The Acts and Facts of Women’s Autonomy in India

Abstract

Any discussion of women's autonomy in India has to begin with the 19th century because it was at this time, by a conjuncture of events, that questions of women's rights assumed centre stage in debates on social reforms both in England and India. Although it was recognized by social reformers that something needed to be done to improve the condition of women in India, their actions were often not driven by any notion of gender justice or equality. That story has been much repeated, but what needs to be remembered is that these debates led to changes in the situation of women both in England and in India. More importantly, however, these debates led to the specific social construction of ‘woman’ as more a member of a community than an individual. This ensured that questions of women's autonomy were to be historically subsumed within religious and personal law, and were hardly ever treated as a matter of either individual right or justice. Even to this day women's autonomy remains hostage to personal and customary law.