Feminism as a social, political and historical phenomenon has assumed many shapes and forms through the ages. But what does feminism mean in the Indian context? Can we chart out a linear history of the movement in India?

India’s movement has its own complexities, varying in definition and scope across class, caste, and creed. Gender dynamics and power imbalances have been instrumental in the oppression of women, and suppression and punishment is a tool to curb “transgressions” and maintain the status quo. Women have not only challenged this forced subservience but have, in many instances, overturned these systems too.

So, the goal of this podcast is not to define feminism, but to examine India’s social structures and the feminist resistance to them at specific moments in history.

Host Chahak Gupta speaks to social activist and Gulabi Gang founder Sampat Pal Devi; author and JNU professor of political thought Nivedita Menon; journalist, Dalit activist and social policy researcher Cynthia Stephen; feminist activist, writer and social historian V Geetha; professor and founder-director of the Centre for Gender, Culture and Social Processes at St Stephen’s College Karen Gabriel; and child rights activist, rehabilitation psychologist and Saarthi Trust founder Kriti Bharti.

Tune in to get a sense of the various complexities of the Indian feminist movement, how far it has come, and the long road of struggle that lies ahead.

Narrated and written by Chahak Gupta.

Produced by Aditya Varier, Lipi Vats and Shardool Katyayan.

Edited by Umrav Singh, Samarendra K Dash and Aditya Varier.

Research assistance by Abhudaya Tyagi, Riya Aggarwal and Prateek Pankaj.