Introduction

‘Feminism demands the abolition of systems and structures that make it impossible for us to live collectively, It is not the fight between man woman, it is the fight between people vs prejudice’– Michell Obama

Concept of Feminist Jurisprudence

India venerates women as goddess and mothers. Rivers and nations are names as women. The subordinate status of women is due to artistic, educational, religious, economic, and social reasons. Women have become substitute class citizens. They constitute one partial population of the world.

‘The voice of working women’ a document of UNO (1982) make a significant statically statement:

Women’s Global Contribution	Percentage / Share
World Population	50%
Official Labor Force	33.3%
Total Working Hours Performed	66.6%
World Income Earned	10%
World Property Owned	Less than 1%

Feminist justice emphasizes the colorful strands of philosophy and theory. It is a natural extension of feminine reflections and speech to another area of converse, namely law, and justice.

Before examine into the concept of Feminist Jurisprudence, it is mandatory to define the term “Feminism.” Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and testaments aimed at establishing political, economic, personal, and social equivalency of the relations.

Historical Marginalization of Women

Analyzing the case of Gender and political rejection in India can be used completely linked to the feminist political proposition, which scrutinizes both the patriarchal basis of the political institutions and the social sphere.

Women have continued to be marginalized through their participation in Indian politics as evidenced by empirical work despite constitutional and policy measures. Empirically, also at indigenous position the women representation is indeed lower with respect to the normal global standards.

The historical study of women’s engagement in India’s political agenda has been nearly connected with the Indian struggle for freedom social reforms and the connection of republic.

The early phases were instilled through the reform movements of the 19th century, where substantially progressive and miscellaneous groups against forms of oppression, similar as:

• Sati
• Child marriage
• Female illiteracy

There were a many social reformers, Raja Ram Mohan Rai and Ishwar Chandra Vidya Sagar who supported for women’s emancipation and this was eventually among the early movements that led to women’s involvement in politics.

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (2024)² ranks India not above 130th in the world in terms of its women participation ratio in national parliament.

Political Representation of Women in India	Statistics
Total Candidates Analyzed	51,708
Women Candidates	5,095 (10%)
Total MPs/MLAs	4,666
Women MPs/MLAs	464 (10%)
Total Lok Sabha Constituencies	543
Constituencies Without Women Candidates	152 (28%)

Leaders such as Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Sucheta Kriplani and Vijay Lakshmi Pandit were few of the trailblazers of India’s post independent period but they did not reflect the masses.

While women were given leadership roles locally after the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendment, commanded a reservation in the Panchayati Raj institutions, the level of their political representation at the upper level was pathetic.

The gender gap remains an issue since India is ranked 131 out of 148 countries on the global gender gap index (2021)⁴.

Theoretical Foundation of Feminist Jurisprudence

Definition and Origin of Feminist Jurisprudence

Today, word ”Feminism” has numerous dimensions. For some, it is a literal struggle demanding the rights of women to vote and then to annihilate obvious discrimination against women from the Nation’s laws.

For others it is a political movement to challenge the patriarchy and oppression faced by women from the centuries.

Now it is arising as an ideology or a philosophical system of study and as a community of belief which is concentrating on attaining political, social and economic equality not only for women but also for men and people of any gender.

Feminism is not a very old conception; it emerges in late nineties and early twenties. The persons concerned about the women suppression and discrimination initiated the feminist jurisprudence.

John Stuart Mill was the person who advocates the women voting right in the west.

In 1889, in Paris on the platform of the founding of Congress of the Second International the question of equal rights of men and women was firstly raised by Clara Zetkin⁵.

Theories of Feminist Jurisprudence

There is no single feminist proposition like any complex legal philosophy. Feminist jurisprudence has generated a rich variety of idea on the situation of women. Generally the four main propositions of feminism in the world are:

• Liberal feminism
• Marxist feminism
• Radical feminism
• Socialist feminism

Type of Feminism	Main Focus
Liberal Feminism	Equality through legal and social reforms
Marxist Feminism	Women’s oppression through capitalism
Radical Feminism	Patriarchal control and sexual oppression
Socialist Feminism	Intersection of class and gender inequality

Liberal Feminism

The inferior position of women, according to the supporter of this proposition, is due to cultural and cerebral factors. The link between liberal philosophy and women’s equality was first and foremost made in 1792 by Marry Woll stone Craft. Women are the first and foremost human being not sexual beings.

• Focuses on equality before law
• Advocates educational and social reforms
• Rejects discrimination based on gender

Marxist Feminism

According to Marx and Engel, capitalism is the root cause for women’s oppression. Capitalism converted all marital relations into marketable goods. Thus human labor was seen as instrument of production. Women in this system become instruments of production and reproduction.

• Links women’s oppression with capitalism
• Considers labor exploitation as central issue
• Views women as part of production and reproduction systems

Radical Feminism

This phase of movement passed 1969-1970, which had important link with the Liberal movement. Sexual oppression and sexual division of labor relating to women were over looked in Liberal movement. It was realised that root of subordination lies in the biological family. The radical feminist jurist campaigned for elimination of all sex discrimination and man was consider as for and subordination of women was taken as bio psychological epitomy of man over women.

• Emphasises patriarchy as the root cause of oppression
• Highlights sexual division of labor
• Demands elimination of all forms of sex discrimination

Socialist Feminism

According to socialist feminism both gender and class are responsible for women’s inferior position. One of the socialist sexists, Juliet Mitchell, while analysing the position of women set up, though family is a abecedarian to women’s oppression the separate structure. The emergence of conception of private property, confining women to production of children and continuity of gender inequalities caused a great chain in women’s socialist movement.6

• Combines Marxist and feminist theories
• Examines both class and gender inequalities
• Criticises traditional family structures

Androcentrism in Constitutional Design and Interpretation

How Constitution Were Traditionally Drafted from a Male Perspective

The memory of constitution making in India has often followed a manly narrative arc that privileges a select group of male figures and presents constitutional authorship as a unified, almost inevitable achievement. This chronicle has left little room for the majority of voices and moral visions that create the document. Women’s participation becomes an indispensable part of this interpretive landscape, putting up to the constitutional imagination that continues to evolve.

The barring of women from constitutional memory mirrored their debarring from interpretive authority, creating a cycle where both history and jurisprudence fortify patriarchal limits. Without a gender-conscious imagination, the Constitution’s transformative potential could not fully unfold. Ambedkar’s insights offer a useful lens here. He repeatedly argued that the progress of a society could be measured by the condition of its women.7 Narratives that foreground a small set of male figures and celebrate only the “Founding Fathers” obscure the layered and diverse authorship of the Constitution. Even when women’s names are acknowledged, their presence is often described as symbolic or supplementary.

• Constitutional narratives traditionally focused on male leaders
• Women’s contributions were often marginalised
• Patriarchal interpretation limited constitutional transformation

Limited Recognition of Women’s Right in Early Constitutional Frameworks

The presence of women in the Constituent Assembly introduced a quieter but deeply significant dimension to constitution making. Figures such as Ammu Swaminathan, Hansa Jivraj Mehta, Durgabai Deshmukh, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur, Sarojini Naidu, Renuka Ray, Dakshayani Velayudhan, Begum Aizaz Rasul, Purnima Banerji, Leela Roy, Sucheta Kripalani, Annie Mascarene, Malati Choudhury, Kamla Chaudhri and Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit formed a small yet remarkably diverse group.8

Their backgrounds in social reform, anti-colonial struggle, rural mobilisation, diplomacy and education shaped the sensibilities with which they entered constitutional debates. Their role cannot be understood only through the number of speeches recorded or the amendments moved.

Women Members of Constituent Assembly	Contribution Areas
Hansa Jivraj Mehta	Women’s rights and equality
Durgabai Deshmukh	Social reform and education
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur	Public health and women’s welfare
Sucheta Kripalani	National movement and governance
Dakshayani Velayudhan	Social justice and equality

Transformative Impact of Feminist Jurisprudence

Expansion of Various Rights

All provisions of the constitution and all laws enacted by the legislature get their real meaning through the process of judicial interpretation. Indian Courts have played a crucial role in the up-liftment of women in India. Particularly, Supreme Court of India, has made a significant contribution to the development of feminist jurisprudence in India. The recent judicial trend reflects a strong judicial will to evade the suppression women have been facing in personal and social space, and the courts have not shied away to intervene in personal laws when the question of the equality of genders.

Safety at workplace is a matter of concern for women in India. In Vishakha V. State of Rajasthan⁹ the court framed guidelines for the safety of women at workplace had also directed the employers to ensure not only the safety to women against sexual harassment but also to provide an unbiased mechanism for the redressal of such grievances.

The guidelines of the court were eventually transformed and formalized in legislation, enacted by the name: The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.¹⁰

In Shayra Bano V. Union of India¹¹ court took cognizance of a matter that defined the deep rooted gender bias in the society from ages and ruled that practice of instant triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat) is against the Quran’s core teachings.

The court ordered the government to enact legislation in this area, which resulted in the Muslim Women (Protection of Marriage Rights) Act, 2019.¹²

In 2018, Court in Joseph Shine V. Union of India¹³ affirmed women’s right to exercise her sexual freedom in the personal sphere, relying on the right of privacy derived from Article 21 and declaring unconstitutional, Section 497 of Indian Penal Code.

In another landmark judgment in the way of development of progressive feminist judgment, the court decided to intervene into the matter belief and opined that devotion and belief should not be a matter of advantage confined to any specific gender.

In rendering its decision in the Indian Young Lawyers Association V. State of Kerala¹⁴ the court broke its tradition of reluctance in pronouncing judgments in the matters of faith.

Despite a centuries old custom prohibiting menstruating women from entering the Sabarimala temple, the court held that devotion cannot be subjected to gender discrimination and allowed women of all ages to enter.

In The Secretary, Ministry of Defense V. Babita Puniya and Others¹⁵ the court broke the stereotypes and pre-conceived notions.

It was held that all women army officers are eligible for permanent commissions, allowing them to be in commanding roles, making all the women officers at par with their male counterparts.

Landmark Cases and Their Impact

Case Name	Key Issue	Impact on Feminist Jurisprudence
Vishakha V. State of Rajasthan	Workplace sexual harassment	Led to the enactment of the POSH Act, 2013
Shayra Bano V. Union of India	Triple Talaq	Declared instant triple talaq unconstitutional
Joseph Shine V. Union of India	Adultery law	Recognized women’s autonomy and dignity
Indian Young Lawyers Association V. State of Kerala	Sabarimala entry	Allowed women of all ages to enter temple
The Secretary, Ministry of Defense V. Babita Puniya and Others	Women in armed forces	Granted permanent commission to women officers

Role of Judiciary in Transformation of Feminist Jurisprudence

We are currently in the Fourth Wave of Indian Feminism and it is a worthwhile journey. We’ve seen the Me Too movement pick up steam and fight through society’s dark side.

Since the beginning of the feminist movement in India, we have been ardent supporters of Feminist Jurisprudence. We have made certain that the voice of the voiceless and the discrimination and pain experienced by women are heard.

For example, there were protests during the Nirbhaya Gang Rape Case¹⁶ which pushed the authorities to file the charge sheet in the case as soon as possible there were protests.

All of these examples demonstrate that the feminist movement never died.

The fourth wave is not a unified concept; it means different things to different people.

• Some were outraged by India’s judicial system and demanded better trials.
• Another group was fighting for equal pay.
• Another group was concerned about LGBTQIA+ people.

Indian courts have played a crucial role in shaping feminist jurisprudence through their interpretations of constitutional rights and personal laws.

While there have been progressive strides in recognizing women’s rights, the judiciary has also faced criticism for reinforcing patriarchal norms and failing to fully understand the lived realities of women.

Critical Judicial Interventions

One of the earliest and most controversial cases was Tukaram v. State of Maharashtra¹⁷.

In this case, the Supreme Court acquitted two policemen accused of custodial rape, citing the lack of physical resistance by the victim as evidence of consent.

The judgment failed to consider the coercive power dynamics involved in custodial settings and sparked widespread protests from women’s rights groups.

This case marked a turning point in feminist legal activism in India.

In the absence of specific legislation on workplace sexual harassment, the Supreme Court laid down the Vishaka Guidelines, drawing from international conventions such as CEDAW.

The judgment recognized a woman’s right to a safe working environment and grounded its reasoning in fundamental rights under Articles 14, 15, and 21.

In Laxmi v. Union of India¹⁸ the Supreme Court addressed the increasing number of acid attacks on women.

The petitioner, an acid attack survivor, sought regulation of acid sales and protection for victims.

The Court responded by ordering stricter control over the sale of acid and mandated state compensation for survivors.

The case of Shayara Bano v. Union of India¹⁹ marked a significant intervention in the realm of personal laws.

Shayara Bano challenged the practice of instantaneous triple talaq (talaq-e-biddat), arguing that it violated her fundamental rights.

The Supreme Court, by a 3:2 majority, declared the practice unconstitutional.

In Joseph Shine v. Union of India²⁰ the Supreme Court struck down Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalized adultery in a way that treated women as passive victims and property of their husbands.

The Court emphasized principles of equality, autonomy, and dignity, thereby recognizing women as full and independent legal subjects.

Key Contributions of Indian Judiciary

• Recognition of gender equality under constitutional principles.
• Protection against workplace harassment.
• Recognition of women’s sexual autonomy and dignity.
• Intervention in discriminatory personal laws.
• Expansion of women’s rights in religious spaces.
• Equal opportunities in armed forces and public institutions.
• Strengthening victim protection mechanisms.

Conclusion on Feminist Jurisprudence in India

Indian judiciary has significantly contributed towards the development of feminist jurisprudence through progressive interpretations of constitutional morality, equality, dignity, and personal liberty.

From workplace safety to religious freedom, and from sexual autonomy to equal opportunities in the armed forces, courts have played a transformative role in strengthening women’s rights in India.

However, challenges still remain in addressing deeply rooted patriarchal structures and ensuring substantive equality in society.

The evolution of feminist jurisprudence in India reflects a continuing struggle for justice, equality, and dignity for women across all spheres of life.

Critiques And Limitations Of Feminist Jurisprudence

Risk Of Elite Feminism Overshadowing Grassroot Realities

One of the most significant critiques is the charge of essentialism. Early feminist legal theory often assumed a universal category of “woman,” implying a common experience of oppression. However, this assumption overlooks the realities of women whose identities intersect with other axes of marginalization.

Dalit feminists in India, for instance, argue that upper-caste feminist discourse frequently ignores the lived experiences of caste-based violence and discrimination. Similarly, critical race feminists in the United States contend that mainstream feminist legal theory centers the experiences of white, middle-class women, thereby excluding the perspectives of women of color, working-class women, and others whose realities differ significantly.

Another major critique involves the overreliance on legal reform as a strategy for dismantling patriarchy. Feminist jurisprudence often operates on the assumption that the law can be an effective tool for achieving gender justice. However, scholars like Upendra Baxi caution against what he terms “legal centralism” — the belief that social transformation can be achieved solely through the legal system.

In deeply patriarchal and unequal societies, legal reforms may have limited impact on ground realities, especially when state institutions themselves are shaped by gendered and class-based hierarchies.

The internal divide between liberal and radical feminism also presents theoretical and strategic tensions.

These critiques do not reject feminist jurisprudence outright but rather call for a more intersectional, grassroots-oriented, and context-sensitive approach. They emphasize the importance of accounting for social, cultural, and economic complexities in the pursuit of gender justice, reminding scholars and activists.

Gap Between Progressive Judgements And Implementation

Courts may articulate secure feminist principles like equality, bodily autonomy, or protection from violence, but execution depends on social institutions that may still be shaped by patriarchal norms.

Judiciary interpret the law but don’t directly enforce it. Implementation relies on:

• Police administration bodies
• Law and order authorities
• Local governance systems

If these institutions lack gender sensitivity, structured training, or resources, progressive rulings from the court of law remain largely symbolic.

Many beneficiaries of feminist rulings are unaware of their rights and their legal remedies. Structural barriers like costs, illiteracy, and geographic distance prevent implementation at the grassroots level.

Deep-seated social norms often resist lawful change in society. Laws promoting gender equality may conflict with social norms, leading to partial or selective implementation.

Courts may lay down principles, but without detailed legislation and structured policies, there will be no framework for execution. This creates a lag between judgment and actionable change.

Sometimes institutions formally comply (e.g., setting up committees or procedures) but fail to make them effective. This creates an illusion of implementation without substantive change.

Even progressive feminist rulings may not fully account for differences based on caste, class, religion, and disability. This results in benefits reaching only some groups in society.

Current Challenges In Feminism

The feminist movement in India has made significant progress, but it faces several challenges rooted in the country’s socio-cultural, political, and economic landscape.

Major Challenges Faced By The Feminist Movement

Challenge	Description
Patriarchal Mindset	Patriarchal beliefs about women’s roles as caregivers and homemakers persist, making it difficult for feminist ideas to take root across all sections of society.
Resistance To Change	Families and communities often view feminist ideas as disruptive to traditional values, leading to resistance at both individual and institutional levels.
Intersectional Discrimination	Dalit, Adivasi, and marginalized women face multiple layers of discrimination—not only as women but also because of their caste and class.
Urban-Rural Divide	Issues of rural women, such as access to education, healthcare, and sanitation, differ significantly from those of urban women.
Political Priorities	Gender reforms often take a backseat due to broader political priorities.
Ideological Fragmentation	Feminist movements in India are often fragmented along ideological lines, which can hinder collective action.
Generational Differences	Newer generations of feminists may focus on LGBTQ+ rights and body positivity, while older activists emphasize political and legal reforms.
Grassroots Vs Institutional Approaches	Grassroots activism sometimes conflicts with institutionalized feminist organizations that pursue top-down approaches.

The feminist movement in India faces multiple challenges, but its resilience, diversity, and adaptability allow it to navigate these obstacles.

Reproductive Rights And Feminist Legal Debates

Another critical contemporary issue is reproductive rights. Judicial recognition of women’s autonomy over their bodies has evolved, as seen in important cases such as Suchita Srivastava v. Chandigarh Administration, which affirmed a woman’s right to make reproductive choices.

Furthermore, the 2022 amendments to the Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act have expanded access to safe abortion services, reflecting ongoing legal and social shifts toward greater respect for reproductive freedom.

Criminalization Of Marital Rape

The criminalization of marital rape remains a highly contested and urgent issue within feminist legal debates.

In the case of Independent Thought v. Union of India, the Supreme Court partially addressed this issue by reading down the exception to marital rape laws for girls under 18 years old.

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7. Way Forward

The Bar Council of India does not have a single woman member in its governing body. Of 441 elected positions across state bar councils nationally, only 9, a mere 2.04 per cent, are held by women. Women occupy 36.3 per cent of positions in the district judiciary. At the High Court level, only 14 per cent of judges are women. At the Supreme Court, only ten other women have served on the bench in the thirty-six years since ’24.

Gender Sensitivity in Indian Judiciary

Gender sensitivity is crucial across all sectors, particularly within the Indian judiciary. The imbalance is evident across all levels of the courts, regardless of hierarchy. While society is evolving—reflected in the growing number of women entering the legal profession—there remains a reluctance to truly accommodate this shift. What’s needed is not just a change in laws but also a transformation in attitudes and mindsets.

7.2 Limited Representation of Women in Judiciary

Judicial Institution	Representation of Women	Key Observation
Supreme Court	As of 2025, only 1 woman judge (Justice B.V. Nagarathna) serves out of 34 judges, yielding a representation of just 2.9%.	No woman has held the Office of Chief Justice of India.
High Courts	Collectively for all high courts, women judges constitute only 13.1%.	Women remain significantly underrepresented at the constitutional court level.
District & Subordinate Judiciary	Women judges constitute ~35% of the judges in the lower judiciary.	Representation is comparatively higher at the grassroots judicial level.

Key Challenges for Women in Judiciary

• Low representation in higher judicial institutions.
• Absence of women in top constitutional positions.
• Institutional and social barriers affecting career progression.
• Lack of gender-sensitive work environments.
• Slow pace of structural and policy reforms.

8. Conclusion

The inclusion of women in Indian politics should not be a mere formality; it is essential to democracies being legitimate, responsive, and good. Integrative legal, institutional, and cultural reforms could help India move towards a more inclusive political space by incorporating women’s leadership and perspective into its government and into the country’s social, political, and national development.

The recent constitutional amendment reserving one-third of seats for women in legislatures signals a structural shift, yet its delayed operationalisation demonstrates the gap between constitutional promise and political execution. Similarly, the judiciary’s gradual inclusion of women judges is significant but insufficient to dismantle historically male-dominated legal discourse. Thus, feminist jurisprudence in India must move beyond corrective legislation toward transformative constitutionalism where equality is measured not only by formal access but also by lived realities, institutional participation, and redistributive justice.

Major Takeaways

• Women remain underrepresented across Indian political and judicial institutions.
• Legal reforms alone are insufficient without social and institutional transformation.
• The judiciary reflects persistent structural gender imbalance.
• Constitutional reforms must translate into practical implementation.
• Transformative constitutionalism is necessary for substantive gender equality.

End-Notes:

1. The Voice of the Working Women, CITU Journals, https://citujournals.in/the-voice-of-the-working-women/ (last visited May 4, 2026).
2. The Inter-Parliamentary Union is an international organization of national parliaments. Its primary purpose is to promote democratic governance and accountability.
3. Ass’n for Democratic Reforms, Women’s Political Participation and Representation in India (Mar. 8, 2026), https://adrindia.org/content/Womens-Political-Participation-and-Representation-in-India-2026
4. India Slips to 131st Position in Global Gender Gap Index 2025, The Hindu (June 12, 2025), https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-gender-gap-rank-global-gender-gap-index-2025-world-economic-forum/article69685804.ece
5. Kanak Mukherjee, Women’s Emancipation Movement in India: A Marxist View 11 (1st ed. 1989).
6. S.C. Tripathi & Vibha Arora, Law Relating to Women and Children 4 (3rd ed. 2008).
7. D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (24th ed. Lexis Nexis 2019).
8. A. Bano, Indian Woman: The Changing Face (Kilaso Books 2002).
9. AIR 1997 SUPREME COURT 3011
10. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (Act No. 14 of 2013).
11. AIR 2017 SUPREME COURT 4609
12. The Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Marriage) Act (Act No. 20 of 2019).
13. AIR 2018 SUPREME COURT 4898
14. AIR 2018 SC 243
15. AIR 2020 SC 1000
16. AIR 2017 SUPREME COURT 2161
17. AIR 1979 SC 185
18. AIR 2015 SUPREME COURT 3662
19. AIR 2017 SUPREME COURT 4609
20. AIR 2018 SUPREME COURT 4898
21. AIR 2010 SUPREME COURT 235
22. The Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act (Act No. 34 of 1971).
23. AIR 2017 SUPREME COURT 4904
24. Gaurav Yadav, Women Representation in Judiciary – Significance & Challenges – Explained Pointwise, ForumIAS (Oct. 9, 2025), https://forumias.com/blog/women-representation-in-judiciary-significance-challenges-explained-pointwise/