FEMINISM IN HAYAVADANA
Feminism, since its coinage has been used and interpreted in numerous shades and shapes of its meaning. The essence of feminism has, however, always been more or less the same. It stands for the belief that women have the same rights and opportunities that men have. In this way, feminism serves as an aid to women's empowerment. Feminist literary criticism is the direct product of the ‘women’s movement’ of the 1960s. This movement being literary from the start realized the necessity to combat the images of women promulgated by literature and aimed at exposing the mechanisms of patriarchy, that is, the cultural mindset in men and women which perpetuated sexual inequality. Notwithstanding its Western origin, literature all over the world through this outlook has questioned and challenged the imprisoning customs of patriarchy. Indian English literature in the post-independence era has witnessed a spurt in women’s writing as well as feminist literary criticism. This expl