In global arenas and domestic policy documents alike, India paints a progressive picture of women’s empowerment. With constitutional guarantees, landmark legislation, flagship schemes, and empowering slogans like “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao”, the country often presents itself as a champion of gender justice.
Yet, beneath this rhetoric lies a harsher reality—a sovereign and deeply entrenched patriarchal structure that quietly governs homes, courts, workplaces, and political systems. Despite decades of reform, Indian women continue to face systemic oppression, social exclusion, and cultural subjugation. This article takes a deeper look at how India’s women’s empowerment discourse masks a complex, often contradictory truth.
Legal Empowerment vs. Ground Reality
India’s Constitution provides a strong foundation for gender equality. Articles 14 and 15 guarantee equal treatment and non-discrimination, while Article 21 enshrines the right to life and dignity. Laws such as the Dowry Prohibition Act (1961), the Domestic Violence Act (2005), and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act (2013) are milestones in legal empowerment.
However, legal reform has failed to dismantle patriarchal attitudes. In many cases, enforcement is weak, institutional sensitivity is lacking, and victims are either ignored or revictimized. For instance, despite stringent rape laws, public outrage continues to erupt over horrifying incidents like the rape and murder of a young doctor in Kolkata—a tragedy that tragically echoed earlier high-profile crimes. As The Guardian reported, these patterns reveal a justice system that remains slow and often indifferent to women’s trauma.
Gender-Based Violence: A Persistent Epidemic
India’s National Crime Records Bureau reported more than 400,000 cases of crimes against women in a recent year, including dowry deaths, rapes, acid attacks, and domestic violence. Yet, these numbers are likely underreported due to stigma, fear of retaliation, and inadequate police response.
Dowry-related deaths remain alarmingly frequent, despite being outlawed for over six decades. Nearly 8,400 such deaths were officially recorded in 2010 alone. Moreover, women who gain financial independence—through jobs, education, or schemes—often face increased domestic violence as traditional male authority is challenged. A report by the Global Governance Forum observed that women’s empowerment initiatives can inadvertently increase tension in patriarchal households, leading to backlash.
The Declining Workforce Participation
Economic empowerment is one of the cornerstones of gender equality. However, India’s female labour force participation remains abysmally low. While women make up nearly half the population, less than a third are active in the workforce. The reasons are complex: social norms restricting women’s movement, safety concerns in public spaces, lack of childcare support, and limited job flexibility.
The Financial Times highlighted that unsafe civic infrastructure—dimly lit streets, unreliable public transport, and absence of women’s facilities—plays a key role in discouraging women from working outside the home. A Times of India article added that most Indian cities, including Pune, fail the basic safety test for women due to poor civic design and maintenance.
Flagship schemes like MUDRA and Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao are well-intentioned, but their effectiveness is limited without systemic reform. Without addressing unpaid care burdens, workplace discrimination, and lack of economic support, women continue to be relegated to the margins of India’s formal economy.
Political Tokenism and Proxy Leadership
Despite the visibility of women leaders at the national level, the numbers remain disproportionately low. Women account for just 11–14% of India’s Members of Parliament and hold even fewer leadership roles in major political parties.
At the local level, mandated reservations have increased the number of women elected to panchayats and municipal bodies. However, many of these leaders serve as proxies for their male relatives—a phenomenon widely recognized but rarely addressed. True political empowerment remains elusive without independent agency, training, and institutional support.
Cultural Entrenchment: A Vicious Cycle
At the heart of India’s patriarchal control lies a tightly woven cultural narrative. From an early age, girls are conditioned to prioritize obedience, sacrifice, and silence. Son preference remains deeply rooted, manifesting in skewed sex ratios—907 girls for every 1,000 boys—as per official data.
The burden of unpaid domestic labour overwhelmingly falls on women, limiting their time for education, income generation, or civic engagement. Meanwhile, societal attitudes often justify violence against women. Alarmingly, surveys reveal that many women themselves accept certain forms of abuse as normal, illustrating the internalized nature of patriarchy.
This acceptance is not accidental—it is cultivated by generations of conditioning, religious interpretation, and media portrayal. As long as these norms remain unchallenged, no amount of legal or economic reform can lead to true equality.
Intersectionality: When Marginalized Identities Overlap
For Dalit, tribal, and Muslim women, the barriers to empowerment are even more formidable. Caste-based and communal discrimination compounds gender injustice. These women are more likely to face violence, be denied land rights, or be excluded from education and employment.
As the Observer Research Foundation noted, mainstream gender policies often overlook these intersecting identities. Without an intersectional approach, policies risk excluding those who need protection the most.
The Role of Urban Infrastructure in Empowerment
Public spaces reflect society’s values. Unsafe streets, inaccessible transport, and absence of female-friendly facilities indicate how cities are built for men, not women. The Times of India highlighted Pune’s failure to provide basic infrastructure like streetlights and functional women’s toilets, rendering entire neighborhoods unsafe after dark.
Reclaiming urban spaces through better design, surveillance, and civic accountability is essential for women’s freedom. Empowerment is not just about rights—it’s about access, mobility, and safety.
Grassroots Resistance: Lighting the Path Forward
Despite these challenges, India is also home to inspiring grassroots feminist movements. The Pinjra Tod campaign challenges restrictive hostel rules that limit women’s autonomy. The Lado Panchayat in Haryana empowers women to collectively resist unjust patriarchal panchayat decisions.
Educational programmes like Chennai’s Schools of Equality are training adolescents to question gender roles and build inclusive mindsets. These initiatives highlight that real change must begin at the community level—through dialogue, education, and solidarity.
Toward Feminist Policymaking
Legal reforms and schemes alone will not dismantle patriarchy. India needs feminist policymaking—an approach that considers power relations, cultural context, and intersectionality. This means designing programs not just for women, but with them. It means training police, judges, and bureaucrats to be sensitive to gender realities. It means funding women-led initiatives and amplifying marginalized voices.
Feminist policymaking also requires challenging the very notion of masculinity that fuels patriarchy. Empowerment should not be framed as a threat to men but as a shared societal gain.
Moving from Performance to Practice
India’s journey toward women’s empowerment must move from performance to practice. The gap between intention and implementation must close. Words must translate into action—not just in Delhi, but in every village, city, court, and home.
True empowerment is not about showcasing progress; it’s about ensuring justice.
To do this, India must:
Reform legal systems to deliver timely, sensitive justice. Increase representation of women in politics, law, and business. Provide real financial, emotional, and legal support to survivors of abuse. Redesign cities to make them safer and more inclusive. Challenge internalized patriarchy through education and media. Recognize and uplift the voices of Dalit, tribal, and minority women.
Final Thought
India’s empowerment slogans cannot mask the reality of structural inequality. Real progress demands courage: the courage to question norms, resist tradition, and rewrite the rules. Empowering women is not just about lifting individuals—it’s about transforming the nation.
As the stories of injustice continue to unfold, so do the stories of resistance. And in that resistance lies hope. Because every woman who speaks, leads, builds, and dreams is not just empowering herself—she is reshaping India.