No matter which side of the movement you stand on, or how many missing nuances are keeping you up at night, there are a few things we can all agree on when it comes to India’s second-innings #MeToo movement that’s been demolishing centuries-old societal defects with a few strokes of a keyboard. Namely, the movement has been an incredibly powerful outlet for survivors of harassment and abuse across the country. It’s provides a space for safe expression, and a space where they might truly be heard. And as names that shock and disgust come tumbling out of women’s whisper networks into the bright daylight of our screens, it’s becoming amply clear that the dust will not be settling any time soon. Instead, we’re witnessing the inevitable–a splintering of ideologies within the larger purview of #MeToo, so to speak. Recently, we spoke about how women undermining other women’s narratives cripples everything the movement stands for. Even while that’s true, many of us know the truth is more complex than that. Another consequence of #MeToo has meant acknowledging that the gamut of things we’re all fighting for is evolving. It seems as though the discourse has led to the polarisation between young and old feminists, the newer age ones critical of what they feel is the older’s more passive attitude towards sexual abuse, coining those who are similarly more “subdued” as “Aunty Feminists”.
Take some of our leading journalists’ comments in the last few weeks for instance. Nidhi Razdan feels that close encounters with creeps trivialise the “real” cases of women dealing with predatory men at work, while Seema Mutafa believes the problem with #MeToo is “its inability to differentiate between the man who is guilty of rape and sexual assault from the man who solicited a woman with a drink, or an unacceptable text message.” She criticises that the movement offers the same response, reaction and punishment for all. This is in stark contrast to the younger or “millennial” / “Gen-Z” feminists who, as Harnidh Kaur writes, “will settle for nothing less than holding men to account for every kind of painful behaviour”.
Nowhere was this chasm made more clear than in the twitter wars between Barkha Dutt (aunty has more to do with mindsets than age) and Tavleen Singh. In one of her tweets, Singh exclaimed “So far, what may have been flirtation in most cases has been made to sound by all you fine liberals like rape. No support from me!” and Barkha took her very poignantly to task for it. This isn’t isolated to the Indian scenario either, as this essay by the New Yorker comments on millennial feminism and it’s divide with the older branches proves.
Instead of letting the cracks deepen, however, it becomes incumbent upon us not to stoke fires that divide us. While many of us may feel ‘older feminists’ have some problematic views on what defines harassment and what doesn’t, the truth is we wouldn’t have the platform we do to voice these harsh realities were it not for some of their undeniable courage at times when support was far less. The point of this article is not to defend views that need an update. Feminists were not perfect then, nor are they perfect now. This is merely a nod of thanks to some of the incredible Indian women who fought for the better parts of the lives we lead now.
[Note: This is by no means an exhaustive list, but just a few examples of those we should keep in mind — whose blood, sweat and tears built the foundation of the movement we carry forth today.]
I. Leila Seth
Late Leila Seth was the first woman chief justice of a state high court in the country, and only recently passed away last year. She was also the first female judge of the Delhi High Court. She was instrumental in the amendments of the Hindu Succession Act, which helped women gain equal access to property.
Did you know?
Seth was part of the Justice Verma Commission, which analysed and reworked rape laws in India after the Nirbhaya case in 2012.
II. Flavia Agnes
Agnes is an advocate and women’s rights activist who was instrumental in the advancement of personal laws for Christian and Muslim women. She is the founder of Majis, which offers among other support services, legal aid, and counsel to women.
Did you know?
She was also part of the creation of Forum Against Oppression of Women, an iconic feminist organisation that battled against sexual harassment. They organised protests all over Mumbai in the wake of the Mathura Rape Case in 1979.
III. Ima Thokchom Ramani
This fiery 80-year-old is one of the leaders and earliest members of the Meira Paibi, forerunners of women’s movements in Manipur, such as the Nishaband.
Did you know?
She was one of the 12 mothers who in 2004, stood naked outside Kangla Fort with a banner reading “Indian Army, Rape Us”, in response to the rape and murder of Thangjom Manorama by a paramilitary troop. Without them, the nation would have been in the dark about the horrific violence against women in Manipur.
IV. Rupan Deol Bajaj
This former IAS officer took on her harasser over 30 years before a movement like #MeToo even existed. After multiple dismissals and a 17-year long battle, she managed to bring to justice the police officer who groped her from behind at a high profile party.
Did you know?
At a time when there were no consolidated ideas of sexual harassment beyond the traditional notion of rape, Bajaj refused to be invalidated and intimidated and saw through the legal course. This gained her a lot of media attention and made her case pretty iconic.
V. Kavita Krishnan
Kavita Krishnan is an activist who is a member of the Communist Party of India, as well as the editor of its publication. She is also the secretary of the All India Progressive Women’s Association.
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She was one of the most influential activists in the Nirbhaya incident. Without her, we would not have had the powerful discourse on sexual abuse as well as ‘freedom without fear’.
VI. Indira Jaising
Jaising was the first woman to be appointed as the Additional Solicitor General of India in 2009. Without her, we wouldn’t have advancements in equal property rights for Syrian Christian women and divorce laws.
Did you know?
She drafted the first Domestic Violence Act, through which numerous women could seek justice against their tormentors.
VII. Manasi Pradhan
This iconic feminist has founded many organisations such as OYSS and the Nirbhaya Vahini, with over a thousand volunteers fighting against the violence of women.
Did you know?
Because of her initiative Honour For Women National Campaign and its four- point-charter, many state governments have included skills such as self- defence for girls in their educational programs.
VIII. Abei Meru
Meru is the current president of historic civil society group Nagaland’s Mothers Association, which was active throughout the 1980’s and 1990’s in areas like drug use, violence against civilians by the army, and women’s rights.
Did you know?
They fought for representation for women in politics and without them, reservation for women in local bodies in Nagaland would not have been possible.
IX. Muthulakshmi Reddi
The Late Muthulakshmi Reddi was a doctor as well as the first female legislator of India in 1926 as well the first woman Deputy President of the Legislative Council. She opened up medical facilities as well as homes for orphaned girls of all castes and religion.
Did you know?
She crafted laws on the trafficking of women and children and without her efforts, the dedication of young girls as devadasis would not have been abolished.
X. Soni Sori
The teacher from Bastar, Chattisgarh is an acid attack survivor and was also falsely arrested for being a Naxalite by the police where she was subsequently physically and mentally tortured. Driven by her experience, she now campaigns for adivasis caught in the conflict between Naxalites and government authorities, and sexual violence against Adivasi women.
Did You Know?
She was awarded the Front Line Defenders Award for Human Rights Defenders at Risk and was also one of the key figures fighting for justice in the Madkam Hidme rape case.
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