Women’s Movements and Environmental Activism in India: Theoretical Reflections Based on the Study of New Delhi

Abstract

In India, the peasant mobilisations in 2020-2021 appeared as an echo of contemporary environmental struggles since the 1960s. The lead of these mobilisations taken by women has brought the gendered dimension of environmental and equality struggles in rural but also urban areas to the forefront.New Delhi as a capital is a major space of engagement for social and women’s movement. Since the 1970s, women and feminist organisations have been politicizing equality issues at both local and national levels. Although mobilisations in the cities enjoy a greater visibility, the space for women’s issues is made up of multiple movements that influence each other and sometimes aggregate.The visibility of women’s environmental struggles for equality in the last few years, led me to question the links between rural and urban women’s movements and the way environmental issues are addressed in these spaces.