements resulted in political theorization in the form of nationalism rather than as feminism alone¹⁰.

Historical circumstances and values in India make women’s issues different from the western feminist rhetoric. The idea of women as "powerful" is accommodated into patriarchal culture through religion. This has retained visibility in all sections of society; by providing women with traditional "cultural spaces". Another consideration is that whereas in the West the notion of "self" rests in competitive individualism where people are described as "born free yet everywhere in chains", by contrast in India the individual is usually considered to be just one part of the larger social collective, dependent for its survival upon cooperation and self-denial for the greater good.

Indian feminist scholars and activists have to struggle to carve a separate identity for feminism in India. They define feminism in time and space to in order to avoid the uncritically following Western ideas. Indian women negotiate survival through an array of oppressive patriarchal family structures: age, ordinal status, and relationship to men through family of origin, marriage and procreation as well as patriarchal attributes - dowry, siring sons etc. - kinship, caste, community, village, market and the state. It should however be noted that several communities in India, such as the Nair’s of Kerala, certain Maratha clans, and Bengali families exhibit matriarchal tendencies, with the head of the family being the oldest women rather than the oldest man. Sikh culture is also regarded as relatively gender-neutral.

The heterogeneity of Indian experience reveals that there are multiple patriarchies and so also are there multiple feminisms. 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". Acknowledging sexism in daily life and attempting to challenge and eliminate it through deconstructing mutually exclusive notions of femininity and masculinity as biologically determined categories opens the way towards an equitable society for both men and women.

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 reform movements against various social evils. 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. Caste-community identities intensify all other hierarchies. The polytheistic Hindu pantheon provides revered images of women as unique and yet complementary to those of male deities.

History:

First phase: 1850–1915:

The colonial venture into modernity brought concepts of democracy, equality and individual 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 evils of sati (widow immolation), 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. Women in this phase were categorized along with lower castes as subjects of social reforms and welfare instead of being recognized as autonomous agents of change. The emphasis was on recreating new space in pre-existing feminine roles of caring. The women involved were those related to male activists, elite, western educated, upper caste Hindus.

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 essentializing model of Indian womanhood similar to that of 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 public space. Women-only organizations like All India Women's Conference (AIWC) and the National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) emerged. Women were grappling with the issues relating to the scope of women’s political participation, women’s franchise, communal awards, and leadership roles in political parties.

Women’s participation in the freedom struggle developed their critical consciousness about their role and rights in 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 up liftment through affirmative action, maternal health and child care provision, equal pay for equal work etc. The state adopted a patronizing role towards women. 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.

The Concepts of Feminism and Equality:

In India, the concept of “equality” was completely alien until liberally exposed Western-educated Indians introduced it in the early nineteenth century. However, the term did not gain meaning or become operational principles in Indian life until the country gained independence in 1947 and adopted a democratic government. The Indian Constitution then granted equality and freedom from discrimination based on gender or religion, and guaranteed religious freedom¹¹. Also, seven Five-Year Plans were developed to provide health, education, employment, and welfare to women. The sixth Five-Year Plan even declares women “partners in development."

It is crucial to note that there is a western concept of Indian women that Indian women themselves do not agree with at all. The concept of “feminism” is unique within the context of Indian culture; it cannot be directly compared to feminism in Western culture. Instead, this issue should be viewed as one of “human rights” within Indian context.

In addition, the characteristics that Western culture would label as forms of “oppression,” Indian women would instead define as forms of “sorrow.” The difference is significant and should be noted to understand that Indian women and Westerners are going to see some of the same issues in completely different lights. Such terms include:

 Hunger

 Poverty

 Disease

 Infant deaths

 Use of their bodies in labor by landlords

 Ruthlessness of custom

 Burden of tradition

 Unrelenting demands of ritual

 Beating without reason

Beginnings of the “Feminist” Movement in India:

As opposed to the start of the Western feminist movement, India’s movement was initiated by men, and later joined by women. Some of the most influential men involved were:

 Raja Ram Mohan Roy

 Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

 Keshav Chandra Sen

 Malabari Phule

 Gopal Ganesh Agarkar

 Mahadev Govind Ranade

 Dhondo Keshav Karve

The efforts of these men included abolishing sati, which was a widow's death by burning on her husband's funeral pyre¹² the custom of child marriage, abolishing the disfiguring of widows, banning 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 adoption¹³.

Obstacles:

Despite these “on-paper” advancements, many problems still remain which inhibit these new rights and opportunities from being fully taken advantage of. For example, India’s constitution also states that women are a “weaker section” of the population, and therefore need assistance to function as said equals.

There are also many traditions and customs that have been a huge part of India and its people 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 legally should have. Despite these crossovers in legality, the Indian government does not interfere with religion and the personal laws they hold¹⁴. Religions, like Hinduism, call for women to be faithful servants to God and their husbands. They have a term called pativrata that describes a wife who has accepted service and devotion to her husband and her family as her ultimate religion and duty. Indian society is highly composed of hierarchical systems within families and communities. These 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 recognition¹⁵.

India is also a 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 household. The descent and inheritance are traced through the male line, known as a patrilineal system, and they are generally in control of the distribution of family resources.

These traditions and ways of Indian life have been in effect for so long, that this type of lifestyle is what women expect and are accustomed to. Indian women do not take full advantage of their constitutional rights because they are not properly aware or informed of them. Women also have poor utilization of voting rights because they possess low levels of political awareness and sense of political efficacy. Women are not informed about issues, nor are they encouraged to become informed. Political parties do not invest much time in women candidates because they don’t see much potential or promise in them, and see them as a wasted investment¹⁶.

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 infanticides, most commonly among female infants, and the poor care of female infants and childbearing women. Although outlawed, infanticides are still highly popular in rural India¹⁷, and are continuing to become even more prominent. This is due to the fact that, most especially in rural areas, 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 illegal, but is still a frequent and prevalent occurrence in rural India. Women are considered to be “worthless” by their husbands if they are not “able” to birth a male child, and can often face much abuse if this is the case¹⁸.

There is a poor representation of women in the Indian workforce. Females have a ten percent higher dropout 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, labor unions are insensitive to women’s needs. Women also have to settle for jobs that comply with their obligations as wives, mothers, and homemakers.

Hindu Women in India:

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."¹⁹ Gandhi came up with the term stree shakti for the concept of womanhood. In the Hindu religion, Gods are not exclusively male like in Christianity, Judaism, or Islam. Hinduism sheds a positive light on feminine principles; females are considered to compliment and complete their male counterparts. It is important to note that the deities of both knowledge and wealth are female.

Muslim Women in India:

Despite Indian law that considers all men and women equal subjects, the Muslim religion does not treat them as such. Muslim women are the most notable Indian citizens for having their constitutional rights neglected, and are denied equal protection of the law as citizens. They are considered the most disadvantaged, impoverished, and politically marginalized group within Indian society, as well as the most economically and socially vulnerable. The majority of Muslim women are never employed outside the home. They are subject to Muslim Personal Laws, or MLPs, which override the Indian Constitution and are extremely gender biased in favor of men. However, the issue of relativism and cultural context comes into play yet again when discussing Muslim women and their situation. Before feminist activists can try to “help” them fight for equality and the rights enumerated to them in their country’s constitution, Muslim women must first identify their situation and recognize the injustices they suffer before action can be taken. It must be noted that such a decision cannot be made for them.

Divorce and Marriage:

Most Muslim marriages are arranged and set up by parents. Since India has a patriarchal society, wives always move in with their husband and his family, where they are often pressured by their husband and in-laws to cut off ties with their (the wives’) parents, except for having them provide the dowry. Women are also subject to becoming part of a polygamous household if their husband decides to take in up to three additional wives. Divorce is another example of the inequality among men and women in Muslim society. If a Muslim man wants to divorce his wife (or one of his wives) he can do so outside of the judicial system by simply pronouncing talaq in reference to her, without even needing legitimate reason for wanting a divorce. The wife does not have to be present for this process, and sometimes will not be informed about the divorce from her husband, but instead in a roundabout manner, like in a letter or a newspaper divorce ad. In opposition, women cannot initiate a divorce quite so easily. A wife must ask her husband for his consideration to release her from the marriage with the understanding that she will most likely have to forfeit whatever mahr, a sum of money or other valuable, that was promised to the wife at their wedding. However, women in polygamous marriages do in fact have legal grounds to pursue divorce if their husband treats them unequally in comparison to another wife. If divorced, women are allowed only temporary custody of their children. They can have custody of a son up until age seven, and a daughter until she reaches puberty. Then the father has legal permission to reclaim them if he chooses to do so²⁰.

A Uniform Civil Code (UCC) of personal law that would apply to all citizens, regardless of religious affiliation, is proposed under the Constitution focusing mainly on the issue of gender bias in the existing Muslim Personal Laws. The main issues with MLPs are that men are allowed to have up to four simultaneous wives, to divorce a wife outside the judicial system, and have no future responsibilities for their wives after three months from the divorce²¹.

Women at Work:

In general, Indian women are seen as economic burdens. Their contributions to productivity are mostly invisible as their familial and domestic contributions are unfairly 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. The unfortunate reality is that the high illiteracy rate among women confines 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 men²².

Women and Education:

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.

In 1986, the National Policy on Education (NPE) was created in India, and the government launched the program called 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. Efforts are still being made to improve the level of education that females receive to match that of male students.

Something important to note is that educated women are becoming associated with lower fertility rates in India, and making efforts to spread the use of contraception to uneducated Indian women.

Modernization:

Modern influences are affecting the younger generations in parts of India, where girls are beginning to forgo the more traditional ways of Indian life and break gender stereotypes. In more flourishing parts of the country, the idea of “dating,” or more specifically openly dating, has come into play, and the terms “girlfriend” and “boyfriend” are being used. Some women have landed highly respectable careers, and can be seen across Bollywood billboards and advertisements. However, this is not the norm throughout the country; such modernizations and the women behind them face serious resistance from anti-liberalists. The country is s.till severely male-dominant and unwelcoming to such movements that go against sex and gender traditions in India

Constitutional and Legal Rights for Women in India:

If the principle of gender equality is enshrined in the Indian Constitution, then why are Indian women treated as second citizens in their own country? The Constitution officially grants equality to women and also empowers the State to adopt measures of positive discrimination in the favors of women. However, the varied forms of discrimination that women in India are subject to are far from positive. The National Commission for Women was set up by an Act of Parliament in 1990 to safeguard the rights and legal entitlements of women. "The 73rd and 74th Amendments (1993) to the Constitution of India have provided for reservation of seats in the local bodies of Panchayats and Municipalities for women, laying a strong foundation for their participation in decision making at the local levels.

Article 14 in the Indian Constitution ensures equality in political, economic and social spheres. Article 16 provides for equality of opportunities in matters of public appointment for all citizens.

Article 15 prohibits discrimination against any citizen on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex etc.
Article 15 (3) of the Indian Constitution allows the State to make any special provision for women and children.

Article 39(a) mentions that the State will direct its policies towards securing all citizens, men and women, the right to means of livelihood

Article 39 (c) ensures equal pay for equal work.

Article 42 directs the State to ensure just and humane working conditions.

The constitution imposes a fundamental duty on every citizen through Article 15 (A) (e) to renounce practices derogatory to the dignity of women.

Another law that protects women against a seemingly milder crime is Section 509 of the IPC. This law punishes individuals who have insulted the modesty of a woman. Offensive language, sounds, gestures and intrusion of a woman's privacy are punishable under this law. Outraging the modesty of a woman is also punishable under Section 354 of the IPC. Under this law, an individual who has assaulted a woman, used criminal force on her or outraged her modesty in any other way can be punished with imprisonment of up to 2 years.

Laws such as the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, Sati Prevention Act, Dowry Prohibition Act and Indecent Representation of Women (Prevention) Act protect women from the more "traditional" crimes such as rape, abduction, dowry, torture, molestation, sexual harassment and selling of girls into slavery. Section 306 of the IPC can punish the suicide victim's husband with up to 10 years imprisonment if found guilty.

CONCLUSION:

Yes some people say feminism is outdated and unnecessary. They say women needed it a hundred years ago when they couldn't vote or own property. Over 30 years ago, before women were Supreme Court Justices and space-shuttle pilots. But nowadays, girls can be anything, and feminism sounds like a relic to some people. Sure the women's rights movement opened doors, their thinking goes, but is feminism still relevant.

The answer is yes--for a number of reasons. When I talk with young women, like the high school and college students who intern here at the National Organization for Women, I see women who are not afraid to go after their dreams, and their dreams are indeed big. I am proud that they and my daughters are growing up in a world where their opportunities appear limitless. But I also hear a lot of concerns about how the world isn't as fair as we'd like. In schools and on college campuses, some girls are being harassed, even assaulted, by boys. Many girls remain reluctant to raise their hands in class, and they still feel unsafe walking home by themselves late at night.

Pop culture and advertisers bombard girls with harmful messages about how they should look--telling them they have to be thin, pretty, and sexy, no matter what career they aspire to. Many young women see reproductive freedom as their birthright, yet that fight remains under constant attack. Women are still paid less than men for the same jobs, and few women are running major corporations. And the United States still hasn't elected a woman President or Vice President. You can have all the opportunity in the world, but it doesn't count if you don't feel safe, your body is not your own, and you're not respected and appreciated for who you are. The bottom line is that opportunity for women must translate into real social progress.

REFERENCES:

1. Humm, Maggie (1990). The dictionary of feminist theory. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. pp. 278

2. Walker, Rebecca (1992), "Becoming the Third Wave", Ms (January/February, 1992): 39–41

3. Humm, Maggie (1990). The dictionary of feminist theory. Columbus: Ohio State University Press. pp. 278

4. Krolokke, Charlotte; Anne Scott Sorensen (2005). "Three Waves of Feminism: From Suffragettes to Grrls". Gender Communication Theories and Analyses:From Silence to Performance. Sage. pp. 24

5. Ehrenreich, Barbara. "What is Socialist Feminism" WIN Magazine, 1976.

6. Marx, Karl, Capital translated by B. Fowkes (Penguin Classics, 1990),

7. Connolly, Clara; Lynne Segal, Michele Barrett, Beatrix Campbell, Anne Phillips, Angela Weir, Elizabeth Wilson (Summer 1986). "Feminism and Class Politics: A Round-Table Discussion". Feminist Review (Socialist-Feminism: Out of the Blue):

8. Taylor, Verta (Autumn, 1993). "# Women's Culture and Lesbian Feminist Activism: A Reconsideration of Cultural Feminism

9. Echols, Alice (1989). Daring to be bad: radical feminism in America, 1967-1975. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. pp. 416

10. Partha Chatterjee, "The Nationalist Resolution of the Women's Question," in Recasting Women: Essays in Colonial History, Kumkum Sangari and Sudesh Vaid, eds. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press

11. Chaudhuri, Maitrayee. Feminism in India (Issues in Contemporoary Indian Feminism) New York: Zed, 2005.

12. Jewels of authority women and textual tradition in Hindu India. New York: Oxford UP, 2002.

13. Chaudhuri, Maitrayee. Feminism in India (Issues in Contemporoary Indian Feminism) New York: Zed, 2005.

14. Narain, Vrinda. Reclaiming the nation: Muslim women and the law in India. Toronto [Ont.]: University of Toronto, 2008.

15. Bhatt, Ela R. We are poor but so many: the story of self-employed women in India. NewYork: Oxford UP, 2005.

16. Chaudhuri, Maitrayee. Feminism in India (Issues in Contemporoary Indian Feminism) New York: Zed, 2005.

17. ibid

18. Missing Women: Female-Selective Abortion and Infanticides. Dir. Manon Loizeau, FIlms for the Humanities & Sciences. A Films Media Group Company, 2006.

19. Narain, Vrinda. Reclaiming the nation: Muslim women and the law in India. Toronto [Ont.]: University of Toronto, 2008.

20. The Diversity of Muslim Women's Lives in India. New York: Rutgers UP, 2005.

21. Supra 19

22. Women in the face of globalisation. New Delhi: Serials Publications, 2007.

Received on 25.08.2012

Modified on 12.09.2012

Accepted on 09.10.2012

Research J. Humanities and Social Sciences. 3(4): October-December, 2012, 458-464