This lecture is on "Women's Movement in India, with a Special Focus on
Andhra Pradesh".
The second phase of women's movement in India, (i. e. The second wave)
started from the early years of 1970's as a result of rethinking of
political and academic status of women in India. Around 1975, a report
about the status of women, called 'Towards Equality', was presented in U. N.
Women like Vina Majumdar were involved in preparing the report. It was a
significant land mark in the history of women's movement in India. At that
time, women involved in left parties and movements realized that they were
discriminated within heir own parties. They began to form autonomous
organizations to work on women's issues, such as dowry, domestic violence,
reproductive health and women's choice, and single women. They also
researched the history of women. Through their struggles and experiences,
they developed an analysis of the system, based on a feminist world view
rather than specific compartments of women's problems. They were successful
in making changes in the legal system about dowry and rape.
In the state of Andhra Pradesh, organizations like Progressive Organization
for Women (POW), Sthree Sakthi Sangahtan (Coalition of Women Power) and
Feminist Study Circle took up the cause of women. These were autonomous
organizations very much against institutionalization. POW was an
organization of women students and working women, acting mainly against the
state. They addressed issues like dowry, price rise, sexual harassment and
abuse of women in the media. It was active from 1972 to 1975. Sthree
Sakhti Sanghatana (1977 to 1984) was started in Hyderabad by a few women who
wanted to politicize the women's issues. They came from the left parties,
influenced by the womens liberation movement in the west. They organized
around issues like single women, women's hostels, rape, domestic, communal
and state violence. They conducted research on restructuring women's
history and on women's health. Feminist Study Circle was founded with an
objective of creating space for feminist agenda in the revolutionary
politics and parties. Publicizing concepts like patriarchy, gender and
oppression were part of their mission. It was active from 1989 to 1992.
>From 1990 onwards, they felt the need for building institutions to create a
new leadership. Anveshi was started as women's studies center and Asmitha
was started as a resource center for women.
The recent (1995-'96) anti-arrack (liquor prohibition) movement, a
spontaneous feminist struggle by the rural women of andhra Pradesh, is an
excellent example of women fighting to empower themselves and in that
process becoming aware of their capacity to act as responsible citizens.
Many people consider drinking as a moral/health issue and the media portrays
it as such. However, the rural women who initially organized themselves to
fight against arrack were exposed to the whole system of the government from
the village to capital levels. In that process, they realized the
connection between the domestic oppression of women and repression from
the state (government) and how one perpetuates the other. They also
explored the possibilities for women to become responsible, proactive
citizens as against the stereotypical "good family women". On the whole,
this struggle empowered the women and made them more aware of their own
capacity for action.