The Women Of India

Are Indian women powerful mother goddesses, or domestic handmaidens trailing behind men in literacy, wages, opportunities, and rights? Have they been agents of their own destinies, or voiceless victims of patriarchy? Behind these colorful over-simplifications lies the reality of many feminine personas belonging to various classes, ethnicities, religions, and castes. This two-volume set looks at Indian history from ancient to modern times, revealing precisely why ideas of gender rights were not static across eras or regions. Raman's work is a reflection on the various ways in which women in a non-Western culture have developed and expressed their own feminist agenda. Are Indian women powerful mother goddesses, or domestic handmaidens trailing behind men in literacy, wages, opportunities, and rights? Have they been agents of their own destinies, or voiceless victims of patriarchy? Behind these coloful over-simplifications lies the reality of many feminine personas belonging to various classes, ethnicities, religions, and castes. This two-volume set looks at Indian history from ancient to modern times, revealing precisely why ideas of gender rights were not static across eras or regions. Raman's work is a reflection on the various ways in which women in a non-western culture have developed and expressed their own feminist agenda. Individual chapters highlight the enduring legacies of many important male and female figures, illustrating how each played a key role in modifying the substance of women's lives. Political movements are examined as well, such as the nationalist reform movement of 1947 in which the ideal of Indian womanhood became central to the nation and the push for independence. Also included is a survey of women in contemporary India and the role they played in the resurgence of militant Hindu nationalism. Aside from being an engaging and readable narrative of Indian history, this set integrates women's issues, roles, and achievements into the general study of the times, providing a clear presentation of the social, cultural, religious, political, and economic realities that have helped shape the identity of Indian women.

A systematic presentation of the status of women of India throughout the long history of about 6000 years has been presented starting from the Vedic times to the post-independence period. A detailed description of the status of women during the Vedic times, which is rarely available in any of the existing literature, and in the following periods is very significant to the study of this subject. The author has discussed how the political and religious conditions over the periods have affected the conditions of women. The age-old evils, which had got firmly entrenched in the Indian society, such as the tradition of Sati, illiteracy, child marriages, and deplorable treatment of widows and so on, still persist and some new ones have joined the list. These are: bride burning, dowry, female feticide, domestic violence, to name a few. Short biographies of some outstanding women have been included to illustrate that in spite of adversities some women had achieved eminence. To the credit of the Indian Government, legislative measures have been taken to protect and improve the status of women after independence and just prior to it. These have been outlined. Unfortunately, these measures have not been able to achieve their intended results on account of wide spread corruption and lack of education and awareness among women, especially in the rural areas. A snapshot of the present conditions is given along with concluding remarks and recommendations for improvement. Improvement of the status of women is extremely improvement for India if it wishes to become a developed and progressive country and a world leader in culture and ideology.

On the ideals of Indian womanhood.

Kunti, a mother whose biggest challenge is to regain her eldest son’s forgiveness. Vidisha, a young college student who wants to establish herself in the notorious Hindi film industry. Arana, a retired actress-turned-mother-turned housewife who knows the dirty secrets of Bollywood too well. Shahzneen, a newly married wife who is struggling with the challenges of procreation. Tarana, a young girl whose greatest desire is to attend school. Nandi, a devadasi who has resigned to her life and lost all hope of change. Five short stories about different women facing different challenges and trying to navigate their lives through the ancient-yet-modern land that is India.

Includes songs by Buddhist nuns, testimonies of medieval rebel poets and court historians, and the voices of more than 60 other writers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Among the diverse selections are a rare early essay by an untouchable woman; an account by the first feminist historian; and a selection from the first novel written in English by an Indian woman.

As everyone knows, on the one hand, women in India walk shoulder to shoulder with men, whereas, on the other hand, this half of the population is struggling to get their due rights even after more than seven decades of India's independence. The Nova Publication is proud to publish this book titled "Exploring the Opportunity and Challenges of Women in India". The title of this book itself reflects its gravity and importance. The wide range of issues related to women that this book covers makes it a must-read for women, students, research scholars, academicians, politicians, competitive examination aspirants and general readers who are keenly interested in augmenting their knowledge regarding various aspects of women in the largest democracy in the world where the women are still finding it difficult to get their share of representation even after the recently concluding the 17th General Elections in the independent nation.The authors have done independent and detailed research on every aspect related to women starting from present social conditions of women to political representation, financial independence, women empowerment, challenges and opportunities in historically patriarchal society, role of women in governance, women's rights and problems being faced by both working and home-maker women.By reading this book, the readers will come to know about issues that have been left unaddressed for decades, and will then get deep insight about the present condition of half the population of India. This book will help the policy-makers and stakeholders to draw an action plan to ensure equality, social, legal and constitutional rights for women.The authors are continuously researching to bring other unaddressed issues concerning women to our readers. The Nova Publication promises that we will keep highlighting every latest development related to the rights, roles and representation of this 50% population of India in our subsequent publications until the time when 100% equality for women is achieved.The best part of the book is that the authors have written the chapters in an extremely lucid language which is easy to understand and grasp.

The author traces the history of Indian women from the nineteenth century under colonial rule, to the twentieth century after Independence. She begins with the reform movement, established by men to educate women, and demonstrates how education changed their lives, enabling them to take part in public life. Through the women's own accounts, the author has compiled an accessible and immediate record of their achievements over the past two centuries, which will be of interest to students of South Asia and to anyone concerned with women and their history.

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