Contributing to recent debates on feminism, and Indian feminism in particular, this
book assesses how feminists in India have impacted legal and social debates on women's rights,
violence against women and sexuality from the 1970s. The author examines and analyses feminist
campaigns on issues of violence and women's rights and debates on ways in which feminist legal
debates may be limiting for women and based on exclusionary concepts such as citizenship.
Campaigns ranging from domestic violence, rape, pornography and son preference are addressed
and set within a wider analysis of the position of women within the Indian state and sexuality
generally. The strengths and limitations of law reform for women are addressed as well as whether
legal feminisms relating to law and women's legal rights are effective in the Indian context.
The author examines whether legal campaigns have led to or can lead to positive changes in women's
lives or whether they further legitimize oppressive state patriarchies. The recasting of caste
and community identities are also assessed, as well as the rise of Hindu fundamentalism and the
ways in which feminists in India have combated and confronted these challenges. This book will
be of interest to researchers and students in the areas of feminism, law, women's movements and
social movements in India and South Asia more generally.

About the Author(s)

Geetanjali Gangoli is Research Fellow in the School for Policy Studies at the University
of Bristol, UK. She is part of the Violence Against Women Research Group.

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