Abstract
The Public/Private divide forms the central core of feminist thought even today and its roots can be traced back to the origin of liberalism and divide between state and market forces. Feminist scholars, however, have laid bare the gendered basis of this dichotomy by arguing that the public sphere essentially belongs to men, whereas the private sphere is inhabited by women, but is controlled by men. The dominance over the public sphere has resulted in the control over the private sphere, crippling women’s rights, and freedoms. It is important to de-gender this divide to ensure that women are given equal rights and freedom. Gender is a fluid category including a spectrum of genders; the primary focus of this study is to understand the dichotomy with respect to women, their position in the public-private context and de-gendering the divide to make the spheres more accessible and just for women. Various scholars have suggested measures to de-gender this dichotomy by either making the private sphere more just, increasing women’s presence in the public sphere or refuting the dichotomy altogether. This paper seeks to analyze these suggestive measures in the context of Indian society and examine the extent to which the Indian society has been able to de-gender its public and private spaces to evolve gender neutral spheres of existence. The objective of the study is to examine the newer forms it takes to evade all possible measures to dismantle it to subjugate and dominate women in both spheres.
Keywords: Domination, Gender, Feminism, Public/Private Dichotomy, Social Sphere.