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Origin

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.