Women and the farm law agitations

Women’s participation in the protests against the farm laws gave them a chance to assert their disregarded position as farmers in the country.

India has had a long history of protests against the ruling government, and despite the patriarchal system, women have actively participated in these protests alongside men.
Their participation is rooted in the historical conditions and socio-economic factors that affect women throughout the country.

Shahada is a Bhil Adivasi settlement in Maharashtra. Many young Sarvodya workers started the Shramik Sangathan to help the Adivasis suffering due to drought and famine. However, these organisations took a more militant approach, initiated land-grab, demanded minimum wages, and held women shivirs (camps).
The Shahada movement started as a protest movement against landlords and turned into a movement against the sale and consumption of alcohol and an attack on wife-beaters.
It was an indirect protest against violence in the family which had so far been held as a private matter of the family. The Shahada movement in a way, challenged some aspects of patriarchy.
Self-Employed Women Association

The first attempt to organise a women’s trade union was made in Ahmedabad by a Gandhian socialist leader, Ella Bhatt, attached to the women’s wing of the Textile Labour Association.
She formed the Self-Employed Women Association in 1972 to organise women working in various trades in the informal sector. However, they all suffered due to meager wages, poor working conditions, lack of training, and harassment by the authorities or intermediaries and police.
Anti-Price-Rise Front

The conditions of famine and drought affected the urban areas in Maharashtra, which led to rising prices and black-marketing.
Mrinal Gore of the Socialist Party and Ahilya Rangekar of CPI(M) formed the United Front, Anti-Price-Rise Front, to mobilise the women in the cities against inflation.
It became a mass movement demanding price control and fair distribution of essential commodities. The women groups also raided the premises of the black marketers. It was a mass movement of urban housewives against economic hardships affecting their daily life.
Nav Nirman Samiti
It was initially a student protest against rising prices and political disorder but became a massive movement when middle-class women joined it.
Kasturba Memorial Trust

The post-Independence organisations such as Kasturba Memorial Trust and Bharatiya Grameen Mahila Sangh aimed to assist rural women in developing leadership potential.
Further, during the 1950-60s, the main thrust of the women’s movement was the provision of education, health and welfare for women.
Narmada Bachao Andolan

The Narmada Bachao Andolan, a campaign started by women in Gujarat in 1980, has been instrumental in bringing attention to the river and its plight.
The protests, in which women have been the backbone, have forced the authorities to notice and take action.
The protests also highlight the need for better infrastructure and services around the river and the implementation of the Sardar Sarovar Project.
The Narmada Bachao Andolan calls for the construction of the Sardar Sarovar Project, which will provide much-needed irrigation facilities to the area and create a better water management system for the river.
Anti-Liquor Movement

The Anti-Liquor Movement in India was a campaign by women to reduce alcohol consumption and the effects of alcohol on society.
The movement also successfully raised awareness of the issues caused by alcohol, most notably the abuse of women.
Women’s India Association

Women’s India Association is a non-profit, non-political, non-religious organisation that focuses on empowering women, especially working women, with a particular focus on women from the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes communities.
It was founded in 2015 by Anuradha Bhandari, a working mother who wanted to find a platform for women who worked hard but never reached the top.
Me Too Movement

The “me too” movement has brought sexual harassment and sexual violence to the fore of the national conversation.
It began with a tweet thread in 2017 by actress Alyssa Milano about being a victim of sexual harassment, It quickly went viral and was translated into more than a dozen languages.

Content Source: The Hindu