Running From Elections: Indian Feminism and Electoral Politics
2012; Routledge; Volume: 11; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/14736489.2012.649126
ISSN1557-3036
Autores Tópico(s)Gender Politics and Representation
ResumoAbstract The first wave of feminism in India was closely connected to electoral politics, while the second wave turned away from party politics. This resulted in a growing marginalization of feminist concerns from the public agenda. There is a strong relationship between movement success and electoral engagement. This article reviews the history of feminist interventions in electoral politics and demonstrates that early victories for women depended on their participation in party politics. I argue that the creation of the autonomous women's movement has had a diminishing effect on women's progress in recent years. A number of paths remain available to the women's movement to engage with political parties and political leaders. Staying outside the electoral arena has not served Indian feminism well. Acknowledgments I wish to thank Nandini Sundar, Donasia Tillery, and Timothy Loftus, in addition to the editors and anonymous reviewers at India Review, for their critical comments and kind encouragement. My continued gratitude extends to the women's activists who shared their insights and experiences with me so I could make sense of a complex legacy. Notes 1. “Gender development index 2008,” United Nations Development Program (UNDP 2008), August 11, 2008. Accessible via http://hdrstats.undp.org. 2. I use the terms “feminist movement” and “women's movement” interchangeably, although I realize that some of the people and campaigns I am discussing would reject one or the other term. 3. The argument in this article relies on a combination of secondary and primary sources. I conducted over three dozen interviews with women's activists in 2005 and made observations during site visits to NGO offices and the United Nations. I draw upon the excellent existing literature on the history of the women's movement. Finally, I use journalistic accounts and official documents produced by governments and also by the organizations themselves. 4. Additional histories of the women's movement in India can be found in Gail Omvedt, “Rural Origins of Women's Liberation in India,” Social Scientist Vol. 4, No. 4/5 (1975), pp. 40–54; Nandita Gandhi and Nandita Shah, The Issues at Stake (New Delhi: Kali for Women 1992); Radha Kumar, A History of Doing: The Women's Movement in India (New Delhi: Kali for Women, 1993); Rajeswari Sunder Rajan, Real and Imagined Women (London: Routledge,1993); Geraldine Forbes, Women in Modern India (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999); Manjusha Gupte, Mangala Subramaniam, and Debarashmi Mitra, “Local to Global: Transnational Networks and Indian Women's Grassroots Organizing,” Mobilization Vol. 8, No. 3 (2003), pp. 335–52. 5. Shirin M. Rai, “Democratic Institutions, Political Representation and Women's Empowerment: The Quota Debate in India,” Democratization Vol. 6, No. 3, (1999), pp. 84–99; Nivedita Menon, “Elusive ‘Woman’: Feminism and Women's Reservation Bill,” Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 35, No. 43/44 (October 28, 2000), pp. 3835–44; M. E. John, “Alternate Modernities? Reservations and Women's Movement in 20th Century,” India Economic and Political Weekly Vol. 35, No. 43/44 (2000), p. 3822. 6. Talal Asad, “Religion, Nation-State, Secularism,” Nation and Religion, Peter Van der Veer and Hartmut Lehmann, eds. (Princeton University Press: Princeton, NJ, 1999). 7. Chandra Talpade Mohanty, Feminism without Borders (Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2003) 8. Marco G. Guigni, “Was It Worth the Effort? The Outcome and Consequences of Social Movements,” Annual Review of Sociology Vol. 24 (1998), pp. 371–93. 9. William Gamson, The Strategy of Social Protest (Homewood, IL: Dorsey, 1975); Scott R. Frey, Thomas Dietz, and Linda Kalof, “Characteristics of Successful American Protest Groups: Another Look at Gamson's Strategy of Social Protest,” The American Journal of Sociology Vol. 98, No. 2 (1992), pp. 368–87. 10. Kathryn Sikkink and Margaret E. Keck, Activists Beyond Borders: Advocacy Networks in International Politics (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1998); Charlotte Ryan and William W. Gamson, “The Art of Reframing Political Debates” Contexts, Vol. 5, No. 1 (2006), pp. 13–8. 11. This story is nearly identical to that of the first women's group organized by the Communist Party in India. In 1964 a women's group was established by the CPI in order to have delegates to send to Belgrade for a meeting of the International Democratic Women's Conference. Immediately afterward, the organization was allowed to disintegrate as described in Omvedt Women's Liberation. 12. Interview 18. NB: All interviewees were offered anonymity and as such are not identified by name, except for those who gave explicit permission to use their names and organizational affiliation. 13. Interview 9. 14. Interview 28. 15. “Center for Social Research: Women, Power, Connect”, 2006. Accessed via http://www.csrindia.org/. (Site no longer live) 16. Interview 14. 17. Interview 14. 18. Most of my interviews were conducted in 2005, in New Delhi. 19. Kalpana Kannariban and Ritu Menon, From Mathura to Manorama (New Delhi: Kali For Women, 2007). 20. The early groups include All India Women's Conference 1927, Arya Mahila Samaj 1880s, Bharat Ashram 1870s, Bharat Mahila Parishad 1905, Bharat Stree Mahamandal 1910, National Council of Indian Women 1925, National Federation of Indian Women 1954, Women's Indian Association 1917. Groups formed in the lead up to and during the Emergency years include Nav Nirman 1974, Progressive Organisation of Women 1974, Self-Employed Women's Association (Sewa) 1972, Shramik Sangathana 1972, Working Women's Forum 1978, United Women's Anti-Price Rise Front 1973. 21. An incomplete list includes: All India Women's Conference 1927, Bharat Mahila Parishad 1905, National Council of Indian Women 1925, National Federation of Indian Women 1954, Women's Indian Association 1917, Center for Social Research 1983, Centre for Women's Development Studies 1980, Good As You 1994, The Institute of Social Studies Trust (ISST) 1980, Jagori 1984, Kali for Women 1984, Lawyer's Collective 1981, Sarai 1998, Sneha 1987, Swayam 1995, Women's Action Group Chelsea 1992, Nirantar 1994. 22. Neera Chandhoke, “The Taming of Civil Society,” Seminar, (January 2005) http://www.india-seminar.com; Nandini Deo, “Is neo-liberalism bad for women?” Proteus, Vol. 23, No. 1 (2006), pp. 1–26. 23. 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