Introduction
The women’s movement in India has played a significant role in shaping debates on gender equality, legal rights, political representation, and social justice. From campaigns against dowry deaths to demands for equal pay and political empowerment, feminist activism has influenced public policy and social consciousness. However, a persistent critique remains: the mainstream women’s movement has largely reflected the concerns of middle- and upper-class women, while the realities of women from lower social strata—such as Dalits, Adivasis, minorities, migrant workers, and rural poor—have often remained marginal.
This raises an important question: Has the women’s movement in India inadequately addressed the issues of women from lower social strata? This essay sustains the view that while the movement achieved notable legal and institutional gains, it has struggled to fully integrate the lived experiences of marginalized women due to class, caste, and regional disparities.
Understanding the Women’s Movement in India
The Indian women’s movement evolved through multiple phases:
- Pre-independence period: Women participated in nationalist struggles, focusing on social reforms like widow remarriage, education, and abolition of child marriage.
- Post-independence era: Attention shifted toward legal equality and constitutional rights.
- 1970s onwards: A renewed feminist movement emerged addressing dowry, rape, domestic violence, and workplace discrimination.
While these movements brought women’s issues into public discourse, leadership and agenda-setting were largely dominated by educated urban women. Consequently, structural inequalities rooted in caste and class often received secondary attention.
Nature of Marginalization of Lower-Strata Women
Women belonging to lower social strata face multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination, including:
- Gender-based oppression
- Caste hierarchy
- Economic deprivation
- Limited access to education and healthcare
- Vulnerability to informal labor exploitation
Their challenges differ significantly from those of middle-class women, as survival needs—food security, safe housing, sanitation, and employment—take precedence over abstract rights-based discourses.
Yet, mainstream feminism frequently prioritized issues such as workplace equality, representation, and legal reforms, which did not directly address these survival realities.
Dominance of Urban and Elite Perspectives
A key limitation of the women’s movement has been its urban-centric and elite character. Activism often revolved around:
- Sexual harassment laws
- Career advancement
- Political participation
- Legal rights
Although important, these concerns largely reflected the experiences of educated women. Rural laborers, domestic workers, sanitation workers, and tribal women remained peripheral to these narratives.
This imbalance resulted in policy frameworks that were formally gender-sensitive but socially exclusionary.
Inadequate Engagement with Caste-Based Oppression
Caste remains a defining feature of Indian society. Dalit and Adivasi women experience violence and exploitation not only as women but also as members of historically oppressed communities.
However, mainstream feminist movements initially hesitated to confront caste directly, often treating gender as a standalone category. This omission limited solidarity with marginalized women whose struggles cannot be separated from caste discrimination.
Dalit feminist voices later highlighted how mainstream feminism failed to acknowledge everyday violence such as:
- Forced manual labor
- Sexual exploitation by dominant castes
- Social exclusion from public spaces
These experiences were rarely central to national feminist campaigns.
Economic Issues Remained Secondary
Lower-strata women are primarily engaged in informal sectors—agriculture, domestic work, construction, street vending—where labor protections are weak or nonexistent.
Yet economic justice did not receive adequate attention in feminist activism. The movement emphasized legal equality but underplayed:
- Wage insecurity
- Lack of social protection
- Unsafe working conditions
- Absence of childcare support
Without addressing economic vulnerability, empowerment remained symbolic rather than transformative.
Disconnect Between Policy Advocacy and Ground Realities
While feminist groups successfully influenced legislation—such as laws on domestic violence and workplace harassment—implementation gaps persist at grassroots levels.
Marginalized women often lack:
- Awareness of legal rights
- Access to police or courts
- Financial resources to pursue justice
Thus, legal victories failed to translate into meaningful change for women at the bottom of the social hierarchy.
Representation Deficit within the Movement
Leadership positions within feminist organizations were predominantly occupied by women from privileged backgrounds. As a result, agenda-setting rarely reflected grassroots concerns.
Lower-strata women were frequently treated as beneficiaries rather than active decision-makers. This reinforced paternalistic approaches rather than participatory empowerment.
Emergence of Alternative Feminisms
In response to exclusion, marginalized groups developed their own movements:
- Dalit feminism
- Tribal women’s collectives
- Rural self-help groups
- Labor-based women’s unions
These initiatives foregrounded issues such as land rights, minimum wages, access to forests, and community health. However, they remained fragmented and received limited national visibility compared to mainstream feminism.
Positive Contributions of the Women’s Movement
Despite its shortcomings, it would be unfair to dismiss the achievements of the Indian women’s movement entirely. It has:
- Secured important legal reforms
- Challenged patriarchal norms
- Increased women’s political participation
- Created public awareness on gender violence
- Opened space for marginalized voices over time
Recent years have seen greater acknowledgment of intersectionality, with growing efforts to integrate caste and class perspectives.
Structural Reasons for the Gap
Several factors explain why lower-strata women remained underrepresented:
- Educational barriers prevented participation in activism.
- Time poverty due to unpaid care work limited engagement.
- Geographical isolation restricted access to platforms.
- Power hierarchies within movements marginalized grassroots voices.
These systemic constraints shaped whose experiences were heard.
Toward an Inclusive Women’s Movement
For meaningful transformation, the women’s movement must evolve toward an intersectional model that recognizes diversity among women.
Key steps include:
- Prioritizing economic justice alongside legal rights
- Ensuring leadership from marginalized communities
- Strengthening rural and tribal outreach
- Integrating caste and class analysis into feminist discourse
- Supporting grassroots collectives
- Linking gender equality with broader social justice struggles
Such integration would make the movement more representative and impactful.
Role of the State and Civil Society
Government programs focusing on health, nutrition, education, and livelihoods must align with feminist advocacy. Civil society organizations should act as bridges between policy frameworks and community needs.
Empowerment must move beyond symbolism to include access to land, credit, skills, and decision-making spaces.
Conclusion
The assertion that “the women’s movement in India has not adequately addressed the issues of women of lower social strata” holds substantial validity. While the movement achieved critical legal and social milestones, it often reflected the priorities of relatively privileged women, leaving structural inequalities of caste and poverty insufficiently addressed.
True gender justice cannot exist without social and economic justice. A reimagined women’s movement must center the voices of the most marginalized, adopt an intersectional framework, and align feminist goals with broader struggles for dignity, equality, and inclusive development.
Only then can the movement fulfill its promise of empowering all women—not just a few.
