Fifty eight years ago when India woke up from freedom, it was widely
acknowledged that the struggle for liberation was as much by men and women. In
fact, the move of the homes into the public arena started for our women in
different ways in the course of twentieth Century. The trajectory of the
movement is usually traced from the social reforms movement of the 19th
Century, when the issues regarding the status of women were addressed initially
by men.
The Women Movement
emerged in India in the second half of the twentieth Century. Gandhiji’s call
all the women of this country to join what shaped into the freedom struggle gave
a fillip to the fledgling organizations.
The Women’s
Movement is one of the efforts at seeking justice and freedom from shackles in
which the women of this country have been bound for millennia. Their collective
dream of an apex national Women’s Organization was crystallized in the form of
National Commission for Women in 1990.
The state also
followed suit and almost all states have their own Commissions. Together they
form a country wide Organization collecting information on various issues
concerning women, reviewing the laws and provisions meant for their protection
and advancement, monitoring and implementation of different programmes,
spreading awareness about their rights and redressing their grievances.
Meghalaya is the
home of the Khasis - Pnars and the Garos. A matrilineal social order prevails
in the State of Meghalaya. It is perhaps a system characterized by a relatively
better status that a woman is accorded in the society. In comparison to her
counterparts in patrilineal and patriarchal societies, she enjoys a better
position and is looked at with more respect.
