FEMINIST JURISPRUDENCE

1. By presenting male characteristics as a "norm" and anything/anyone outside of that as

deviation from the "norm" (otherness), the prevailing conceptions of law reinforce and
perpetuate patriarchal power
2. feminist legal theory can be understood as the manifestation in the legal academy of a
range of efforts to understand the nature of women's subordination—especially the
ways in which it is rationalized and naturalized—and to propose remedies for this
subordinate condition. Drawing upon cross-cutting academic and activist traditions,
feminist inquiry approaches law both as an ensemble of potential tactics for reform
and, more generally, as a site of struggle for a more general political transformation. Most
strands of contemporary feminist legal theory have conceptualized law as a historically
and socially constructed artifact embedded in particular social relations. Feminist
legal theory elucidates the ways in which law facilitates patriarchal dominance and
control. Explicating how the doctrines, discourses, institutions, and culture of law
perpetuate gender hierarchy, feminist legal theory has provided the impetus for
reconceptualizing tightly bonded concepts and premises of legal thought.
3. The former wants non-discrimination, impartial society, and equal opportunities for
women, while the latter criticizes the existing structure of law, claiming that it has an
essence of patriarchal society. Feminists believe that laws have been made from men’s
perspective and no one has ever considered women’s point of view and their
contributions in the past.
4. Feminist jurisprudence is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at establishing
and defending equal social economic, political, legal rights for women. A feminist is a
supporter of equal rights for women. Feminist theory is the result of feminist movements,
aims to understand the nature of gender inequality by examining women’s social roles
and live experience
5. Feminist Jurisprudence is a legal theory that examines the relationship between law and
gender, with a focus on how laws have historically marginalized or oppressed women. It
seeks to highlight the patriarchal structures embedded in legal systems and advocates for
reforms to ensure gender equality.
WAVES OF FEMINISM
1ST WAVE - 1848 - 1920
1. The first organized movement aimed at gaining rights for American women effectively
began in July 1848, with the convention organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and
Lucretia Mott at Seneca Falls, New York. Attendees signed the Declaration of
Sentiments, which affirmed women’s equality with men, and passed a dozen resolutions
calling for various specific rights, including the right to vote. -relate to Declaration of
Independence
2. Although the early women’s rights movement was linked to abolitionism, passage of the
15th Amendment in 1870 angered some women’s rights leaders who resented Black men
 being granted suffrage before white women. Similarly, the women’s suffrage movement
also largely marginalized or excluded Black feminists like Sojourner Truth and Ida B.
Wells. Though ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 fulfilled the principal goal of
feminism’s first wave—guaranteeing white women the right to vote—Black women
and other women of color faced continued obstacles until passage of the Voting Rights
Act of 1965.
SECOND WAVE - 1960s - 1980s
1. In 1963, Betty Friedan published The Feminine Mystique, which argued that women
were chafing against the confines of their roles as wives and mothers. The book was a
massive success, selling 3 million copies in three years and launching what became
known as the second wave of feminism. Inspired by the civil rights movement and
protests against the Vietnam War, second-wave feminists called for a reevaluation of
traditional gender roles in society and an end to sexist discrimination.
2. Feminism—or “women’s liberation”—gained strength as a political force in the 1970s, as
Friedan, Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug founded the National Women’s Political
Caucus in 1971. High points of the second wave included passage of the Equal Pay Act
and the landmark Supreme Court decisions in Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and Roe v.
Wade (1973) related to reproductive freedom. But while Congress passed the Equal
Rights Amendment in 1972, a conservative backlash ensured it fell short of the number
of states needed for ratification.
3. Like the suffrage movement, second-wave feminism drew criticism for centering
privileged white women, and some Black women formed their own feminist
organizations, including the National Black Feminist Organization (NBFO). Despite its
achievements, the women’s liberation movement had begun to lose momentum by 1980,
when conservative forces swept Ronald Reagan to the White House.

THIRD WAVE - 1990s - 2010s

1. While the advances of second-wave feminism had undoubtedly achieved more equality
and rights for women, the movement that emerged in the early 1990s focused on tackling
problems that still existed, including sexual harassment in the workplace and a shortage
of women in positions of power. Rebecca Walker, the mixed-race daughter of
second-wave leader Alice Walker, announced the arrival of feminism’s “third wave” in
1992, while watching Anita Hill testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about her
accusations of sexual harassment against Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas. That
same year, dubbed the “Year of the Woman,” saw an unprecedented number of women
elected to Congress.
2. Embracing the spirit of rebellion instead of reform, third-wave feminists encouraged
women to express their sexuality and individuality. Many embraced a more traditionally
feminine style of dress and grooming, and even rejected the term “feminist” as a way of
distancing themselves from their second-wave predecessors. “Riot grrl” groups like
 Bikini Kill, Bratmobile and Heavens to Betsy brought their brand of feminism into pop
music, including songs that addressed issues of sexism, patriarchy, abuse, racism and
rape.
3. Third wave feminism also sought to be more inclusive when it came to race and gender.
The work of scholar and theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw on the concept of
“intersectionality,” or how types of oppression (based on race, class, gender, etc.) can
overlap, was particularly influential in this area. Third-wave feminists also drew on the
work of gender theorist Judith Butler, including support for trans rights in this type of
intersectional feminism.

FOURTH WAVE -
1. Though fourth wave feminism is relatively difficult to define—as some people argue it’s
simply a continuation of the third wave—the emergence of the Internet has certainly led
to a new brand of social media-fueled activism. Launched by Tarana Burke in 2007, the
#MeToo movement took off in 2017 in the wake of revelations about the sexual
misconduct of influential film producer Harvey Weinstein.
2. In addition to holding powerful men accountable for their actions, fourth-wave feminists
are turning their attention to the systems that allow such misconduct to occur.

THEORIES OF FEMINIST JURISPRUDENCE

LIBERAL THEORY
1. Formal equality theory, grounded in liberal democratic thought, argues that women
ought to be treated an equivalent as men. Formal equality has emerged from the
contradictions, conflicts and political struggles that developed in the course of action to
the implement formal equality in follow and it addressed the bounds of formal equality in
redressing sex discrimination
2. Liberal feminism is a specific approach that deals with the achievement of equality
between men and women and mainly focuses on the power of an individual to call off
discriminatory practices against women. Liberal feminists’ goal is to encourage an
individual to her instincts and abilities to help men and women to become twins in the
eyes of law as well as society.
3. Advocates for equality by removing legal barriers that prevent women from accessing the
same opportunities as men.- Liberal feminism advocates for formal equality between men
and women, often by seeking to remove legal barriers. - same was talked about in babita
punya case
CULTURAL FEMINIST THEORY
1. Cultural feminism is a feminist theory that focuses on the liberation of women through
the redefinition of gender roles and the creation of a "women-centered" culture. It
emerged in the 1970s during the women's liberation movement.
 2. Cultural feminism is based on the idea that women and men have different approaches
to the world, and that women's perspectives should be valued more. It also holds that
women have a unique female essence that distinguishes them from men, and that this
essence includes a greater emphasis on cooperation, relationships, and peace.
3. Cultural feminists believe that women's oppression is rooted in cultural constructions of
gender identities, and that to liberate women, these cultural norms and representations
must be destroyed. They believe that women's political and economic status can only be
improved through a deeper cultural transformation, not just legal or economic
change.
4. Emphasizes the differences between men and women and argues that women's values and
experiences should be integrated into legal frameworks.
5. The emergence of cultural feminism or "difference" views within the law were for the
most part formed by efforts to grasp the unambiguously feminine experiences of
maternity and family relationship.

DOMINANCE THEORY
1. Dominance feminism is a theory that argues that gender inequality is rooted in the
systemic domination of women by men.
2. It posits that this domination is maintained through various social structures and
institutions, such as law, education, and religion. This theory emphasizes the power
imbalance between men and women and the ways in which men use their power to
control and exploit women. Dominance feminists argue that addressing gender inequality
requires challenging and dismantling these structures of male dominance.

ANTI-ESSENTIALISM THEORY
1. Anti Essentialism, by contrast, contends that there is no single category "female,"
pointing instead to the varying perspectives resulting, for example, from the intersection
of gender, race and class. anti-essentialist or post-modern feminism developed from
challenges to a notion of a single feminist legal theory and perspective and articulated the
need to account for the wide range of feminist views that emerged from women of color,
issues of ethnicity, problems of immigrant women, and cultural differences
2. Anti-Essentialism Feminist Theory critiques the idea that all women share a single,
universal experience of oppression based on their gender. It challenges the tendency to
treat "womanhood" as a homogeneous category, arguing that differences like race, class,
sexuality, and culture significantly shape individual experiences of gender inequality.
This theory is rooted in the broader intersectional approach and is closely associated
with scholars like Kimberlé Crenshaw, who introduced the concept of intersectionality.
3. Black feminists, such as bell hooks and Audre Lorde, argue that the experiences of
Black women cannot be fully understood by looking at gender alone. The intersection of
race and gender creates a distinct form of oppression that white women do not face.
 They call for an analysis that includes the specific struggles of Black women - example
— black women didnt get voting rights with white women in 1930

LANDMARKS
Vishaka v. SOR - 1997
● Country: India
● Issue: Sexual Harassment at the Workplace
● Facts: This landmark case arose after Bhanwari Devi, a social worker in Rajasthan, was
gang-raped while attempting to prevent child marriage. The absence of a specific law to
address sexual harassment in the workplace led to the filing of this case.
● Outcome: The Supreme Court of India laid down the Vishaka Guidelines to protect
women from sexual harassment at the workplace. These guidelines remained the primary
legal recourse until the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,
Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 was enacted.
● Significance: This case is a major milestone in Indian feminist jurisprudence, setting the
groundwork for laws protecting women at work from sexual harassment.

Roe v. Wade - 1973

● Country: United States
● Issue: Abortion and Reproductive Rights
● Facts: "Jane Roe" (a pseudonym for Norma McCorvey) challenged Texas laws that
criminalized most abortions, arguing that they infringed on her right to privacy under the
U.S. Constitution.
● Outcome: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a woman’s right to privacy extended to her
decision to have an abortion, effectively legalizing abortion across the U.S. This decision
protected women's autonomy over reproductive choices.
● Significance: Roe v. Wade is a cornerstone of feminist jurisprudence on reproductive
rights, though it has been the subject of ongoing political and legal challenges, with
Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization (2022) overturning it.

Babita Puniya v. Secretary of defence

a. The submissions advanced in the note tendered to this Court are based on sex
stereotypes premised on assumptions about socially ascribed roles of gender
which discriminate against women. Underlying the statement that it is a “greater
challenge” for women officers to meet the hazards of service “owing to their
prolonged absence during pregnancy, motherhood and domestic obligations
towards their children and families” is a strong stereotype which assumes that
domestic obligations rest solely on women. Reliance on the “inherent
physiological differences between men and women” rests in a deeply entrenched
stereotypical and constitutionally flawed notion that women are the weaker sex
and may not undertake tasks that are „too arduous‟ for them. Arguments founded
 on the physical strengths and weaknesses of men and women and on assumptions
about women in the social context of marriage and family do not constitute a
constitutionally valid basis for denying equal opportunity to women officers. To
deny the grant of PCs to women officers on the ground that this would upset the
“peculiar dynamics” in a unit casts an undue burden on women officers which has
been claimed as a ground for excluding women. The written note also relies on
the “minimal facilities for habitat and hygiene” as a ground for suggesting that
women officers in the services must not be deployed in conflict zones. The
respondents have placed on record that 30% of the total women officers are in fact
deputed to conflict areas.
b. These assertions which we have extracted bodily from the written submissions
which have been tendered before this Court only go to emphasise the need for
change in mindsets to bring about true equality in the Army. If society holds
strong beliefs about gender roles – that men are socially dominant, physically
powerful and the breadwinners of the family and that women are weak and
physically submissive, and primarily caretakers confined to a domestic
atmosphere – it is unlikely that there would be a change in mindsets. Confronted
on the one hand with a solemn policy decision taken by the Union Government
allowing for the grant of PC to women SSC officers in ten streams, we have yet
on the other hand a whole baseless line of submissions solemenly made to this
Court to detract from the vital role that has been played by women SSC officers in
the line of duty
c. The counter affidavit contains a detailed elaboration of the service which has been
rendered by women SSC officers to the cause of the nation, working shoulder to
shoulder with their male counterparts. Yet, that role is sought to be diluted by the
repeated pleas made before this Court that women, by the nature of their
biological composition and social milieu, have a less important role to play than
their male counterparts. Such a line of submission is disturbing as it ignores the
solemn constitutional values which every institution in the nation is bound to
uphold and facilitate. Women officers of the Indian Army have brought laurels to
the force.

CONCLUSION - Feminist jurisprudence is a philosophy to know the reason of women’s

subordinate situation. It tries to find out the root cause of gender discrimination prevailed in
society. Women rights are protected by law in India, but these laws as instrument are not
implemented properly. Especially social attitude toward women have to change. Economic and
psychological empowerment is the part and parcel of women movement. The house hold work
performed for one’s own family is not counted as economic activity, unlike house hold work
performed by employer. The house hold work done by women should be paid and must regard as
important to other productive work