Feminism and the society
1. INTRODUCTION
Some argue against the relevance of feminism today, but this viewpoint disregards centuries of womens struggles for equality and against oppression. Despite partial victories, like gaining the right to vote and improved access to education, women still face disproportionate violence and discrimination worldwide. While there have been advancements, such as Saudi Arabian women voting in 2015, other issues, like persistent violence, wage disparities, and harmful practices such as honour killings, show limited progress. Stereotypes and jokes about feminism endure, often exhibiting homophobia. Its crucial to note that feminism is inclusive, involving individuals of diverse genders and sexual orientations, aiming to eliminate sexism and achieve comprehensive gender equality in both legal frameworks and everyday life.
Quite simply, feminism is about all genders having equal rights and opportunities.Its about respecting diverse womens experiences, identities, knowledge and strengths, and striving to empower all women to realise their full rights. Its about levelling the playing field between genders, and ensuring that diverse women and girls have the same opportunities in life available to boys and men.[1]
2. ORIGIN OF FEMINISM
Hunburtine Auclert used the term Feminism in her journal La Citoyenne as La Feminit in the late 1880s to criticize male dominance and to claim for womens rights in addition to the emancipation promised by the French Revolution. By the first decade of the twentieth century, the term had first appeared in English in Britain, then in America in the 1910s, and in the Arab World in the 1920s as Niswia. Feminism is derived from the Latin word femina, which refers to womens issues. Feminism is concerned with females as a social category, not just as a biological category, and thus feminists shared the view that womens oppression is linked to their sexuality.
This was because biological differences between men and women were reflected in the organization of society, and women were treated as inferior to men based on these differences. Feminism, whether as a theory, a social movement, or a political movement, focuses on womens experiences and highlights various forms of oppression to which the female gender has been subjected in society.
Whether considered a social or political movement, Feminism specifically and primarily focuses on womens experiences in her daily life, which she is subjected to in society. Feminists are completely convinced of what it means to be a woman* in patriarchal societies because they can feel and experience the pain and suffering of women. Feminists work to remove all barriers to equal social, political, and economic opportunities for women, and they oppose the notion that a womans worth is determined primarily by her gender, and that women are inherently inferior, subservient, or less intelligent than men.
3. WAVES OF FEMINISM
First wave of Feminism:-
The narrative you presented underscores the noteworthy progress during the initial wave of feminism, wherein women worldwide struggled for voting rights and broader gender parity. The early 20th century stood out as a pivotal era, witnessing achievements in political rights, education, and employment opportunities for women. Despite facing bans under fascist regimes, the feminist movement displayed resilience. The aftermath of World War II saw a resurgence of efforts, culminating in additional advancements in womens political rights and societal roles.
Second wave of Feminism:-
The feminist movement experienced a resurgence in the 1970s in Western Europe and the USA. During this second wave of feminism, various groups had differing approaches to achieving womens liberation. Liberal feminists sought improved equality laws and the overhaul of institutions like schools, churches, and the media. Radical feminists identified patriarchy as the fundamental cause of womens inequality, emphasizing the collective oppression of women by men, particularly focusing on violence within families and instances of rape. Socialist feminists argued that womens oppression arose from a combination of patriarchy and capitalism.
This wave of feminism also led to the development of new academic disciplines, with womens studies becoming an established field at universities. Books highlighting womens accomplishments in literature, music, science, and documenting previously overlooked aspects of womens history began to emerge. Additionally, the womens movement played a crucial role in shaping international documents on womens rights, contributing to significant frameworks such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1979.
Third wave of Feminism
The third wave of feminism is distinguished by a growing awareness of overlapping categories such as race, class, gender, and sexual orientation. There was also a greater emphasis on racial concerns, such as the position of women in other parts of the world (global feminism). This was also the era in which a number of feminist non-governmental organizations were founded, each focused on a specific feminist topic rather than claiming to represent generic feminist principles.
Third wave feminism actively promotes its ideas and activities through the media and pop culture, such as through the publication of blogs or e-zines. It aims to bring feminism closer to peoples everyday lives. Third-wave feminists are most worried with sexual harassment, domestic abuse, and the wage disparity between men and women.
Fourth wave of Feminism
Cyber feminism is thought to be a forerunner of networked feminism, which refers to feminism on the Internet in general, such as mobilizing individuals to take action against sexism, misogyny, or gender-based violence against women. One example is the 2017 internet movement #metoo, which was a response on social media from women all over the world to the case of Harvey Weinstein, a Hollywood producer accused of sexually assaulting female movie industry employees.
4. FEMINIST JURISPRUDENCE
Feminist Jurisprudence is the study of many strands of feminist theory and the topics that have originated and developed within feminist logic, as well as the application of theory to issues that are of concern to members of the class. The laws neutrality as a mechanism promotes injustices against women. Feminists support a viewpoint that seeks to question the current legal status quo by focusing on what institutions and laws would be required to correct societys gender imbalance. The feminist jurists are challenging the basic foundations of our society. They believe that we must reconsider the standards ingrained in our judicial system.
What is neutral or normal for one individual may be a distortion for another human personality, as feminist law serves to highlight. In the workplace, pregnancy, raising children, and other caregiving responsibilities are still viewed as strange phenomena rather than as routine tasks that advance society.
The widespread influence of patriarchy on legal frameworks illustrates how it affects womens and girls material circumstances and creates reforms to address gender inequality, exploitation, and restriction. In order to advance womens freedom and equality, it is important to reevaluate what equality itself entails and to move away from inequity and toward equality of the sexes as fundamental beliefs about women and their place in the world have changed significantly.
Feminists contend that womens contributions to shaping history and societal structure are underrepresented in historical accounts since they were written from a male perspective. Bias has been introduced into conceptions of gender roles, human nature, and societal structures via male-written history. The law was written by men and is based on their reasoning, language, and organizational principles
Feminists contest the idea that a persons behavior may be ascribed to their sex because of the biological differences between men and women. Feminists contend that gender is socially rather than biologically formed. Physical characteristics and ability to procreate are determined by a persons sex, but social, moral, or psychological qualities are not.
5. DIFFERENT TYPES OF FEMINISM
Liberal feminism:-
This type of feminism works within mainstream societys structure to integrate women and make it more responsive to individual womens rights, but it does not directly challenge the system or the ideology that underpins womens oppression. One example is the suffragist movement.
Radical Feminism
Oppression, patriarchy, and sexism are viewed as the most fundamental factors in womens lives, transcending race, age, culture, caste, and class. It calls into question the entire system and ideology that has resulted in womens subjugation. The term frequently refers to womens movements that emerged from civil rights, peace, and other liberation movements at a time when people were increasingly questioning various forms of oppression and power. Radical feminists have provided the major theoretical understanding that has served as the basis for the inspiration and analysis guiding womens movements around the world, seeking to understand the roots of womens subordination.
Marxist and socialist feminism
Feminists, based on Marxist and socialist analysis, attribute womens oppression primarily to the capitalist economic system, which is dominated by global corporate power. Many other feminists believe that this type of power seen in the class system is an important factor in womens subordination, but they see patriarchy as the primary force behind womens subjugation
Eco feminism
This school of thought sees patriarchy and its emphasis on control and dominance as not only a source of oppression for women, but also as harmful to humanity and destructive to all living creatures and the earth itself. Eco-feminists see womens rights and empowerment as linked to political, economic, social, and cultural factors that benefit all living creatures and Mother Nature herself.
Cultural feminism
Cultural feminism emphasizes biological, personality, and behavioral differences between men and women. Women are viewed as possessing distinct and superior virtues that serve as the foundation for a shared identity, solidarity, and sisterhood. Because women are perceived to be kinder and gentler than men by nature, it follows that if women held power, the world would be a better place. Some women supported the idea of forming separate women-only cultures in the 1960s and 1970s.
6. RELATED CASES
1. Vishaka vs. Rajasthan State :- Bhanwari Devi, a social worker from Rajasthan, was gang-raped by five men for attempting to prevent a child marriage. She decided to go to court in order to seek justice. The trial court acquitted all five accused in a shocking decision. Vishaka, a Womens Education and Research Group, took up Bhanwari Devis cause. It joined forces with four other womens organizations to file a petition with the Supreme Court of India on the issue of workplace sexual harassment. The Supreme Court commissioned the Vishaka guidelines on August 13, 1997, which defined sexual harassment and placed the onus on employers to provide a safe working environment for women.[2]
2. Mary Roy vs. Kerala State Due to patriarchal traditions, women from Keralas Syrian Christian community were barred from inheriting property. Mary Roy, a womans rights activist and educator, challenged the decree. When her father died, she filed a lawsuit against her elder brother because she was denied an equal share of the familys inheritance. Despite the fact that the lower court rejected the plea, the Kerala High Court reversed the previous decision. The Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in 1986, granting Syrian Christian women the right to seek an equal share of their fathers property[3]
3. Tamil Nadu vs. Suhas Katti This case resulted in the first conviction under the Information Technology Act of 2000. The accused, Suhas Katti, harassed the victim after she refused to marry him. In a Yahoo message group, he would send her defamatory and obscene messages. To make matters worse, she began receiving phone calls from strangers looking for sex work. In February 2004, the victim filed a complaint, and the accused was convicted seven months later. This ruling serves as a tool for women to protect their dignity in an age of merciless trolls and other forms of online harassment.[4]
7. IMPACT OF FEMINISM ON SOCIETY
The legal, workplace, cultural, and educational ramifications of feminism are extensive. Legal reforms championed by feminist movements have been critical in securing womens fundamental rights, including suffrage, reproductive autonomy, and legal safeguards against gender-based violence. Feminism has been a driving force behind calls for equal pay, better maternity leave policies, and the elimination of systemic gender discrimination in the workplace, contributing to a more equitable professional landscape. Feminism has culturally disrupted traditional gender norms, resulting in a shift toward inclusive representations in media and popular culture that challenge stereotypical portrayals.
Education has also felt the effects of feminist activism, with efforts aimed at ensuring equal educational opportunities and combating gender bias in curricula. Modern feminism embraces the concept of intersectionality, which recognizes the interconnected nature of social identities while advocating for a more holistic understanding of discrimination that includes factors such as race, class, and sexuality.
With the advent of social media and technology, feminist activism has reached new heights, providing platforms for global connectivity, mobilization, and amplification of voices advocating for gender equality. Despite significant progress, ongoing debates within the feminist movement highlight the importance of addressing issues of inclusivity, representation, and diversity of viewpoints. As feminism evolves, its influence on society continues to be a dynamic force, shaping conversations, policies, and the pursuit of a more equitable and just world.
8. CONCLUSION
By challenging gender norms, advocating for equal rights, and fostering inclusivity, feminism plays a critical role in shaping a more equitable society. Society can progress toward a future where individuals, regardless of gender, have equal opportunities and recognition by embracing diverse perspectives and dismantling systemic barriers. Continuous dialogue and collaborative efforts are required to create a truly egalitarian and just community.
Citation
1) IWDA; what is Feminism available at https://iwda.org.au/learn/what-is-feminism/ (last visited on December 14, 2023)
2) AIR 1997 SC 3011
3) AIR 1986, 1011 SCR(1) 371
4) C NO. 4680 OF 2004
