Madhu Purnima Kishwar is currently Senior Fellow, Nehru Memorial Museum & Library, Centre for Contemporary Studies

Prior to this she was awarded National Professorship, Indian Council of Social Science Research;

She was Professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies and Director Indic Studies Project at CSDS till 2016.

In 2016 she was awarded the National Professorship of the Indian Council for Social Science Research.

Her life work represents a rare combination of academic scholarship, research-based social and legal activism, including public interest litigation and investigative journalism on issues concerning the most neglected strata of society as well as blasting negative stereotyping of Indian society.

Kishwar’s areas of work include but are not confined to:

• • People-centric study of diverse cultures and faith traditions in the Indic universe. 
  • ‘Laws, Liberty and Livelihoods’, aimed at evolving a pro-poor agenda of economic reforms in India;
  • Strengthening the culture of “Gender Justice” through a culturally sensitive approach to strengthening women’s rights by remaining tuned to the context in which women of diverse communities, regions, castes, and class groups are situated.
  • Legal aid and PIL on behalf of vulnerable groups.

She was the founder editor of Manushi – A Journal about Women and Society and Manushi Sangathan, an organization working for democratic reforms that promote greater social justice.

Kishwar has authored a number of books:

Asifa of Kathua: A Sacrificial Victim of Mission Ghazwa-E-Hind, Garuda Books 2022

Beyond Copycat Feminism: Women’s Issues from an Indic Perspective, Garuda Books, 2022

Modi Muslims and Media: Voices from Narendra Modi’s Gujarat, Manushi Publications (2014),

Zealous Reformers, Deadly Laws: Battling Stereotypes, Sage Publishers (2008). 

Deepening Democracy: Challenges of Governance and Globalization in India, Oxford University Press (2005),

Off the Beaten Track: Rethinking Gender Justice for Indian Women, Oxford University Press (1999),

Religion at the Service of Nationalism and Other Essays, Oxford University Press, (1998),

Gandhi and Women, Manushi Publications (1986),

Books edited by Kishwar which also contain chapters written by her:

In Search of Answers: Indian Women’s Voices from Manushi, with Ruth Vanita Zed Books London, (1984),

Women Bhakt Poets, Lives and Poetry of Women Mystics in India from 6th to 17th Century Manushi Publications, (1987).

The Dilemma and Other Stories by Vijaydan Detha, Manushi Publications, (1997),