Sayantani elucidates that online feminism often overlooks the quiet struggles of rural women. It’s time to honour their untold, powerful stories, exclusively for Different Truths.

Today, feminism comes in hashtags.

When you scroll down Instagram or Twitter, you lose yourself in reels and catchy slogans. The attractive videos and smiling faces instantly transform the inner world of your life. You travel through a virtual time machine, forfeiting yourself and the world around you.

But behind this online trendy empowerment lies a more subdued and invisible reality, the struggles and sacrifices that rarely trend. Millions of voices outside the dazzling urban digital spaces remain unheard.

In this phenomenon, we risk the heat of the movement – the daily battle of women facing hurdles and unfair livelihood, which is far removed from a simple ‘like and subscribe’ click.

The Unseen Resilience

Consider a woman in the Churu of the Shekhawati region, the gateway of the Thar desert, who walks miles each day to fetch water. The underground ‘dark zone’ (low groundwater level areas) of Rajasthan is facing a looming water crisis. Yet, these rural women, struggling alone to support their families, face extreme challenges with unwavering resilience.

Limited access to education due to socio-economic barriers, inadequate schooling facilities or gender discrimination are some undeniable reasons, along with deep-rooted socio-cultural constraints and economic dependence. Unfortunately, none of these struggles comes to our daily feed!

The bite-sized stories, wrapped in the glamour and restlessness of mind, let the viral posts of the quiet, persistent, and resilient rural women. Yet we often keep our minds away from these unglamourised stories which embody real feminism at its rawest.

Movement of Digital Feminism vs Movement of Ground Feminism

We cannot deny that the urban ‘#metoo’ or ‘#periodleave’ movement broke the silence worldwide and spread like wildfire through the internet, which was unimaginable a decade ago. But in deep depth, for one woman who can share their story bravely through virtual platforms, thousands of women cannot – less access to technology and networks or simply the path to raise their voice always becomes a limitation.

Think about it – how many of the #MeToo cases come to light from rural areas? What about the number of rural women whose struggles bring light to other people’s lives? Here comes the paradox! The question arises: who creates the definition of feminism? – The well-employed Instagram woman with 1,00,000 followers or the woman related to agricultural labour or cultivation who earns 150 rupees per day. It’s time to think whether the too elite and English-speaking identities are alienating the reality of feminism.

Real Battles beyond Hashtags

Urban stories about women overcoming political and household issues, crises, and trends, as well as the impact of urban influencers, share their victories over these challenges both ornamentally and virtually.

But the real battles are still rooted in the everyday harsh realities beyond any glamour. Hard work that yields only survival wages, coupled with unrecognised family care duties, necessitates a swift solution and sustained attention, rather than mere slogans.

Consider the woman who is starting a micro-business, going against the societal and family norms, or the tribal girl who is protesting and rescuing herself from child-marriage by fighting for going to the school that has no roof above. These women, like Ruby Pareek of Rajasthan, Soni Sori of Chhattisgarh, or Tulasi Munda from Odisha, are the true heroes of feminism.

These acts of weathering the storm and rising above the challenges indeed represent the purest form of feminism.

Feminism must embrace diversity, rather than a single, one-sided story, as it overshadows the lived history. It is not a performance for social media followers, measured by tweets and retweets. Feminism is about honouring and amplifying the lesser-known voices into indelible stories – beyond hashtags.

Picture design by Anumita Roy

Sayantani Mukhopadhyay

Sayantani Mukhopadhyay is a writer with a bold passion for journalism and empowerment. She holds a background in English Literature, Human Resource Management, and Mass Communication and Journalism. Her work blends critical inquiry with people-focused insights, centring on sustainability, social issues, and conscious living. Through authentic and research-driven storytelling, she strives to amplify voices, challenge norms, and inspire collective awareness and action.