Tarabai Shinde - Trailblazer of Feminism in India

Her magnum opus in Marathi, ‘Stri-Purush Tulana’ (‘Comparison of Women and Men’, published in 1882) tears down the patriarchy, and the systemic exploitation and subjugation of women in India. Outraged by an incident where a widow was sentenced to execution for choosing to abort for having ‘loose morals’, Tarabai minced no words when she said “What’s good for a man ought to be good for the woman as well.” Writing in a time when there was scant public discourse on basic rights for women and girls like education, safety from physical and sexual abuse, and child marriage, Tarabai blazed through the double standards with her powerful prose. She thereafter became a close associate of social reformers Savitribai and Jyotiba Phule, and a part of the Satyashodhak Samal (‘Truth-finding Society’), espousing education and basic rights for women and Dalits, among other traditionally subjugated groups. A strong believer in agency for all women by right, from widows to sex workers, her social advocacy couldn’t be more relevant to us today in India, as having come this far, we continue to evolve our relationship with feminism.

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