40 Facts about Feminism:

#CSR 40 For 40

  1. The Indian women’s movement gained momentum in the 1970s, with the establishment of the first women’s studies centers in universities and the formation of feminist organizations like the All India Women’s Conference.
  2. The term “feminism” was first used in India in the 1910s, during the Indian nationalist movement, to describe the fight for women’s rights.
  3. The term “feminazi” is often used by opponents of feminism to criticize and mock feminist activists.
  4. There are many different types of feminism, including liberal feminism, socialist feminism, radical feminism, and ecofeminism. Each of these approaches has its own unique perspective on the issues facing women and the best ways to address them.
  5. The Constitution of India guarantees women equal rights under the law, and prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender.
  6. Despite legal protections, women in India still face widespread discrimination and violence.
  7. The first women’s magazine in India, Stri Dharma, was started in 1885 by Pandita Ramabai, a pioneering feminist and social reformer.
  8. According to the latest available data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) for the year 2020, a total of 3,71,503 cases of crimes against women were reported in India.
  9. The #MeToo movement gained momentum in India in 2018, with several high-profile cases of sexual harassment and assault being exposed.
  10. The Bechdel test, which measures the representation of women in film and other media, was named after American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, but was first proposed by Indian-American feminist writer and filmmaker Anita Sarkeesian.
  11. Indian feminist scholar Gita Sen has argued that the struggle for women’s rights in India cannot be separated from broader social and economic struggles, including those related to poverty, caste, and class.
  12. The Indian feminist movement has also played a key role in promoting the rights of LGBTQ+ people, by challenging the colonial-era Section 377 law that criminalized homosexuality.
  13. The Indian government has established a number of institutions to promote women’s rights, including the National Commission for Women and the Ministry of Women and Child Development.
  14. The Dowry Prohibition Act, passed in 1961, made the giving or receiving of a dowry a criminal offense in India, but the practice remains widespread.
  15. The National Policy for the Empowerment of Women, adopted in 2001, aims to promote gender equality and empower women in all spheres of life.
  16. In 2017, India passed the Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, which extended paid maternity leave from 12 to 26 weeks.
  17. The Indian feminist movement has also focused on issues such as domestic violence, sexual harassment, and gender-based violence.
  18. The National Family Health Survey, conducted in 2015-16, found that nearly 30% of married women in India have experienced physical, sexual, or emotional violence from their husbands.
  19. The Indian feminist movement has also been critical of patriarchal cultural practices such as honor killings, female infanticide, and child marriage.
  20. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, passed in 2006, prohibits child marriage in India, but the practice remains common in some parts of the country.
  21. The Indian feminist movement has also focused on issues related to women’s health, including access to reproductive healthcare and the impact of environmental pollution on women’s health.
  22. The Indian government has established a number of programs to promote women’s health, including the National Rural Health Mission and the National Programme for the Health Care of the Elderly.
  23. The Indian feminist movement has also been active in promoting women’s economic empowerment, including through campaigns for equal pay and opportunities for women in the workforce.
  24. The Indian government has established a number of programs to promote women’s economic empowerment, including the National Rural Livelihoods Mission and the Mahila E-Haat online marketplace.
  25. The Indian feminist movement has also focused on issues related to women’s education, including access to schooling and the gender gap in literacy rates.
  26. The Right to Education Act, passed in 2009, guarantees free and compulsory education for all children in India, but many girls still face barriers to accessing education.
  27. The Indian feminist movement has also been active in promoting women’s political participation, including through campaigns for greater representation of women in elected office.
  28. The 73rd and 74th amendments to the Indian Constitution, passed in 1992, reserved seats for women in local government bodies.
  29. Intersectionality, or the recognition of the ways in which different forms of oppression intersect, has become an important part of the Indian feminist movement in recent years.
  30. The first women’s organization in India was the Bharat Stree Mahamandal, founded in 1910.
  31. The feminist movement in India has also been influenced by ecofeminism, which highlights the connections between environmental degradation and women’s oppression.
  32. The feminist movement in India has been supported by a vibrant feminist literature, with writers like Ismat Chughtai, Mahasweta Devi, and Kamala Das challenging patriarchal norms and stereotypes.
  33. India has one of the highest gender pay gaps in the world, with women earning only 62% of what men earn, according to a 2021 report by the World Economic Forum.
  34. India has a long and diverse history of feminist movements, including the first wave of feminism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Chipko Movement in the 1970s, the anti-dowry movement in the 1980s, and the Nirbhaya Movement in 2012. These movements have been instrumental in raising awareness about women’s issues and advocating for policy and legal changes to promote women’s rights and gender equality.
  35. The Women in STEM Initiative, launched by the Indian government in 2018, aims to increase the participation of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. The initiative provides scholarships, mentoring, and training to women in STEM, and has helped to increase women’s representation in these fields.
  36. The “pink tax” refers to the phenomenon of products marketed to women (such as razors and shampoo) being more expensive than similar products marketed to men.
  37. The Hindu Succession Act, which grants equal inheritance rights to daughters and sons, was passed in India in 2005.
  38. The Indian feminist movement gained momentum in the 1970s, with the publication of the book “Towards Equality” by the Committee on the Status of Women in India.
  39. The Pink Sari Revolution, led by feminist activist Sampat Pal Devi, has fought against domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence in rural areas of India.
  40. Centre for Social Research has been working tirelessly for the past four decades under the directorship of Dr. Ranjana Kumari to attain a gender just society.

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