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Women’s Empowerment in Indian Knowledge Traditions: A Study of Culture, Values, and Social Justice

Author(s) K. G. Jadhav, Dr. G.C. Jadhav
Country India
Abstract Indian knowledge traditions are a plural and contested heritage of philosophical texts, religion, literature, ethics and social institutions. In this paper, these traditions are explored as they have influenced notions of women's agency, dignity, education, spirituality and social involvement, and as they can be seen to have perpetuated hierarchy and gendered limitations. The study involved a qualitative literature review approach which involves reading and probing selected Vedic and Upanishadic texts, Buddhist texts, Jain traditions, Bhakti traditions, reformist literary works, anti-caste literature and contemporary empowerment theories with reference to culture, values and social justice. The analysis in this paper reveals that Indian traditions are not limited to the emancipatory or patriarchal approaches. They, however, are loaded with conflicting normative resources. Gargi, Maitreyi, early Buddhist nuns, Mirabai, Pandita Ramabai, Tarabai Shinde, Savitribai Phule, and B. R. Ambedkar are different figure-types that represent various approaches to claiming knowledge, spiritual authority, education, voice, and equality. Brahmanical patriarchy, caste endogamy, narrow reading of dharma, and unequal access to institutions, on the other hand, restricted women's autonomy. The paper proposes looking at the empowerment of women in Indian knowledge traditions through a critical-hermeneutic approach: valuable principles – knowledge, dignity, compassion, self-realization, and justice – should be retrieved rather than romanticized. These traditions can help to build socially inclusive and culturally grounded empowerment models when read in the context of equality of citizens and contemporary conceptions of what capabilities are.
Keywords Indian knowledge traditions, women’s empowerment, culture, values, social justice, gender equality, caste, Bhakti
Published In Volume 17, Issue 3, July-September 2026
Published On 2026-08-21
DOI https://doi.org/10.71097/IJSAT.v17.i3.11514
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Crossref DOI prefix of IJSAT is 10.71097/IJSAT

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