The Feminist Concept of Citizenship: From Exclusion to Empowered Belonging

Introduction: The Global Reality of Women’s Inequality

In 1980, a landmark UN report revealed a shocking truth:

Women form half of the world’s population, contribute two-thirds of its work hours, receive only one-tenth of global income, and own less than one-hundredth of the world’s property.

This contrast between contribution and reward reflects a deeper issue—citizenship has historically excluded women. Though citizenship is meant to ensure equality, rights, and dignity, its development has repeatedly marginalized women, slaves, colonized populations, and the working poor.

Across centuries, women were denied political rights, property rights, education, and full citizenship—not by accident, but by design, rooted in patriarchal thought systems.

The Historical Roots of Women’s Exclusion from Citizenship

1. Classical Thinkers & Patriarchal Beliefs

Many ancient philosophers saw women as inferior:

• Aristotle considered women “naturally defective,” fit only for passive roles.
• In ancient Greece, citizenship was restricted to men; women were excluded socially, politically, and intellectually.
• Under the Roman Empire, citizenship expanded in legal sense, yet women and rural classes still had no political voice.

2. Medieval Thought: Religious Justification for Inequality

During the medieval period, thinkers reinforced gender bias:

• St. Thomas Aquinas called women “imperfect men.”
• Religious and moral narratives portrayed women as inferior beings needing male guardianship.

3. Early Modern Period: Misogyny Reinforced

Political theorists also justified exclusion:

• Machiavelli described women as vain, unintelligent, and dependent.
• These opinions shaped early political thought and influenced statecraft for centuries.

Social Contract Thinkers: Partial Recognition, Persistent Bias

Thomas Hobbes: Early Voice for Equality

Hobbes argued that in the “State of Nature,” women had equal natural rights, and mothers were the original guardians.
This was revolutionary but limited.

John Locke: Equality in Theory, Subordination in Practice

Locke agreed that mothers had rights over children but still upheld:

• Subordination of wives
• Male dominance over family decisions and property

Rousseau & Montesquieu: Civic Virtue—For Men Only

Both thinkers emphasized:

• Public participation
• Civic virtue
• Political action

But only for men. Women were assigned domestic roles and denied citizenship rights.
Ironically, even during the French Revolution, where women were active participants, post-revolution policies still denied them political rights.

Women and the Right to Vote: A Long Struggle

Across the world:

• Women received voting rights much later than men.
• Suffrage was often restricted by class, race, and social status.
• The first unrestricted women’s voting rights emerged in New Zealand (1893).

Women’s political empowerment globally has been achieved through relentless struggles, protests, and decades of feminist mobilization.

Feminist Critique of Citizenship

Feminists argue that traditional citizenship is:

• Gender-blind
• Patriarchal
• Exclusionary

Citizenship ignored the everyday experiences of women, their workload, and their lack of control over resources.

1. The Public–Private Divide: “The Personal is Political”

Feminists challenge the idea that:

• Politics occurs only in parliaments and public offices
• Home and family are “private” and apolitical

Carole Hanisch coined the slogan “The personal is political,” highlighting that:

• Domestic roles
• Household labor
• Gender norms
  are deeply political forms of control.

Juliet Mitchell argued that women’s oppression is rooted in:

1. Production
2. Reproduction
3. Sexuality
4. Socialization of children

Unless these are addressed, citizenship remains incomplete.

2. Maternal Feminism: Bringing Care & Compassion into Citizenship

Maternal feminists argue for:

• Recognizing nurturing values such as care, cooperation, empathy
• Using these values in political and public institutions
• Acknowledging women’s moral voice

3. Civic Feminism: Active Citizenship

Thinkers like Mary Dietz, Iris Marion Young, and Anne Phillips emphasize:

• Active participation
• Collective political engagement
• Special representation for marginalized groups

Young’s theory of differentiated citizenship argues:

• Every group has unique needs
• Citizenship must respect differences
• Special forums and affirmative structures must exist for the oppressed

4. Globalization & Feminization of Poverty

Contemporary feminists highlight new challenges:

• Globalization has deepened inequalities.
• Women in developing countries face:
  • Reduced public services
  • Decline in healthcare and education
  • Precarious, low-paid work
  • Increasing feminization of poverty

Transnational corporations prefer female labor because they can be easily hired, fired, and underpaid—reinforcing second-class citizenship.

5. Multiculturalism & Women: A Complicated Relationship

Feminists argue multiculturalism often:

• Prioritizes community over individual
• Strengthens patriarchy
• Restricts women’s choices and rights

Examples include:

• Taliban’s ban on women’s education and work
• Honour killings in South Asia
• Cultural policing in conservative societies

To counter this, feminists propose dialogical citizenship, based on:

• Equality
• Freedom
• Respect for diversity
• Global solidarity across women’s groups

Epistemic Communities: A Global Feminist Network

Alison Assiter suggests citizenship should be shaped by:

• Groups united by shared emancipatory ideas
• Not traditional communities

These groups may include:

• Women’s rights collectives
• LGBTQ+ rights movements
• Environmental groups

This structure supports global collaboration and strengthens women’s citizenship rights worldwide.

Limitations of Feminist Models in Reality

Anupama Roy critiques:

• Lack of resources
• Language barriers
• Limited global connectivity
  especially among marginalized women
  (e.g., tribal women displaced by multinational land acquisition).

Thus, even strong feminist ideas often fail to uplift women on the ground.

Conclusion: The Path to True Citizenship for Women

A meaningful citizenship framework for women must ensure:

• Equal legal status
• Real, practical access to rights
• Recognition of class, caste, race, ethnicity, and sexuality differences
• A shared commitment to justice and equality

Citizenship should be both:

• A status (formal recognition)
• A practice (ability to exercise rights)

Only then can women—especially marginalized women—become full and empowered citizens of a democratic world.

UPSC Prelims PYQs on Citizenship (last 10 years)

FAQ’s

1. What is meant by the “feminist concept of citizenship”?

It means thinking of citizenship not only as a legal status, but as an lived experience affected by gender. Feminists argue that traditional notions of citizenship has neglected women’s needs, contributions and barriers.

2. Why do feminists critique traditional citizenship models?

Because traditional models were conceived when public life (politics, labor, or rights) was primarily male dominated. They tend to:

• make women’s labor (care work, the home domain) absent
• assume men as the “default citizens”
• omitted the role of gender-based discrimination for citizenship to participate in public life.

3. How are women excluded from citizenship?

Exclusion manifests in:

• limited political representation
• unequal laws (property, inheritance, guardianship)
• economic barriers (wage-gap, unpaid labor)
• social restrictions that restrict movement or decision-making

4. Does citizenship mean voting rights only as it pertains to women?

No, citizenship = political + social + economic + cultural equality. Voting is one part of citizenship. True citizenship means

• possessing bodily autonomy
• equal access to education and employment
• free from harm and geographical mobility
• representation in decision-making forums
• equal legal protection from harm

5. Why do women still engage in politics at a low level of public presence?

Because of:

• socio-cultural bias
• lack of safety/mobility
• lack of independent funding
• structural nodes of parties dominated by men
• domestic responsibilities limitiblity of time .

Feminists argue that political under-representation marginalizes women.