women and men worked together to improve the
conditions of women’s lives. Reform was strongest
in Bengal and Maharashtra and tended to focus on
ideals of family and society, rather than the inde-
pendence and autonomy of women.
A new women’s movement emerged in India in
the 1970s, unaligned with any political parties and
uninfluenced by foreign or government funding.
Primarily composed of female volunteers, these
women have sought to highlight the misogynist
aspects inherent within Hinduism, advocate for
women’s rights over their own bodies and sexual-
ity, and undermine tolerance for domestic violence.
They have had to contend not only against nation-
alist elements, but also against Leftist resistance to
discussing the oppression of women.
The opening up of the domestic economy to
liberalization and globalization since the early
1990s has affected the outlook of the feminist
movement in India. Various nongovernmental
organizations funded by foreign aid have shown
interest in some of the demands of the women’s
movement.
WOMEN AND THE SACRED
Hindu women have the feminine divine before
them all the time, as the Hindu tradition preserves
a worship of the GODDESS that probably dates
from the Neolithic. Many divine tales recount
the supremacy of the female aspect of the divine
over the masculine. Through this access, women
gain power in being and bearing; yet, in the social
sphere, women have generally not been given
freedom to reflect the powerful goddesses overtly.
In Hindu society one can often hear a man say
that his sister or wife is the “goddess” and, there-
fore, should be treated well and respected. Social
conditions, however, support significant oppres-
sion of Indian women, especially those of lower
social standing.
The goddesses who become role models for
Indian women are not those that show autonomy
and independence but those that embody subordi-
nate roles. SITA, the obedient wife of Lord Rama,
is the traditional role model for Hindu women.
Women understand that the fierce goddesses
(which Western women often view as inspiring)
are goddesses that are not to be imitated. Uncon-
trolled by society and convention, powerful god-
desses are not seen as role models. One of the
greatest insults to an Indian woman is to be called
a KALI.
As is the case in most of the world, women
in India have throughout the centuries been the
main cultural transmitters of myths and story and
simple religious practices. While history records
the lives of great male SWAMIS and teachers, little
is recorded of the prayers, vows, and devotions of
Hindu women who take on the tasks of assuring
the welfare of their families by asking for divine
intercession and aid. Yet, it is this integrative func-
tion performed by women that connects the every-
day world to the cosmic order, even as it sacralizes
the universe—an essential Hindu practice. While
males, in the main, were free to develop philoso-
phies and movements, women, forced into more
limited roles, creatively reached out to the forces
of the universe to preserve and protect their loved
ones and provide for a harmonious and fruit-
ful society. For every wandering ascetic who did
his renunciation for higher spiritual gain, one
could count, contemporaneously, thousands of
individual women who practiced vows, fasts, and
disciplines to ensure the welfare of those around
them. This role of women as powerful religious
and spiritual actors, although recognized in the
culture, is largely unrecorded. The paucity of
women saints in the history of Hindu tradition
belies the agency that women have exerted in the
temples, shrines, and households of India over
the centuries. This agency has been central to the
continuity of Hinduism over time.Further reading: Frederique Apfel-Marglin, Wives of
the Godking (Delhi: Oxford University Press, 1985);
Mandakranta Bose, ed., Faces of the Feminine in Ancient,
Medieval, and Modern India (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2000); Thomas Coburn, Encountering the God-women and Hinduism 501 J