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The global women’s movement may be simplified into fighting oppression based on gender. Yet, with many institutions, ideals, and people involved in the struggle this one definition does not suffice. Patricia Loveridge explains this complication within the movement for female rights: “despite its proven potential as a powerful rallying force, gender, as a human category, is also inextricably linked to other forms of social organization that differences in status, worldview and loyalties have been inevitable characteristics in the movement.”   This complication remains even when focusing on one country and one social organization. The women’s wings of Indian political parties serve as an example of Loveridge’s diagnosis for the general movement, as a variety of factors and ideologies, beyond gender, are crucial to understanding the how and why of female political involvement.  An analysis of some of the political women’s wings shows that much of the work and rhetoric of these women is focused on the party and its greater ideology, rather than for the rights of women in general.

 

Much of the existing research that discusses women’s political involvement in India, falls into two general categories.  The first discusses the party activities in the context of the broader feminist and women’s movements. The other approaches the subject by examining one of the women’s wings in particular. Mangala Subramaniam’s article, “The Indian Women’s Movement,” is an example of the first type, as it provides an overview of the different components of the women’s movement in India, including local and national organizations, NGOs, and parties. This larger perspective explains the female social movement through its numerous forms, and the spectrum of interests it represents. The women’s wings of Indian parties directly illustrates this diversity of interests, especially the competing ideologies of the Communist Party (Marxist) and the Hindu Right Wing. The communist women’s organization, AIDWA, is the subject of Patricia Loveridge’s article “Approaches to Change: The All India Democratic Women's Association and a Marxist Approach to the Woman Question in India.” It analyzes the group’s history and structure, while also explaining how the communist approach to women’s oppression and subsequent liberation.  Another example of the second type of in depth research on a specific group, is the book Ethnography of Political Violence: Everyday Nationalism: Women of the Hindu Right Wing by Kalyani Menon. The author examines the female involvement in every aspect of in this political movement from recruitment to activism. 

 

This paper looks to combine the two previously observed approaches to scholarship on Indian women’s politics. It will touch on different aspects and ideologies of political parties, like the first category, while using and analyzing parties like one could expect from the second examples. This method attempts to look at Indian women’s political involvement purely through the parties, rather than the umbrella feminist movement or one case study. The politics that will be examined are the BJP, Indian National Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) and the Hindu Right movement. Including Congress and BJP are important as they are the two largest and most established parties in India. The CPI(M) is an interesting study because of how it conceptualize female issues and solutions. The participation of women in the Hindu right wing is unique among the other parties in its recruitment and training. For each party, the following questions will direct the analysis: how important is the recruitment of women? What role do women play in the greater structure and organization? What women’s issues are highlighted by the party? Using these guiding questions one can judge how women factor into the larger organization. Across the studied movements, they each view and use women differently, but there is a common thread that their respective political ideology is central to the female members’ work. 


Section 1: The Left


The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), the Communist (Marxist) women’s wing, held its first conference in 1981 and has since become ten million strong, making it one of the largest women’s organizations in the world. The main base of the rural poor and working poor has grown steadily throughout India’s economic opening in 1991. Even though these neoliberal reforms of the Indian economy, that the group vehemently opposes, are known to generally disrupt mass mobilization. The main goals of the organization revolve around economics and classic Marxist theories of women’s liberation. Therefore, their central concern is the right to employment and financial independence. Another Marxist theory the organization has embraced is that “women’s emancipation is necessarily contingent on the overthrow of capitalism and a radical restructuring of the social and political order.” AIDWA has acted on this by recognizing that female struggle intertwines with the struggles of other oppressed groups in the country. Thus, freeing women from oppression through economic independence and increased rights, will in turn benefit all the marginalized people. In the long run, liberated women are necessary to displace the “existing economic and political structure.” The rhetoric of AIDWA clearly connects it to the traditional Marxist themes, and to the larger Communist Party of India (Marxist). 

 

While AIWA is considered independent from CPI(M), one could consider the association as being part of the “Party’s universe of mass organizations.” In the 1970s the party began discussing the necessity of a women’s organization, and a lot of effort was put towards giving the party a wider appeal and effect. Their beliefs and longterm goals for India largely overlap, and the party infrastructure of “mass organizations” has been a great arena for AIDWA to promote its cause and raise awareness. The larger party has helped the women’s wing by providing support, mobilization, and safety to its many causes and demonstrations. Keeping up with their founding ideology, many leaders of CPI(M) see “bringing women into radical politics as an integral to their Marxist commitment to fighting for socialism.” Yet, with some of AIDWA’s more progressive positions on women’s rights the CPI(M) has chosen not to directly support the causes. The women’s association primarily plans and acts alone when working to combat domestic and dowry-related violence, women’s sexual liberation, and marriage rights. While issues of economic autonomy and promotion of socialist policies are clearly within the CPI(M)’s existing platform, female specific concerns have been harder to get the larger party’s support, and mostly remain within AIDWA.  

 

The website of AIDWA offers information on the group’s goals and approaches to liberating women. It presents itself as an “independent left oriented women’s organization,” and makes no reference to the CPI(M).  Yet, the “Issues Of Concern” section clearly illustrates its political ideology: 


The concern with issues directly or indirectly influencing women's lives translates into protests against policies of neo-liberal globalization, against communalism and religious fundamentalism as also against domestic and social violence. AIDWA's struggle for justice finds expression in its involvement with the problems of urbanization, migration, uneven development and terrorism as well as issues related to employment, health, education, self help groups, and rights of minority and dalit women. 


The website also highlights the importance of including other marginalized groups as there are sections addressing Dalit, tribal, and minority women. The most common theme one encounters on the organization’s website is the importance of the work being done by women on the grassroots level. These “thousands of selfless activists in different parts of the country” are often referenced and praised for their roles outside the direct party politics (“Issues Of Concern”). While still mentioning numerous issues of women’s rights, AIDWA’s self representation through its website shows how the influence of its founding party is never lost.


Section 2: The Mainstream


The two most prominent political parties in India, the Indian National Congress (INC) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), interestingly have very little literature about their women’s wings. In scholarship about the general women’s movement, authors point to Congress’s lack of attention to female issues, and an overall sense of being outside the party politics system for many women in India as spurring the growth of other feminist groups. While prominent female politicians have come from these parties, the desire for a strong female organization is not as notable as seen previously with CPI(M). Though AIDWA demonstrates some independence from the party in some issues, the women’s wings of these two dominant parties appear much more linked to the base party.  For example, unlike AIDWA, the website of BJP Mahila Morcha does not hide its connection to the greater party. While that may be obvious considering the name of the women’s wing, when comparing it to its CPI(M) counterpart the websites are very different.  The “Constitution” and “History” sections of the BJP Mahila Morcha website consist of information about the party at large, rather than that of the women’s wing. It is also interesting to note that, for whatever reason, the website is one of the most underdeveloped from the family of BJP sites. On the other hand, the women’s wing of Congress, Mahila Congress, does not appear to have any presence on the party website, even though the youth wing has its own section. There is a page devoted to “Women’s Empowerment,” but not in relation to the work of the wing.


Women are emerging as an important vote bloc to the main parties, especially in the current election in 2014. An article in The Times of India, “Women voters: Hard to get” explains how appealing to the female voter is a relatively new tactic in India, and that parties are still figuring out how to take advantage of the women’s vote. The writer describes how Congress politicians are speaking of “women’s empowerment” and the BJP have included “women-specific poll promises.” The large protests in 2012 after the gang-rape of a young woman in Dehli was a key moment when parties recognized women as a mobilized force, and potential supporters. The idea of women voting as a bloc is new, thus politicians are unsure of what would appeal to them, and Jerath believes their current attempts rely on “patriarchal notions of what women really want.” The spread of media and access to information through the internet has helped many women begin voting independently of their male family members. Yet, there are very few issues and ideologies that women could agree on, and there is an overall lack of unity within the group. But, why aren’t the women’s wings helping to organize and solidify the voting bloc? As Jerath says, “the women's wings of political parties are voiceless adjuncts,” therefore, do not have the infrastructure or power to make a difference.   

 

It appears that for the major parties having a women’s wing is the norm, yet has never been a crucial aspect of the party’s structure. Women have been a part of the parties’ leadership and supporters, but not because of female specific issues or platforms. In the future, a strong women’s organization and increased recruitment may become important to the mainstream parties as women begin to assert their political power. Yet, for now it is still the general party ideology that has to appeal to the female voter. While the large parties have had continued electoral success without a strong mass female organization, for more radical groups women’s wings appear to be more important. As has been presented, women are necessary to the ideology and success of the CPI(M). On the other side of the political spectrum, the Hindu Right movement, a lot of attention and organization has been put in to grow the female base as well.

 

Section 3: The Right

 

The general Hindu Right nationalist movement has recruited and used female activists in unique ways. Many women joined the various women’s wings of nationalist organizations because they come from families active in the movement, yet more women are now joining as the movement has expanded its recruitment strategies. In her ethnography of the women in the Hindu Right, Kalyani Menon studies a diverse group of women, but still finds many norms of the ideology are still persistent. When participating in the organization, women hold very gendered identities as virtuous and subservient daughters, wives, and mothers. Yet even with these social constraints, the female members hold visible roles in the movement. The importance of motherhood to the women in the movement comes through in their stories and assigned roles, but also in the justification of their activism. Female activists are expected to marry and then educate the next generation in the nationalist ideology. Within this traditional role, there is also rhetoric of “women as mothers of the nation.” By giving women this extra, larger cultural position, their participation in public is tolerated, and often encouraged. 

 

Part of women’s growing importance has been the realization that they can build support with different avenues, and in groups other than men. For example, the telling of histories is a crucial recruitment tactic deployed by women. These stories are tailored to appeal to the traditional gender roles of women, but they are also different from anything men could present, as men often appear in the stories as incompetent without the help of a woman. While this might be a departure from the patriarchal tradition, it is important in recruitment to portray this type of woman because a “more active role for women is necessary to create a place for women’s activism in the movement.” This type of story frames the Hindu Right ideology in a way that could appeal to a wider audience of women.  

 

Menon studied the various ways women were recruited and trained into the Hindu Right. One of the most interesting investigations was on the camp, shivir, for the women’s wing of RSS, Rashtra Sevika Samiti, that teaches women the ideological doctrine and provides physical training. The program includes stories, songs, and lectures about Hindu nationalism, and games that emphasis “aggression, competitiveness, and violence.” The characteristics of these activities seem contrary to the movement’s subscription to traditional gender roles, but the physicality of the games is meant to create women strong enough for political struggle. The inclusion of games is also a way to recruit women that are not naturally drawn to the nationalist ideology, but instead are looking for a program to have fun and meet people that is considered socially acceptable. 

 

Menon encountered women that attended shivirs for many different reasons, illustrating the movement’s desire to recruit a diverse group of women. While this helps the movement grow its participation, it could eventually hurt the organization. Even though the women go through training on Hindu Right ideology, because they come into it for different reasons and with different expectations it could create “dissonant subjects.” As with the other parties examined in this paper, maintaining and disseminating the organization’s ideology is a common theme of the majority of female’s political activities, thus it is crucial to keep the message consistent.  

 

Section 4: Conclusion 

 

The effort and importance of gaining female participation in Indian political parties has varied widely. The CPI (Marxists) identified early on the need to include women in the economic and political revolution, while the Hindu Right more recently began to broaden their appeal by recruiting women. The parties with the most electoral success have a history of female leaders, yet weak women’s wings, and are just now identifying women as a potential vote bloc. In all these groups, when women’s participation is emphasized they are given visible, active roles in promoting the party’s causes. The exception, AIDWA, gives significant attention to female specific issues, but this is independent of the larger Marxist party. The Hindu Right, on the other hand, desires wide female involvement in their projects, yet the women are expected to maintain traditional gender roles. Among the mainstream parties, there is some rhetoric of female empowerment, but the women’s wings are not influential enough to promote these issues within the greater party. With all these women’s organizations it is their central ideology that comes first, and then in a few cases, issues of women’s rights. While devoting a wing of the party to women is the norm in Indian politics, and they can provide women with opportunities to participate in the democracy, they are often constricted by ideology or are not powerful enough to take on women’s issues. As women become more independent and educated it will be interesting to see if they begin to operate as a unified vote bloc in India, and in turn gain authority both in their wings and larger parties.     

 

Works Cited

 

All India Democratic Women’s Association. All India Democratic Women’s Association. AIDWA, 2012. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.

 

Armstrong, Elizabeth. Gender and Neoliberalism: The All India Democratic Women’s Association and Globalization Politics. New York: Routledge, 2014. Print.

 

Bharatiya Janta Party. Welcome to BJP Mahila Morcha. BJP, 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014.

 

Jerath, Arati R. “Women voters: Hard to get.” The Times of India. The Times of India, 9 Mar. 2014. Web. 4 Apr. 2014.

 

Loveridge, Patricia. “Approaches to Change: The All India Democratic Women's Association and a Marxist Approach to the Woman Question in India.” India Journal of Gender Studies 1 (1994): 215-241. Sage. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.

 

Menon, Kalyani. Ethnography of Political Violence: Everyday Nationalism: Women of the Hindu Right Wing. University of Pennsylvania, Web.

 

Subramaniam, Mangala. “The Indian Women’s Movement.” Contemporary Sociology 33.6 (2004): 635-639. JSTOR. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.

 

Purkayastha, Bandana, Mangala Subramaniam, Manisha Desai and Sunita Bose. “The Study of Gender in India: A Partial Review.” Gender and Society 17.4 (2003): 503-524. JSTOR. Web. 16 Feb. 2014.
 

Women Working for the Party

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