Feminism in India: A Path to Women’s Empowerment
C3 staff member, Fiza Alam Zaidi, addresses an assembly of women at the “Mahila Gram Sabha” event in East Champaran, Bihar for International Women’s Day. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams, Bihar, India 2025
Feminism in India has evolved into a powerful movement that advocates for women's rights and the ability to exercise agency in society. This has resulted in massive societal shifts in modern India over the past decades.
While preparing for and during my recent assignment for C3 India in Bihar and West Bengal, I became highly intrigued by what seems to be a great dichotomy in the state of gender identity between urban centers and rural villages.
Gender In India and the Importance of Feminism
Governments and organizations rightfully celebrate the many achievements of urban Indian women breaking barriers. However, the remaining contested battleground lies in rural India, where the path to change appears more complicated.
Challenging a set of strong cultural norms requires navigating a complex web of invisible, and often immovable, expectations. In villages across India, a quiet tension simmers beneath the surface - between young women aspiring to rewrite their futures and the persistent social and economic forces urging them to stick with their traditionally defined roles.
Changing Gender Roles and The Aspiration Gap
The past decades have brought remarkable progress to rural India in many ways. Access to education and medical care has expanded, smartphones more frequently connect remote areas to the wider world, and women’s collectives are actively teaching new skills and financial literacy.
With all this exposure to modern conveniences, more rural Indian girls are daring to dream of finishing school, delaying marriage, or even starting small businesses. Yet, more conservative voices criticize these changes of mindset as being overly influenced by Western ideals and resulting in negative consequences to Indian society.
An adolescent girl in Howrah discusses the many topics related to female agency and gender identity that she is exposed to at school. As a result of this exposure, girls can more directly challenge traditional concepts, but they remain part of a complex ecosystem where concepts about traditional values and roles remain strong. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams, West Bengal, India 2025
India and Women's Rights
While some parents are intrigued and supportive of their daughter’s aspirations, they also worry about what might happen if the neighbors begin to talk or if she is perceived as “too independent”.
Apparently, some of these fears are not unfounded. It was explained to me that it is not uncommon for girls who step beyond predefined boundaries to experience various types of backlash from neighbors and from within their own families.
The price of stepping out of the cultural norm can come at the cost of social exclusion, threats to marriage prospects, or even violence.
Addressing these pervasive and complex societal barriers requires a sustained, multidimensional approach. Because of the methods employed, the scope of the work I observed was so broad and the number of images captured so numerous, I am dedicating this and three subsequent blog articles to this fascinating and timely topic.
Subsequent blog topics will include 1) education as empowerment for girls, 2) entrepreneurship as an enabler of women’s agency and 3) the critical role of women’s empowerment in the delivery of health care.
Cultural Pressures amid Changing Gender Stereotypes in India
Despite social programs and public discussion on women's empowerment throughout India, traditional gender roles remain entrenched in many villages.
While villagers may embrace the opportunities presented for additional education and knowledge, many subtle and powerful forces resist fully embracing the full potential of such initiatives. I learned that a "good girl" is often expected to be obedient, marry young, and focus on home duties, with any deviation seen as rebellion and as having the potential to impact a family’s reputation.
Adolescent school girl outside her home in Howrah. While being presented with many modern concepts and technologies, forces to conform to traditional roles remains very strong in rural areas. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams, West Bengal, India 2025
Economic factors further complicate the situation. In rural areas, marrying off a daughter early remains a cultural norm. Daughters also contribute to household chores, care for siblings, and assist in agriculture, all vital yet unpaid roles. When girls leave for education or work, families struggle to fill these roles.
Feminism in India: Pockets of Change (and Resistance)
Despite these pressures, change is happening. In this first article, I will introduce some of the programs and approaches that C3 India and their partners and donors are actively pursuing to support women’s agency and empowerment in India.
Increased Awareness through Educational Programs
Young girls receive training in digital literacy at their school in Howrah, West Bengal. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams, West Bengal, India 2025
A particular focus on the work of C3 India in schools is the development of digital and financial literacy as a path to empowering young girls.
This program supports a range of adjacent development activities to more comprehensively encourage the support of young girls to stay in school and develop a stronger sense of personal agency.
I will describe this work more extensively in my subsequent blog, focusing entirely on education as empowerment for girls in West Bengal.
Combating Gender-Based Violence (GBV) in Bihar
Priyanka Kumari listens to women’s concerns at the government office and assist vulnerable women in obtaining appropriate support and service. Priyanka is the Block-level Coordinator known as Didi Adhikar Kendra for the Naubatpur Block. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams, Bihar, India 2025
In Bihar, India, where cultural norms and economic challenges can exacerbate issues surrounding gender-based violence (GBV), C3 India is taking decisive action to support initiatives that provide services to mitigate this problem.
The organization works with local government bodies to provide leadership training for women in governmental positions so that they may more effectively assert leadership and spread advocacy in their communities.
The block level leader discuss gender issues with the cluster leads who in turn perform outreach and work to mitigate and arbitrate issues related to gender based violence. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams, Bihar, India 2025
Building Capacity and Raising Awareness of Women’s Rights in India
One of the core strategies implemented by C3 India is capacity building among local government officials. This involves training programs designed to educate officials on the complexities of women’s leadership and individual advocacy, including effective responses to gender-based violence.
By equipping these promising leaders with the necessary knowledge and skills to assume strong leadership capabilities, C3 India aims to foster an environment where gender-related issues receive the attention and urgency they require, led by women in these key roles.
Often, the key is to provide women support to speak out with confidence and authority, which is naturally challenging in a society where this has not previously been the norm.
In addition to training and leadership development, C3 India runs awareness campaigns targeted at local communities. These initiatives focus on educating both men and women about their rights and the resources available, including support for those affected by GBV.
By raising awareness of women’s rights in India at the community level, individuals are more informed and thus better prepared to take action.
India and Women Empowerment: Support To Access Government Help
In Bihar state, I visited the block office supported by the state government. This office was staffed by a block-level leader who is a government employee and is available all week to assist community members in accessing government schemes, including food rations for the entire “block”.
A block in India is not the same as we might think of it in the US. In India, the size of a block can vary significantly depending on the state and local administrative practices, but generally, a block typically consists of several villages or towns and could be the residence of a few thousand to hundreds of thousands of people.
The block-level leader is assisted by additional employees who provide a similar function at the “cluster” level within the community. Clusters are generally formed by a group of nearby villages. Each block, or administrative unit, does not have a fixed number of clusters, as this can vary by geographical location, population density, and specific developmental goals.
A key aspect of this block-level office is to provide support to women who need help in accessing government services.
Often, they access this office as victims of domestic violence, which is a serious problem in the region. Interestingly, since 2016, the state of Bihar has prohibited the manufacture, sale, storage and consumption of alcohol, and this has reportedly resulted in some decline in gender-based violence.
However, GBV remains a serious problem, and the extent of the impact of the alcohol ban remains controversial. Nonetheless, the women of Bihar appear proud of their advocacy role that resulted in the enactment of the ban.
Collaboration with Local Authorities
Priyanka Kumari is the Block-level Coordinator known as Didi Adhikar Kendra for the Naubatpur Block near Patna, Bihar. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams, Bihar, India 2025
C3 India works closely with local law enforcement and judicial systems to establish a collaborative framework for supporting women, including addressing cases of GBV.
This partnership involves regular meetings, strategy sessions, and joint community outreach efforts. As a result, local authorities are increasingly aware of GBV issues and are more equipped to handle cases sensitively and effectively.
Policy Advocacy and Systemic Change
C3 India also engages in policy advocacy, aiming to influence local government policies and ensure that gender-based violence is prioritized within the public health and legal frameworks of Bihar. By collaborating with policymakers, C3 India seeks to establish more robust laws and support mechanisms that protect victims and hold perpetrators accountable.
A governmental employee from the Women and Child Corporation in East Champaran addresses a group of women to encourage agency during an International Women’s Day celebration in rural Bihar. Her job is to disseminate and facilitate the web of social schemes, which are provided by the government. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams, Bihar, India 2025
The organization is also involved in data collection and research, which helps to inform these advocacy efforts. By gathering evidence on the prevalence and consequences of GBV in Bihar, C3 India provides actionable insights that can shape effective local policies.
Through partnerships with local NGOs and community-based organizations, C3 India helps to create networks that provide essential services for survivors, making it easier for them to navigate the complexities of recovery.
Empowering Survivors & Protecting Girls
These women participate in a self-help group known as a VO (Village Organization) in rural Bihar. Here they chant together in commitment to the elimination of child marriage within their community. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams, Bihar, India 2025
Beginning in 2006, the state of Bihar, India, started to implement a comprehensive program known as Jeevika, aimed at enhancing health outcomes through a focus on maternal and child health and improving access to healthcare services and education.
I have had the fortune to witness and photograph various maternal and child health programs in Bihar associated with Jeevika since 2017.
In March 2025, I returned to Bihar, where I photographed the work supported by the Center for Catalyzing Change (C3 India) to maintain and improve women’s self-help groups, which have been a strong force of economic development for women.
Women’s Self-Help Groups
Members of a Self-Help Group discuss issues relevant to the entire community in rural Bihar. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams, Bihar, India 2025
Women's Self-Help groups in Bihar, supported by C3 India and Jeevika, have become vital conduits for empowerment and community building. These groups provide women with a platform to share experiences, access financial resources, and develop essential skills.
By fostering a sense of solidarity and collaboration, members can address issues such as poverty, health, and education more effectively.
The initiatives led by C3 India focus on promoting self-reliance and confidence among women, enabling them to take active roles in their families and communities. They review and fund a range of initiatives through collective microfinance and champion social causes such as eliminating child marriage.
As these groups continue to grow, they contribute significantly to the broader social and economic development within Bihar.
Women of a Self-Help Group provide consent to being photographed to contribute in the promotion of their work. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams, Bihar, India 2025
Empowered women vow to work together in the Self-Help Groups for the benefit of one another and the community as a whole. Photograph: ©Steven Wade Adams, Bihar, India 2025
India and Women’s Empowerment
The path to women’s empowerment in rural India is not about sudden transformation, but slow, collective evolution at multiple levels. It requires not only supporting women, but also engaging with the systems—family structures, economic models, cultural norms—that shape their lives. Only then can change become not just aspirational, but sustainable.
By building capacity, enhancing education and health, fostering collaborative relationships with government authorities, advocating for systemic change, and empowering survivors of abuse, C3 India is making significant strides in creating a safer and more equitable environment for everyone. Through their persistent efforts and dedicated partnerships, the organization continues to inspire hope and drive meaningful change.
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In my next article, I will explore the topic of education as a tool for girls' empowerment. Additional future blogs will explore programs using entrepreneurship as an enabler of women’s agency and the critical role of women’s empowerment in the delivery of health care.