DAW 26th December 2025, Mains Answer Writting 2026
Question
Patriarchal norms continue to regulate women’s autonomy even in an age of technological advancement. Explain in the context of social restrictions imposed on women in contemporary Indian society. (250 Words, 15 Marks).
Model Answer
Approach:
Introduction:
Start with the paradox of progress: technological advancement expanding women’s opportunities without dismantling patriarchal control.
Introduce the concept of neo-patriarchy- patriarchy adapting through digital exclusion, surveillance, and moral regulation.
Body:
The body should show that technological expansion has not ensured autonomy, as women’s digital access remains patriarchally mediated.
Explain how neo-patriarchy manifests through cyber violence, online abuse, and moral policing in digital and public spaces; link technology with demographic control via son preference and reproductive technologies.
Conclusion:
Reiterate that technology alone is insufficient to ensure emancipation.
Assert that true empowerment lies in unconditional autonomy, where women are equal citizens shaping India’s digital and social future, not subjects of patriarchal control.
Introduction:
Technological advancement in India- through digital connectivity, economic liberalisation, and urbanisation-has expanded women’s access to education, employment, and public life. However, these gains coexist with entrenched patriarchal norms that continue to regulate women’s autonomy. Rather than dismantling patriarchy, technology has facilitated its transformation into neo-patriarchy, marked by social surveillance, digital exclusion, and moral regulation. This creates a paradox where modern technologies reinforce traditional power hierarchies instead of dismantling them.
Body:
Digital Access without Digital Autonomy:
While smartphones and the internet are engines of empowerment, women’s access remains mediated by patriarchal control.
Digital gender divide: As per NSO data, 51.6% of rural women (15+ years) do not own a mobile phone, limiting access to online education, financial inclusion (UPI, Jan Dhan), telemedicine, and e-governance.
Social regulation of technology: The 2025 diktat by a Jat caste panchayat in Rajasthan’s Jalore district banning smartphones for married women- except limited “academic use”- illustrates how technology is framed as a moral threat rather than a right.
Such restrictions reinforce the idea that women’s digital presence requires supervision, while men’s usage remains unquestioned.
Implication: Technology becomes a site of control, not liberation.
Neo-Patriarchy in the Public and Digital Sphere:
Patriarchal norms have migrated into digital spaces.
Cyber violence: Women face disproportionate cyber harassment- doxxing, rape threats, deepfakes- creating a chilling effect on participation.
A Reuters Institute (2021) study found Indian women politicians to be among the most abused globally on Twitter, discouraging women’s political engagement.
Social media algorithms amplify sensational and abusive content, while anonymity shields perpetrators.
Implication: The digital public sphere mirrors offline patriarchy, regulating women through fear and intimidation.
Cultural Surveillance and Moral Policing:
Even as women enter public spaces, their autonomy is constrained by community vigilance.
Backlash against women’s participation in events (e.g., beauty pageants, sports, religious spaces like Sabarimala) reveals enforcement of “acceptable femininity.”
Dress codes, mobility restrictions, and honour-based violence continue to dictate behaviour, especially in rural and semi-urban regions.
These practices reflect what Deniz Kandiyoti terms the “patriarchal belt”- regions where gender norms remain rigid due to caste, kinship, and feudal legacies.
Technology, Demography, and Control over Bodies:
Small family norm + technology: Easy access to sex-determination tests and pre-conception sex selection has exacerbated son preference, reinforcing control over women’s reproductive autonomy.
Moral policing around reproductive choices, surrogacy, and contraception persists despite relatively liberal abortion laws.
Way Forward:
Bridging the Digital Gender Divide: Ensure universal digital access and literacy for women. Example: Expanding smartphone ownership and digital training through Self-Help Groups (SHGs) and Digital Saksharta Abhiyan for rural women.
Strengthening Legal & Cyber Protection: Curb online harassment and misuse of technology. Example: Dedicated cybercrime cells and faster enforcement under IT Act, 2000 for cases of cyberstalking and doxxing.
Economic Empowerment with Care Support: Reduce women’s time poverty and workplace discrimination. Example: Creches at workplaces under Maternity Benefit Act; promoting flexible work and gig protections.
Cultural & Behavioural Change: Challenge patriarchal mindsets through education and media. Example: Gender-sensitisation in schools under NEP 2020; campaigns like Beti Bachao Beti Padhao.
Intersectional & Inclusive Policy Design: Address caste, class, and regional inequalities. Example: Targeted schemes for Dalit, tribal, and minority women, such as skill programmes linked with NRLM.
Accountability of Digital Platforms: Make technology platforms gender-sensitive. Example: Mandatory content moderation, grievance redressal, and algorithmic accountability for social media companies.
Conclusion:
Thus, technological progress in India has not automatically ensured social emancipation for women, as patriarchal norms continue to adapt through digital exclusion, cyber violence, and moral surveillance. Overcoming this requires a multi-pronged strategy- closing the digital gender divide, strengthening cyber laws and platform accountability, redistributing unpaid care work, and promoting cultural change through education and media. True empowerment lies not in mere access to technology, but in unconditional autonomy, where women are recognised as equal citizens shaping India’s digital and social future.