INTRODUCTION

• The unit explores the meaning, origin, and trajectory of feminist political theory.
• The first wave of feminism focused on securing political and legal rights for women as a tool to liberate them from the clutches of patriarchy.
• The second wave of feminism extended the domain of feminist politics to the private lives of women, challenging sexist ways of men. It gave rise to various political ideologies like liberal feminism, Marxist feminism, socialist feminism, radical feminism, and ecological feminism.
• The third wave of feminism offered a dynamic critique of previous feminist trends, gaining global recognition with inclusive ideologies like cultural feminism, black feminism, and postmodern feminism.
• Feminist political theory is a sub-set of the larger discourse of political theory, adding the feminist dimension to political analysis, often seen as its neglected part.
• It seeks to expand the boundaries of ‘what is political’ by including concerns about women’s issues.
• The term ‘Feminist Political Theory’ emerged in the late twentieth century during the Women’s Liberation Movement in the West (mainly in the United States and United Kingdom).
• Western political theory, for much of its history, ignored women, while feminist political theory emphasized the centrality of women’s experiences in political analysis.
• Feminist political theory raised the question: Why are men privileged over women in societies across the world?
• It is a constant engagement with feminist political thought to achieve equal status for women.
• Feminism, as a political movement, stands against the political, cultural, economic, and social subjugation of women.
• Feminist political theory critiques and seeks to transform theories and institutions that support women’s inferior status.
• The development of feminist political thought has been an uneven exercise, with different waves of feminism emerging, leading to additions and disagreements.

FIRST WAVE OF FEMINIST POLITICAL THEORY

• The first wave of feminism took place primarily in the United States and United Kingdom from the 1820s to 1940s.
• The formal initiation of the wave is attributed to the Seneca Falls Declaration in 1848, drafted by Elizabeth Cady Stanton in New York.
• The declaration highlighted new political strategies and ideologies for the feminist movement, beginning with the idea of equal property rights and a dignified position within the household for women.
• The focus of the first wave was on women’s economic, sexual, and reproductive rights.
• By the early 20th century, feminist activists shifted their focus towards political rights, especially women’s suffrage (the right to vote).
• Some activists believed women were morally superior to men, and their presence in the political sphere would benefit the political process.
• In Britain, the Representation of the People’s Act was passed in 1918, granting women the right to vote, but it was limited to women over 30 years old and those who owned property.
• The voting age for women in Britain was later reduced to 21 years, without the property ownership requirement.
• In the United States, feminist leaders like Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Susan B. Anthony, Lucy Stone, and Lucretia Mott focused on abolition of slavery before pushing for women’s suffrage.
• The first wave in the U.S. ended with the passage of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, granting women the right to vote in all states.
• In the non-Western context, the first phase of the women’s movement coincided with the Western time frame but was linked to women’s participation in anti-colonial nationalist movements from the late 19th to early 20th century.
• Women in these non-Western countries looked to their Western counterparts as role models, structuring their demands for economic, educational, and electoral rights.
• In India, the women’s movement began with the formation of the Indian Women’s Association in Madras in 1917, which focused on the same issues as the first wave of feminism in the West, such as equitable inheritance laws, right to divorce, and widening of women’s franchise.