Behind Closed Doors: Is the ‘Personal’ Political?

Abstract

From time immemorial, Indian society is patriarchal. Women have found it impossible to go beyond the field of patriarchal power. But, since Indian independence, efforts were made to make our society more egalitarian vis-a-vis women. In this paper, we identify two areas where the Indian State has dismally failed to protect women - female foeticide and marital rape. They constitute two of the most intimate concerns of a married woman’s life, through which a husband assumes power over the most private part of her life – her body and it becomes a site of violence. This paper concludes by arguing that laws in themselves are not enough. It is time that we women fought our battles ourselves.