As Women’s History Month begins this year, FII recognizes the contributions of women throughout history and around the world who have brought about change.
March is a significant month in feminist history. In 1995, the United Nations designated March as Women’s History Month to recognize the contributions and achievements of women. On March 8th we celebrate International Women’s Day, originally created as International Working Women’s Day, a socialist celebration of women and their revolutionary work. Since then, March has been celebrated worldwide as Women’s History Month.
Today, as we grapple with systemic misogyny, far-right atrocities and the exclusion of marginalized genders and communities in India and beyond, we stand at the crossroads of history and look at what appears to be a dark, bleak path ahead for women and gender minorities. Under the vicious ideology of far-right conservatism in India, the US, the Middle East and Europe, major legal and policy changes and drastic measures in private and public life were implemented that deprived women and queer people of their rights physical autonomy, Self-expression, Legal protection And Fundamental rights.
Over the last year, there has been a concerted effort to erase the contributions of women and queer people in history. School curricula were restructured with Indian queens like Raziya Sultan and Nur Jahan REMOVED from history books. Google has REMOVED Women’s History Month, Black History Month and LGBTQIA+ Remembrance Days have also been removed from their online calendars in recent years, citing “non-political” reasons. Globally, a heteronormative patriarchal metanarrative is being forced upon us through the erasure of the history and work of my marginalized people.
Despite being denied access to education and equal rights, women have been pillars of society for centuries, contributing significantly to innovation and invention around the world. They have made significant advances in political leadership and roles, STEM fields, and the arts, humanities, and literature. Women have been at the forefront of change, contribution and development, despite only recently gaining “rights” on paper in history. Women are leaders, torchbearers, scientists, authors and agents of change who have taken significant steps to establish their presence in this patriarchal society.
Yet history has always been written and rewritten by powerful men who removed and discarded those who did not benefit their tales. The deletion of women’s posts becomes part of a conscious and deliberate amnesia. Women are recognized as mere footnotes, victims of a historical afterthought. Their stories have been documented and disseminated through the lens of privileged cisgender heterosexual men who work for patriarchy and institutionalized religions. The result is a narrow-minded and short-sighted story told through the male gaze.
To address historical amnesia and recognize the significant role women have played in history, it is important to bring women’s contributions, achievements and milestones back into the spotlight. It is critical to shift, reclaim and rebuild historical narratives about women from an intersectional perspective.
In India, women have played a significant role in shaping history both before and after independence. They participated alongside men in wars and freedom movements to resist colonial rule. Women also played an important role in the drafting of the Indian constitution.
Unfortunately, they continue to face discrimination based on their gender, sexuality, caste, ethnicity and religion. Due to Brahminical patriarchy, generally only the contributions of privileged Savarana women get the limelight and the women from Dalit, Adivasi and Muslim communities remain unnoticed. In the recent past, Dalit feminist writings by Bama and Sukirtharani have been published REMOVED from university curricula to delete the significant contributions of Dalit women. However, Women’s History Month celebrates women of all sexualities, castes, ethnicities and religions. In March, FII would like to recognize their work.
This month, FII commemorates and highlights the achievements and sacrifices of women who led us to form the society we know today.
In this context, we at Feminism In India invite contributions on Women in History for our Women’s History Month Mood of the Month in March 2026. We will continually review and publish articles until March 20th. Please send us your pitches as soon as possible.
Some of the topics that might be helpful to you are listed below:
- Profiles of women in history from various geographic regions whose stories have not been documented
- Profiles of women who shaped history but are known only through oral traditions
- Local and regional feminist and women’s movements
- Women’s resistance movements in conflict areas such as Palestine, Sudan, the Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir
- Personal essays about how historical women influenced individual journeys
- Representation of women in contemporary history: from pop culture to literature to cinema
- Historians and feminist historiography
- Women in STEM
- Women in law and administration
- Interviews and features about historians, academics, scientists, activists and writers
- Appropriation of marginalized historical voices
- Feminist book and film reviews of historical fiction and non-fiction cultural texts
- Women in religion and mythology and their modern interpretations, particularly from an intersectional feminist perspective
- Private Stories – Family and generational stories about women’s resilience and struggles
- Stories and contributions from queer, trans, tribal, Bahujan, Adivasi, Muslim and disabled women
- Comments on women’s fields of work, ranging from art to literature, STEM, politics, etc.
This list is not exhaustive and feel free to write about any topics within the topic that we may have missed here. Please note our Submission Guidelines before you send us your entries. You can email your pitches or draft submissions to info@feminisminindia.com.
We look forward to your drafts and hope you enjoy writing!
Feminism In India is an award-winning digital intersectional feminist media organization with the aim of learning, educating and developing feminist sensibilities and decoding the F-word among the youth in India.