Social ideologies of jotirao phule and M.K. Gandhi on gender equality: a comparative analysis

Gender is conceptualized as a social and cultural construct based on the biological category of sex. Gender is an analytical instrument bestowed by feminist philosophy and is widely used by social researchers to analyse the societal relations. It is well understood that gender constructs are shaped by culture, caste, class, religion, nation and so on. They also depend upon the variables like space and time.

This paper by using primary and secondary sources tries to capture the trajectory of development of ideas of both Jyotirao Phule and Mahatma Gandhi on gender equality as they developed over the time. It will further bring out several similarities and differences in the two philosophies and the historical and social reasons to which those similarities and differences could be attributed. There is need to fully understand the salient features of both the philosophies and seeing the best features of both to apply while formulating policies for the betterment of women.