Question

“It is often assumed that social reform for women’s rights was entirely fought for by male reformers and that ideas of women’s equality are alien imports.” Is this true or false? Give reasons for your answer.

“It is often assumed that social reform for women’s rights was entirely fought for by male reformers and that ideas of women’s equality are alien imports.” Is this assumption true? Give reasons for your answer.

Answer 1

No, this assumption is false.

Women themselves actively argued for their own rights in India. For example, Tarabai Shinde’s book “Stree Purush Tulana” (A Comparison Between Women and Men) sharply attacked patriarchal double standards, and Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain’s “Sultana’s Dream” imagined a world where women were educated and in power. These are Indian texts, written by Indian women, showing that ideas of women’s equality were not just “alien imports” and that women were central actors in the reform process.