Dalit Women in India and Ambedkar : The road to Gender Equality in 21st century

Abstract

Dr. B. R. Ambedkar not only championed the cause of social justice for the downtrodden and underprivileged sections of Indian society but also worked tirelessly throughout his life to challenge the legitimacy of orthodox Hindu social order that upheld iniquitous gender relations in an institutionalized manner. His mission in life was to recreate Hindu society along the modern democratic ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity. The paper analyzes the contribution of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar as a thinker and social reformerin the emancipation of social status of women in the Hindu society. The paper also analyzes the relevance of his ideas in the contemporary feminist discourse on gender equality under Indian social conditions. His main argument is that gender relations are artificially constructed under Hindu social order which not only moulds attitude of Hindus towards their women but also conditions women to confirm to a stereotype feminine behavior.