Chastity and Emancipation: A Reading on Vijay Tendulkar’s Silence! The Court is in Session through the lens of E.V. Periyar’s Why Were Women Enslaved?

This article aims to scrutinize the status of women in Indian patriarchal society and explore its implications through an analysis of the fictional characters Miss Leela Benare and Mrs. Kashikar. These characters exemplify the misery faced by women in a misogynistic society, and Vijay Tendulkar portrays them as an emerging modern woman who strives to liberate herself from the chains of Indian society's orthodox and traditional bondages. Through the lens of feminism and the work of E.V. Periyar, Why Were Women Enslaved? the researcher argues that the empowerment of women is possible only through their prosperous education and equal rights to their wealth.