The Changing Perceptions of Women In India

As with practically all countries throughout time, women in India have had to fight a long and hard battle for their rights.

As with practically all countries throughout time, women in India have had to fight a long and hard battle for their rights.

It hasn’t been easy, with each step requiring considerable work from people of all denominations. While it’s true we’re still far from the reaches of true social equality and equity, we’ve made some significant steps in many of life’s most illustrative arenas. Understanding this, we want to look at some of the most expressive examples of how the perception of women in India has changed, and what they can now more freely accomplish.

In Business

As a highly competitive pursuit, the business environment has long been seen as an old-boy-club. From generations of being perceived as unfit to lead, women in India now have seen some notable and promising shifts in enterprise acceptance. Paving the way in this area are women like Pinky Maheshwari. Starting a manufacturing business, Maheshwari’s work has gone on to gain national and even international attention.

So how did she do it? In Maheshwari’s case, one of the backbones of her current business was an idea to create a handmade paper that was embedded with seeds. Once the paper outlived its usefulness, it could be planted, then giving the potential to sprout into trees. Women like Maheshwari challenge perceptions on the widest scale, with success reaching to the highest level of the Indian government being undeniable by anyone.

Source: Pixabay

Finding Entertainment

The entertainment sphere is one where lines of distinction between the sexes are often unnecessarily drawn. In some cases, these lines are within media genres. In other instances, perceptions speak out against the very inclusion of women within a sector. These barriers, in all their forms, are increasingly being shattered.

For example, women play online casino games now in a manner that is increasingly viewed as a regular state of affairs. These titles here range from the likes of traditional blackjack and slot games to cutting edge releases such as live blackjack and baccarat. No matter the choice, social perceptions of women in these areas is now rarely given a second thought, due to many of the titles not specifically targeting any gender demographic – and this is a pattern we hope to see continue in the future.

Growing Political Participation

Perhaps the most encouraging recent change in perceptions of women in India comes from their greater inclusion within politics. There was a time where this would have been seen as an impossible path for a woman to travel, but today the Indian political world is seeing a consistent increase in female participants.

Never miss real stories from India's women.

Register Now

Lok Sabha is a great illustration here. In 2009, 52 of its 545 members were female. In 2014, this number had risen to 64 members, and in 2019 we had reached 78. While we still have a long way to go before these numbers are truly balanced, these changes still illustrate an increasing political acceptance of women in both the eyes of the public and the existing political landscape.

lag, Nation, Usa, National, America, Patriotic

Source: Pixabay

Progress is never done, and though changes to the perception of women within many spheres of Indian life is changing for the better, we have a long way to go yet. With advances like those we’ve touched on above, however, we remain optimistic towards the future. Never give up the fight, and we can’t wait to revisit this topic in a few years.

Top Image Source: Pexels

Liked this post?

Join the 100000 women at Women's Web who get our weekly mailer and never miss out on our events, contests & best reads - you can also start sharing your own ideas and experiences with thousands of other women here!

Comments

About the Author

Niki

A writer, a nomad and a woman with a penchant for cats - that's who I am. I write on a wide range of subjects, from celebrities to travel to women at work - my superpower read more...

49 Posts | 90,350 Views

Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!

All Categories