Women’s rights are human rights but sadly the neo-feminist movement has started facing backlash as it is coming across as more of a male-bashing movement rather than a movement for female empowerment. But fighting for women’s rights is a long battle that many women continue to fight till their death. Today, we have a look at some of the well-known faces of women’s rights activism in India.
Ela Bhatt
Image courtesy: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ela_Bhatt
One of the prominent women working for the empowerment of the gender, Ela Bhatt founded SEWA – Self-Employed Women's Association of India in the year 1972. Not only this, she painstakingly works towards causes of international labour and is a part of several cooperative, women, and micro-finance movements. She is particularly known for her involvement with The Elders’ Initiative which is all about the equality for girls and women. Due to her efforts, she was also honoured with the Global Fairness Initiative Award in 2010 and awarded the Radcliffe Medal and the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development in 2011.
Kavita Krishnan
Kavita Krishnan was instrumental in the protests against rape in the aftermath of the 2012 Delhi gang rape of Nirbhaya. She continues to publicise the problems that women face while serving as the Secretary of the All India Progressive Women's Association.
Laxmi Agarwal
Image courtesy: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laxmi_Agarwal
An acid-attack victim, Laxmi Agarwal had a traumatic experience at the tender age of 15. After the initial shock, she made a drastic turnaround to fight against the evil of acid attacks. Her plight was widely covered by the media and she also received the prestigious International Women of Courage award from none other than Michelle Obama. Her petition for regulation of acid sale led the Supreme Court to take heed. A trained beautician, Laxmi is now the director of Chhanv Foundation and as per some reports, her story will soon be shown on the silver screen too.
Meenakshi Arora
A lawyer by profession, practising at the Supreme Court of India, Meenakshi was one of the members of the committee which drafted regulations to protect women and create a grievance redressal forum for women lawyers suffering sexual harassment at the Supreme Court. She was one of the advocated who played a major part in framing of the Vishakha Guidelines.
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Flavia Agnes
A victim of domestic violence herself, Flavia Agnes, a senior lawyer specialising in marital, divorce and property law, works with the most common women’s issues of wife beating, dowry and sexual harassment. She is the co-founder of an organisation named Majlis which represents women legally, especially destitute women. Not only this, she had also helped to form the campaign group Forum Against Oppression of Women in 1979.
Bani Yadav
Bani holds the distinction of being the only woman in India who has won some of the major Cross Country rally titles in India. She also holds a doctorate in motorsports and when she is not racing, she is busy promoting the causes of gender equality and equal rights. Bani Yadav is a fighter and a icon for those who would like to break all stereotypes as she continues to win in an event that was largely considered a male bastion.
There’s still a long way to go in terms of gender equality and empowerment of women but these women show us that with persistence, change is possible.
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