Women's liberation movement in Asia
In India, the caste system affected the way that women's liberation was approached in that gender and class could rarely be separated.
In Japan, the movement focused on sexuality rather than equality, in an attempt to gain recognition for women's autonomy and freedom to choose their own social roles.
[5] However, many of the ideas created during the revolution went on to influence women's movements in the West, as radical feminists often were politically aligned with the left.
In the polarized camps of the Cold War period, socialists turned from emulating Soviet communism in the wake of Stalinist purges and invasions.
[4] Politics in India became radicalized in the late 1960s with numerous special-interest groups forming to address corruption and the economic crisis brought about by destructive development.
Peaking in 1974 with encouragement from the Navnirman Movement, women in diverse classes began to engage in direct actions to challenge leadership.
[8] Rural women who lived in poverty began to see themselves as doubly disadvantaged: both economically and through their lower social status.
[citation needed] To challenge patriarchal power in personal and political spheres, they published and reproduced articles from other countries on Women's Liberation developments throughout the world.
For example, an influential street performance Om Swaha enacted by Stree Mukti Sanghatana members became iconic, galvanizing women to work against dowry deaths.
[17] In like manner, liberationists were characterized as disruptive to class-based activists who firmly believed that elimination of class differences would solve women's problems.
[24] The women's liberation movement in Israel was initiated in the early 1970s by two American immigrants at the University of Haifa, Marcia Freedman[25] and Marylin Safir who had both been involved in feminist activities in the United States.
Seminars they held in Haifa on how women suffered from a male-dominated society quickly inspired radical activities in Tel-Aviv and Jerusalem.
"[25][26] In 1972, the radical Nilahem movement (based on an acronym meaning Women for a Renewed Society) was formed, attracting interest throughout the country with stands against legal inequality and the suffering of the Palestinians.
[30] Women's centers sprang up in metropolitan areas and by 1975, translated anthologies of US and European texts were appearing regularly in Israel.
In 1976, WLM members, led by Freeman, made headlines when they invaded a gynecological conference at the Hilton Tel Aviv to protest the position on abortion and were evicted by police.
[30] In 1977, the first women's shelter in Israel was founded in Haifa and the first rape crisis center was opened in Tel Aviv.
[39] Activist, Yonezu Tomoko, started Thought Group SEX, which also explored disability and sexual liberation.
[41] In addition, the sense of autonomy over their own bodies meant that ūman ribu activist opposed efforts to restrict abortion and which emphasized creating a society where women "want to give birth".
[48] Women met to discuss Tanaka Mitsu's work, Liberation from the Toilet and also to advocate for a change in laws.
[36] In August 1970, a conference hosted by Yoko Matsuoka and Aiko Iijima [fr; ja] at Hosei University attracted over 1,000 participants.
[49] Matsuoka, Yayori Matsui and others were members of the Ajia Josei Kaihō (Asian Women's Liberation Group).
[56] The National University of Singapore Society held a forum in November 1984 that responded to the issues raised in the "Great Marriage Debate.
[65] The women's studies department was criticized for relying too heavily on Western ideas, but there was a "strong interest" from students in the classes.
[66] The feminist movement, known as Minjung feminism, which developed in South Korea in the 1980s merged worker concerns with liberationist ideas within the broader fight against dictatorship.
[67] One of Taiwan's feminists, Hsiu-lien Annette Lu, was inspired by the women's liberation movement in the United States.
[69] Yang Mei-hui translated Margaret Mead's Sex and Temperament in Three Primitive Societies (1935), which introduced the concept of gender role formation to Chinese-speaking women in Taiwan.
[72] Lu also wove Confucian philosophy into her feminist discourse to promote a cultural basis for addressing double standards for men and women.
[76] Activists kept track of court proceedings that "gave explicit legitimacy to domestic violence" and protested either by sending letters to the judge or by setting up rallies.
[83] A following event, a "1 day festival in October of the same year" helped boost women's confidence in their actions.
[84] Purple Roof worked hard to maintain autonomous control and rejected attempts of the state to "subvert the feminist meaning of their endeavor.
