As the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) enters its centenary year, public discourse is once again abuzz with debates about its legacy, ideology, and influence. Amid this flood of commentary, one dimension remains consistently underexplored: its relationship with women. This piece aims to examine the often-overlooked role of women within the RSS ecosystem — and how the organisation, through its affiliates, engages with the evolving realities of Indian womanhood.

Though the RSS itself is a male-only organisation, it functions as the ideological and cultural nucleus of a wider network — the Sangh Parivar — which includes numerous entities that work with and for women. Its approach to women’s roles in society is deliberate, evolving, and deeply rooted in its worldview.

Soon after its formation in 1925, RSS was seized with the idea of accommodating women in its scheme of things. This led to, with encouragement from RSS founder DK Hedgewar, the founding of the Rashtriya Sevika Samiti (Samiti) in 1936 under the leadership of Laxmibai Kelkar. The Samiti continues to draw inspiration from RSS’s philosophy.

Over time, more organizations followed. Sewa Bharti (1979), Bharatiya Stree Shakti (1988), and Durga Vahini (1991), and are among the prominent ones. These bodies focus on various aspects of women’s lives — education, health, self-respect, economic independence, and leadership. It is through these institutions that the RSS’s worldview on women is most directly expressed. Women have played an influential and decisive role in all RSS-inspired........

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