e n

Periyar attacked the ‘sacred’, ‘private’ space that sustained the degradation of women

Periyar’s struggle for gender equality began with him recognizing that ‘the personal is political’ long before it became a modern-day maxim, hence his emphasis on Self-Respect Marriage, which treated the man and the woman as equal partners, writes Damni Kain 

Almost a century on, the societal changes that Periyar sought are still considered radical. This should give us an idea of how radical a social reformer Periyar may have been to his contemporaries. He was a crusader for women’s rights and the freedoms he sought for women are still taboo in what is still a patriarchal society. He fought for women to be allowed to fall in love and choose their husbands and challenged every other regressive norm that limited the agency of women. His struggle for women’s rights was informed by his political thinking that revolved around human dignity, freedom and equality. 

READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE: Periyar attacked the ‘sacred’, ‘private’ space that sustained the degradation of women

About The Author

Damni Kain

Damni Kain is a student activist pursuing her master’s in political science from Hindu College, Delhi University

Related Articles

How Bengali scholars critiqued Ram Rajya
According to Dinesh Chandra Sen, the spotless character in ‘Ramayana’ was Bharat. During his rule, the revenue of the government increased significantly, the kingdom...
When Ambedkar urged workers of India to unite against Brahmanism and capitalism
Two years after he launched the Independent Labour Party, Ambedkar addressed a conference of Dalit workers employed by the railways in Manmad in which...
How months of deliberations preceded Santhal Hul
Kedar Prasad Meena’s research concluded that Hul was the response of a people yearning for freedom and self-respect to their exploitation by moneylenders, the...
When I attended a liberal Savarna’s poetry reading
Having read Om Prakash Valmiki and Suraj Pal Chauhan’s works and identified with the worlds they inhabited, and then one day listening to Ashok...
Many Ramayanas
Historical, anthropological and literary research on the Ramayana reveal that remarkable variations exist and that Adivasis and women of India have their own take...