Exploring the inter-connections between Intersectionality and Ecofeminist movements in India

 

Exploring the inter-connections between Intersectionality and Ecofeminist movements in India

Sayan Mazumder,

Senior Research Fellow,

Department of Comparative Literature,

Jadavpur University,

Kolkata, West Bengal, India.

 

Abstract: Two significant areas of Postcolonial discourses regarding Gender Studies reflect on Intersectionality and Ecofeminism. This paper will try to highlight theoretical approaches of Intersectionality within the Ecofeminist movements in India both in Colonial and Postcolonial times through interdisciplinary research. In the era of environmental degradation and economic anxiety, for understanding the situation of women in a diverse country like India, one has to take cognisance of the societal complexities through Intersectional framework. The close association between women and nature is interlinked with the conflict between nature and culture as proposed by Levi-Strauss through his work on kinship. The ‘Anthropocene’ marks not only the attitude of man towards nature but gives rise to the marginalising measures inflicted on women based on their socio-cultural position. This paper aims to highlight some historically significant environmental movements in India led by women that not only attempt reclaim their ‘agency’ but also locate them in the purview of Intersectionality as well as social and environmental justice. The paper will also try to engage in discussing how Indigenous women have contributed in building sustainable ecologies as well as storing traditional knowledge that might be beneficial in terms of finding alternative ways of development. The paper will try to examine the how Ecofeminist movements from as early as 1730s have tried to retrieve their rights and in doing so challenges the traditional power structures and contributed towards protecting nature and natural resources that has led to the socio-economic disparity between men and women. This paper will also try to consider government policies and initiatives towards marginalised communities, understanding the unrecognised contribution of women especially in the informal sector, emerging Ecofeminist movements in India today addressing these historical and social inequities and injustices.

Keywords: Ecofeminism, Intersectionality, Gender studies, Environmental movements

Introduction

Does intersectionality and its methodologies have any kind of relationship with environmentalism or more critically with ecofeminism? If so, then how? Are they relevant in the Indian context? Does connecting the two discourses help us in understanding Indian environmental movement in a different framework? These are a few questions that I would like to discuss in this paper.  As we all know Kimberlé Crenshaw coined the term ‘intersectionality’ from the concept of a traffic intersection to highlight the multiple dimensions that constitutes the identity of an individual. While the inability ofany single-axis discourses to determine the ‘difference of experiences’, Crenshaw’s work provided a particularly solid ground in the direction of Feminist scholarship.

‘Ecofeminism’ as a term was coined by Francoise d'Eaubonn in 1974 and it talks about the relationship between nature and women and their subjugation at multiple levels by the patriarchal oppression and capitalism in various measures. Bringing feminism and environmentalism together has established a discourse that is political activism as well as a social critique. The dominance of the male-oriented knowledge production in scientific progression has also played a crucial role in diminishing women’s agency. As Shivi Singh discussed in her essay titled ‘Feminist epistemology and its role in ecofeminism’ that ‘Sandra Harding puts forth that all the scientific knowledge that we believe to be objective and Value-Neutral is in-fact value laden influenced by various social factors. The researchers who conduct the result have a historical background which influences the results of the research in numerous ways. She says that all the results are infected by the preconceived notions of the researchers, as it is not possible for an individual to come out of their historicity and give an objective result’^1.  As A. E. King reiterates in his essay ‘Intersectionality and the Changing Face of Ecofeminism’ that implementing the various dimensions of ‘Intersectionality’ as a ‘conceptual tool’, ecofeminist work can strive towards understanding the position of women without homogenizing and categorising. He says that

 Intersectionality offered a ‘new twist’ on critical ecofeminism by offering a “nodal point” (Lykke 2005) for disparate approaches to contribute to ecofeminist scholarship and explore the effects of sexism, class, homophobia, caste systems, and racism on women and their relationship with the environment. It allows for the cross-examination of issues from differing theoretical backgrounds using a wide range of methodological approaches, which as part of a larger post-structuralist project: attempts to deconstruct categories and unveil the universalism at play in ecofeminist and feminist scholarship. (King, 2017)

It can be assumed that intersectionality forms a deep connection with the ecofeminist idea.  But how can this be of use in specific contexts such as in India. Vandana Shiva through her relentless work has argued the case of the ‘feminine principle of Prakriti’ that governs the ‘ethics of care’ through Indian cosmology. The rural women of the Third world carry the ‘Shakti’ that helps then connect with nature through creativity and sustenance of life. Through the Indian idea of ‘unity’, women’s relationship with nature extends towards a biologically significant bond. She emphasizes how it is important to learn about the indigenous cultures as they restore the biodiversity through seed generation, seed renewal and seed multiplicity. She also says that the grandmothers are the best ‘holders’ of the knowledge and the link for continuity from the past to the future. In her essay titled ‘Women's Indigenous Knowledge and Biodiversity’ she says that,

Women have been the custodians of biodiversity in most cultures. They have been selectors and preservers of seed. However, like all other aspects of women's work and knowledge, their role in development and conservation of biodiversity has been rendered as non-work and non-knowledge. Their labour and expertise have been defined into nature, even though it is based on sophisticated cultural and scientific practices. Women produce, reproduce, consume and conserve biodiversity in agriculture. Women's biodiversity conservation however differs from the dominant patriarchal notions of biodiversity conservation in a number of ways. (Shiva 1992: 210)

 But there is a critique also of Shiva’s perspective for being ‘essentialist’. From the perspective of intersectionality, Shiva ignores the oppression of women within Hinduism belonging from different castes, Adivasi women, women from different indigenous communities and all of them could not be homogenized simply as woman of the ‘Third World’.  As A.E. King elaborates that ‘Shiva fails to address the patriarchal structures within Hinduism or to interrogate the principles of Prakriti (the feminine principle) and Purusha (the masculine principle) themselves, as contributing to and being part of a complex structure of social, political, and religious relations, under the influence of an oppressive caste system’ (King, 2017).  Many other scholars have argued against the ‘romanticism’ that relates to woman and environmentalism which negates the precolonial biases within the Hindu social structure. It must also be understood that any kind of discourse relating to these matters must carefully look at the intersecting positions of class, caste, culture, ethnicity and location of individuals or of communities to determine their relationship with nature. The structuring of ‘womanhood’ and its tenets must be cautiously introspected to stop falling in the trap of engaging in one-dimensional concept. Through these kinds of debates and critical scholarship playing an important role to propagate intersectional ecofeminism in India, we would try to narrow down the research and delve into a few significant environmental movements as well as political activism that has taken place in India.

Understanding ecological movements

India’s ecofeminist history goes down many centuries before it became a global movement. Way back on 11^th September 1730, Amrita Devi Bishnoi resisted when the king’s men came to her village to cut down the sacred Khejri tree for building a palace. The Bishnoi name comes from Guru Maharaj Jambaji’s 29 principles adhered by his followers from the late 15^th century. Amongst these principles, protection of the environment and animals were very significant to the Bishnois. They were deemed lower in caste to the Rajputs in Hindu religion. So, when the loggers came for the trees in Amrita Devi’s village, she hugged a tree to protect it and was decapitated as the axe fell. Her three daughters followed suit. 363 Bishnois from 84 villages fell while protecting the trees. The king heard the news and stopped the atrocity and ceased the logging. Is this just a case of environmentalism? Or are there other layers to it?

The answer lies through multiple paradigms. In the harsh conditions of Rajasthan, the Khejri trees provide resource materials to the villagers and also the animals. The trees were essential for survival. The importance of the Khejri trees was paramount to the Bishnois from both in terms of sustainability and religiosity. It is quintessential to protect the trees even beyond the cost of one’s own life. The second aspect of this incident is the angle of casteism. A woman that too from a lower caste resisting upper caste men from doing their ‘job’ infuriated the king’s henchmen. As Jyothi Justin and Nirmala Menon observed it in their paper ‘Indian Intersectional Ecofeminism and Sustainability: A Study on Mayilamma: The Life of a Tribal Eco-Warrior and Jharkhand’s Save the Forest Movement’ that,

The Bishnoi women defiled the caste and gender norms of their times by refusing to surrender their rights to ecological resources before the upper caste Rajput soldiers which was a major reason for their mass murder. The women’s defiance was connected to ecological conservation and to their realisation that the marginalisation of nature is directly proportional to their marginalisation (denial of access to forest resources meant increased poverty and physical labour). Thus, the first ecofeminist movement in India that led to a change in sustainable policymaking had its roots on the intersectional identity of the women involved.² (Justin and Menon, 2022)

The double marginalised identity of Amrita Devi Bishnoi had led her to this tragic fate. The question of survival, alongside class and caste has to be critically analysed while interpreting her actions. The economic and political control has remained a male-dominated affair. A clear link can be observed with women-led environmental movements and access to material sources for survival. If we look at the very famous ‘Chipko’ movement started in the 1970s , multiple inter-connections come to life. The economic situation led many of the men from the local communities in the region to migrate towards cities for a better income. Deforestation for development had led to a direct impact of the life of these communities. Women of these villages had to take care of the household chores, gather fodder, collect food and other resources from the forest. It is clear that they depended on the trees as the forest helped them sustain. The shortage of fuel, food and fodder as well as economic deprivation become key factors for these women to fight for the forest emulating Amrita Devi Bishnoi’s heroics. On the other side, the ‘forced’ absence of male and diversions placed by the loggers compelled these women to act. Bachni Devi and Gaura Devi who displayed exceptional leadership roles during the ‘Chipko’ movement were also fighting for their right of having control over the local forest which is essential for survival of their village. From an intersectional ecofeminist viewpoint, the village women of these areas have minimal power or say in policy-making. But they take the major hit due to the unsustainable ‘developments.’ The ‘Chipko Andolan’ represents a wide spectrum of movements arising across the Garhwal Himalayan region during the 1970s and 1980s. Marginalised in multiple ways, women of these region demanded a rearrangement of the laws to have greater control over their forest and resources. The mass participation of women from all the villages was a ‘silent feature’ of this movement. But we have to understand that this movement was not limited to just saving the forest but to have a more significant participation in land usage, economic progress, sustainable development and distribution of natural resources.

Environmental movements have led us towards a broader understanding of Environmental Justice as well. The discrimination within gender roles have also played a part in degradation of women specially in the Global South. Women working in the informal sector have a large contribution to Inda’s GDP but very little benefit for that. Daily-wage earning women have little or no access towards menstrual hygiene, health benefit or social security. It is interesting to find out that ‘According to a survey conducted by the National Commission for Women (NCW), around 70% of women working in the informal sector face some form of harassment or violence.’  Analysing menstrual health in rural women, A. E, King observes that,

Projects which attempt to resolve the issue of menstrual hygiene must be sensitive to local conditions, especially in relation to the environmental consequences of simply copying Western models of menstrual management. Projects must take into account the vastly different experiences and needs of women living in the rural Global South and cannot be based solely on gender but rather a multitude of other types of oppressions from caste to class. The SDGs of universal primary education, gender equality, and environmental sustainability will, at least in part, be decided by the capacity of political ‘players’ to understand and effectively implement the infrastructure necessary for women to properly see to their menstrual hygiene needs. These include access to functional toilets in schools, adequate sanitary protection, and the ability to dispose of waste materials in a safe and environmentally sustainable manner. (King, 2017)

Social Circumstances

The taboo faced by menstruating women also depends on the social position. In many places of India, women are not allowed to enter temples during menstruation, if they are permitted at all. Sanitary pads and other resources are scarce in rural India that leads to health hazards for a large number of women. Essential needs like hygienic toilets, access to healthcare and clean water have direct impact on woman’s life. This experience cannot be related to every woman and that is where intersectionality helps to understand the axis of difference/tenets of identity and the multiple social locations of an individual or a community. The ecofeminist intersectionality can be a great conceptual framework to look at the struggles of Sex workers and the LGBTQ communities. In Kolkata, we have an area called ‘Sonagachi’ where a large community of sex workers resides. Different initiatives were taken to help these women organise and protect themselves and stop illegal trafficking of girls. As Sriya Patnaik discusses that ‘Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee, an NGO in West Bengal that works towards identifying and challenging underlying structural factors that perpetuate social stigmatisation, material deprivation and civil society exclusion against subjects. Its social workers (many of them sex workers themselves) strive towards demanding the dignity of sexual labour, addressing of HIV and STIs infecting the community, awareness strategies and emancipation campaigns as inevitable steps towards eliminating the pervasive gender-based discrimination afflicting them’⁵. It is also interesting that according to age old traditions of Durga Puja, the first soil must be collected from the brothel.

There are many stories associated with the idol-making of Maa Durga from the soil of a brothel. According to a legend, once some prostitutes went to bathe in the Ganga. A leprosy patient was sitting on the ghat and asking people passing by to take him for a bath in Ganga. But nobody listened to his plea. Then, the prostitutes saw him and took him for a bath in the Ganges. That patient was none other than Bhagwan Shiva. He was so pleased with the prostitutes that he asked them to ask for a boon. Then the prostitutes told Shiv ji to bless them with a boon that without the soil from their courtyard, no Durga idol could be made. Lord Shiva immediately gave this boon to the prostitutes and since then this tradition has been in practice while making a Maa Durga idol.⁶

The story is interesting because the most outcast section of the society is necessary to make the Idol of the most celebrated Goddess of the Bengali community. These women who are marginalised most socially and economically provide ‘soil’ as the most crucial natural resource for idol-making. The feminist movement also plays a critical role in getting rights for the LGBTQ community. During the marriage equality hearings, the Central government emphasized that “third gender” category encompassed the entire LGBTQ+ spectrum, contrary to the NALSA judgment. Intersectionality here advocates against the homogenizing that prevails over the doubly marginalised communities. The ecofeminist movement strives for greater economic and social justice and rights of ‘women’ in a broader sense but also draws attention towards rights of nature and the goal of sustainability. It also argues for developmental strategies which are ethical and do not marginalise communities. 

Economic Inequality

In India the evolution of caste and class has produced a great economic inequality in society. Through the Shastras, Brahmins legitimized their power over not only other castes but also on women, depriving them of ‘owning’ land and in turn making them dependent on a permanent basis. Jotirao Phule’s arguments connected upper-castes to upper-class citizens. But Phule also analysed how women of lower castes have to do much more physical labour than upper caste women. Without even the concept of intersectionality, Phule’s critique highlights intersection framework at multiple levels. While reworking Phule’s idea about the Indian society, Sachin Garud notes that ‘It is to be noted here that Mahatma Phule used the term ‘Stri-Shudra-Atishudras’^7, thereby connecting all categories of women with Shudra-Atishudras, which includes middle castes, untouchables, tribes (Adivasis) and all other castes that are at the receiving end of the Brahmanical order. He also made an attempt to unify all non-Brahmin castes by clubbing them into one category—non-Aryans. Mahatma Phule says that according to the Dharmashastras all women, irrespective of their castes, are inferior creatures and hence invariably in the same group as Shudras and Dasas. He realised that since women were the biological reproducers of caste-patriarchy, the regulation, and control of their sexuality was crucial to retain and preserve the ‘pure’ roots of caste and lineage⁸. The deprivation of knowledge also correlates to the deprivation of power. Due to patriarchal domination, women have less opportunity for economic growth. This discrimination specially affects the poor who are tied to natural resources for survival and income and are greatly affected by climate induced changes. As we discussed the ‘Chipko’ movement, we can understand the desperation of these women and their necessity to resist ecological destruction. The following chart discusses the economic growth through use of inhibited natural resources and social capital enjoyed by the privileged class and castes.

Ongoing efforts

SEWA or Self-Employed Women's Association¹⁰ is a trade union formed in 1972 by Ela Bhatt that promotes the rights of low-income women and provides social security against exploitation. Over 2 million women working in 8 different states are members of this association. SEWA also helps marginalised women especially from the poor rural sectors and urban slums to unify against any kind of discrimination. One of the major highlights is that women from all castes and genders get equal opportunity without any kind of bias. SEWA has worked effectively during the ‘Gujarat riots’ in bringing rehabilitation to affected women, providing the widows with trauma-counselling and employment. SEWA also provides health care, food security, childcare, and housing for marginalised women. As climate change affects the women and their sustainability, the Arsht-Rock, in collaboration with the Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) and support from The Rockefeller Foundation and Howden Group, initiated the Extreme Heat Protection Initiative in early 2023 with SEWA, a member of the Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance (EHRA), as a partner. This initiative aims to create and implement solutions that not only enable adaptation to climate change but also contribute to breaking cycles of poverty among SEWA’s members.

The core of this initiative is an integrated approach, combining several key strategies: risk transfer through an Extreme Heat Income Microinsurance product, risk reduction measures, heat early warning systems, and financial inclusion. While the parametric insurance offers payouts during unsafe working conditions due to heat, the initiative also focuses on providing everyday safety tools and resources, such as concrete water tanks and protective gear, to SEWA’s members. Additionally, the initiative plans to incorporate early warning systems to further mitigate risks, enabling better planning and protection for the health and livelihoods of these women, their children, and families. The aim is to alleviate the tough choice between earning an income and ensuring safety.¹¹

Another disaster that occurred in India was the Bhopal Gas tragedy in 1984 that killed over 20000 people. Though the Union Carbide company and the government tried to avoid responsibility for the disaster, it has impacted millions of lives and even the future generations form with deformity years after the tragedy. Two women, Rashida Bee & Champa Devi Shukla kept on fighting to give justice to the poor people and provide them with necessary compensations. One Hindu and another Muslim, these two women who both suffered personal loses during and after the disaster have fought against the responsible Company that gained international solidarity. Though not limited to a feminist movement, the courage of these women can be critically analysed as a fight for rights of marginalised and voiceless people.

Violence against Indigenous women

Indigenous communities in India have historically suffered in the hands of the colonizers and now in the hands of their fellow countrymen. The violence is targeted on indigenous women as they resist very strongly against the oppressive forces. They are also forced to leave their traditional foraging and convert into agriculture-based communities. That has impacted their ways of life. The other significant angle is to suppress the community by unleashing aggressive measures against the communities to gain control over the contesting natural resources.

 If we look at the Adivasi dominated areas of Jharkhand, Odissa and Chhattisgarh, we see violence directed towards Adivasi women. In Gandhamadan in the 1980s, women put their babies on the road in front of the police and bulldozers to show that future generations’ lives depend totally on stopping the mines. In the 2000s Dongria Kondh women stood firm against the mining of their sacred Niyamgiri Hills, even when they were arrested on trumped-up charges. In West Bengal, Adivasi women are leading the resistance to the Deocha-Pachami coal mine project, which would displace 21,000 people. Women have declared their determination to stop the mine and held a huge protest meeting, which local politicians and police tried to stop.

Adivasi women who stand up for their lands and rights and against the injustices that their communities are facing are targeted for both their defiance and their gender. There are high rates of sexual abuse of Adivasi women in the districts with high levels of mining and resistance to mining. Women defending their lands face threats of sexual violence, public stripping, acid attacks and defamation. By threatening and brutalising Adivasi women, the perpetrators – usually the security forces working in the interests of mining – hope to intimidate and suppress the whole community’s resistance.¹²

 

Adivasi women of India's Hasdeo forests protest against new coal mines, in central India.       Image by Vijay Ramamurthy

The control over natural resources and conflicts with indigenous women has grown in many folds across India. Intersectional ecofeminist approaches can become a very useful conceptual framework to understand the reasoning behind this increase. In the 21^st century, ecological crisis is one of the most threatening challenges. New scholarship around feminist discourses has paved way for a more interdisciplinary approach towards understanding the multilayered obstacles of gender discrimination.  As Nilanjan Ghosh critically analyses that though ‘intersectionality’ emerged as a popular concept from the discipline of critical race theory, it has found its application in other domains including gender studies, environmental studies, and sustainability. Intersectionality acknowledges that different aspects of a person’s identity—such as race, gender, sexuality, and class—interact with each other, creating unique experiences of oppression and privilege. In the context of climate change and sustainable development, intersectionality recognises that environmental problems and solutions are not isolated from other social and economic issues but are instead interconnected and interdependent.¹³

 Conclusion

Intersectional Ecofeminism might help in critically observing analysing and debating various issues relating to gender and naturethrough interdisciplinary discourses, one has to be very aware of the pitfalls surrounding the scholarship. On one hand one has to be careful not to homogenize ‘black/dalit/third world women’ or ‘all women’ as singular but also not indulge in narrow identity politics. Rather, a framework of solidarity while recognising the multiple experiences and differences, should lead to more fruitful production of knowledge. As Dr. Bindu Variath discussed a few important tenets the contemporary trends of Intersectional feminism. These are-i)Emphasis on Diversity and Inclusion where Intersectional feminism emphasizes the importance of recognizing and addressing the diversity of experiences among women, ii) Focus on Economic Justice that includes the gender pay disparity due to racial, socioeconomic, and other variables. Emphasis on economic justice, calling for equitable access to opportunities and an end to mal labour practices that exploit workers, iii) Environmental Justice through which one can look into the multidimensional aspects of environmental justice and gender justice because women are disproportionately affected by environmental degradation iv) Addressing Racism and Colonialism inherently linked with racial and gendered oppression. One has to be critical of the historical deprivations and also neo-colonial approaches specially subjected to indigenous women and women of colour. It should also introspect with ongoing feminist discourses in identifying and resolving any kind of biases, v) Global Solidarity that recognizes the significance of working together across borders against violence, reproductive rights, and economic justice and vi) Emphasis on Self-Care and Wellness that prioritizes self-care and wellness that builds a support system in the struggle for gender justice.

This paper has tried to highlight intersectional ecofeminism in India from multiple perspectives through different ecological and social movements, exploring the complex relationship between nature and women, emerging efforts of addressing the gender inequities, different socio-political issues, diverse aspects of social, economic and environmental justice and concluding through the future direction of this discourse. 

 

Notes and References

 

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2.      Justin, Jyothi, and Nirmala Menon. “Indian Intersectional Ecofeminism and Sustainability: A Study on Mayilamma: The Life of a Tribal Eco-Warrior and Jharkhand’s Save the Forest Movement.” Journal of Ecohumanism, vol. 1, no. 2, July 2022, pp. 123–37. https://doi.org/10.33182/joe.v1i2.2417

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4.       “The Chipko Movement: A 50-Year Legacy of Environmental Protection.” Adda247, 26 Mar. 2024, https://currentaffairs.adda247.com/the-chipko-movement-a-50-year-legacy-of-environmental-protection/ (last accessed on 11.06.2025)

5.       “The Invisible Voices of India’s Informal Sector Sex Workers.” South Asia LSE, 22 Mar. 2021,https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/southasia/2021/03/22/the-invisible-voices-of-indias-informal-sector-sex-workers/ (last accessed on 12.06.25)

6.      https://www.namoastro.com/blog/4-essentials-for-maa-durga-idols-including-the-soil-from-brothels-courtyard/(last accessed on 12.07.24)

7.      Deshpande, G.P.(Ed.) Selected Writings of Jotirao Phule, (New Delhi: Left-word, 2002)

8.       “Mahatma Phule’s Thoughts on Caste-Patriarchy: A Critical Evaluation – Round Table India.” Round Table India, 20 Mar. 2023, www.roundtableindia.co.in/mahatma-phule-s-thoughts-on-caste-patriarchy-a-critical-evaluation/#:~:text=It%20is%20to%20be%20noted,end%20of%20the%20Brahmanical%20order(last accessed on 12.07.24)

9.      Nilanjan Ghosh, “Ecological Economics: Sustainability, Markets, and Global Change,” in Global Change, Ecosystems, Sustainability: Theory, Methods, Practice, ed. Pranab Mukhopadhyay et al. (New Delhi: Sage, 2017).

10.  Self Employed Women’s Association. www.sewa.org(last accessed on 12.06.25)

11.  Unfccc.int, 2025, unfccc.int/climate-action/engagement/marrakech-partnership-for-global-climate-action/actors/meet-the-champions/work-of-the-climate-high-level-champions (last accessed on 09.06.25)

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