Date of Award
12-1996
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Department
Political Science
First Advisor
Dr. Sushi Datta-Sandhu
Second Advisor
Dr. Jim Butterfield
Third Advisor
Dr. Libby Dalton
Access Setting
Masters Thesis-Open Access
Abstract
The women's movement has a long history in India. There exists an active women's movement in India today. Furthermore, there also exists a strong legal environment to protect women's rights. However, the social status of the majority of Indian women remains unchanged. In other words, the women's movement has failed to change the social status of Indian women.
This thesis examines the Indian women's movement historically from the nineteenth century to the present to explain why it has not had a greater impact on changing the social status of Indian women.
I argue that the lack of change in the social status of women is mainly due to the lack of gender consciousness among Indian women and the persistence of patriarchal attitudes in Indian society. Based on a historical analysis of the status of Indian women and the women's movement, I argue that the women's movement has not been effectively engaged in raising gender consciousness among women due to which the social status of Indian women remains unchanged.
Recommended Citation
Thomas, Aparna, "Gender Consciousness, Patriarchy and the Indian Women’s Movement" (1996). Masters Theses. 4135.
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/masters_theses/4135