India's Transformative Power: How It Forged Gloria Steinem's Feminism

In 1957, a 22-year-old Gloria Steinem arrived in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, embarking on a journey that she would later describe as a "pivotal, life-dividing event [that] made me who I am." Armed with a government degree from Smith College and traveling on a Chester Bowles fellowship, her trip was not only a long-held desire but also an escape from a planned marriage that filled her with dread. Before reaching India, while in London awaiting her visa, Steinem underwent an illegal abortion.

This deeply personal and formative experience solidified her lifelong conviction that control over one's own reproduction is fundamental to women's freedom and control over their lives.

This event, coupled with her observations in India, would profoundly shape her burgeoning feminist ideology.

Upon her arrival, Steinem's romanticized visions of "ageless beauty and jewelled elephants" were quickly replaced by the stark reality of "Asian poverty," witnessing people sleeping on pavements and doorsteps. She settled in Delhi, living at Miranda House, one of Delhi University's prominent women's colleges.

There, she immersed herself in student life, engaging in "long sessions" and deep discussions about societal issues with her peers, even noting questions about Christian concubinage. Her two years in India, where she even adopted the sari as everyday attire, provided a critical lens through which she viewed gender, power, and societal structures.

It was here, far from her American upbringing, that the foundations of her radical approach to feminism were firmly laid.

India offered her a unique perspective, enabling her to challenge conventional norms and forge the path that would lead her to become one of the most iconic figures in the global feminist movement.

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