FEMINISM

Feminism broadly means advocacy of the rights of women. There is no single accepted definition and feminism encompasses agitation for political and legal rights, equal opportunities, sexual autonomy, and the right of self-determination; for e.g., abortion, contraception, etc. The feminist movement stemmed from the recognition of the subordination of women from the existence of discrimination and inequality based on sex.

Feminism is a set of ideas linked to a social movement for change. It has never been a single unified movement but is made up of different elements, which may unite behind a single campaign (e.g., Women’s suffrage). Different phases of the feminist movement have gone under different labels: suffragette, women’s emancipation, women’s liberation, women’s movement, feminism, social feminism, radical feminism.

The two main divisions seen in feminism are:

-      The advocacy of the rights of women on the basis of similarity (i.e., Women are human beings like men and therefore ought to be granted equal rights)

-      The advocacy of the rights of women on the basis of difference (i.e., women are different from men, and therefore ought to be granted the right to represent themselves).

Suffragette Movement (1860-1930)

The suffragette movement united women of very different backgrounds. In the context of the struggle for votes, feminism developed with great speed. The campaign for female suffrage was an important landmark: women realized that they could not rely on political parties or the organized labor movement for support and that they would have to fight themselves for equality and justice.

Among the famous feminists who contributed to the growth of the feminist movement mention may be made of Rosa Parks. She became the symbol of feminist movement when she refused to give up her seat in a bus to a white man. She contributed to the beginning of the Civil Rights Movement in America in the 1960s. The Civil Rights Movement inspired women to try to obtain better conditions for themselves through campaigns of mass agitation and social criticism.