The main features of the Social reform movements during the British period:

(i) The British set in motion an era of social reform when they imposed a ban on the inhuman practice of sati (the practice of self or forced immolation of a widow on the funeral pyre of her husband) in the year 1829. The famous social reformer Raja Rammohan Roy's fight against sati received a positive response from the then Governor General Lord William Bentinck who took the lead in enacting the Sati Prohibition Act. Religious fundamentalists and traditionalists put up a stiff resistance to this Act by claiming that the British government had meddled with a custom sanctioned by religion. But the voices of reason prevailed and the British government refused to withdraw the Act. However, a distinction was made between voluntary sati and forced sati. Also, the passage of this Act did not put an end to the practice of sati. 

(ii) Because of the ban on widow marriage and lack of opportunities for education, women who were rescued from the practice of sati had to undergo a great deal of suffering. Many widows preferred to die, because life held no meaning for them.

(iii) It was this plight of the young and tortured widows that moved West Bengal's great reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, who led the movement for lifting the ban on widow marriage. Due to his efforts the Widow Remarriage Act of 1856 was passed. Though there was no significant increase in the number of widow marriages, the passage of this Act paved the way for ending a longstanding oppressive custom. Social approval of widow marriage was also not forthcoming immediately. Vidyasagar had to often bear the wrath (anger) of hostile fundamentalists, who did not even hesitate to hurl physical assaults on him for his role in lifting the ban on widow marriage. But the great scholar and a truly progressive human being that he was, Vidyasagar went ahead with his progressive reforms. The role of Vidyasagar in promoting the cause of women's education also deserves special mention.

(iv) The social reform movement, which started in West Bengal, spread to other parts of India too. Jyoti Ba Phule the great reformer from Maharashtra dedicated his life for the cause of women. He started a school for girls in 1848 and in 1852 established the first school for Dalit girls. He also supported widow marriage and started a home for protecting the children of widows. Women's education got a fillip (boost) in Maharashtra from Maharshi Karve who was a pioneer in establishing educational institutions for girls and women. This period saw immense philanthropic (humanitarian) activity by many Indians in different parts of the country.

(v) There were also a number of other progressive pieces of ligslation during the British period, prominent among these being the Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929. Many of the woes of women were rooted in child marriage. Leave alone child marriage, there were even infant marriages. The Act of 1929 fixed the minimum age at marriage for girls as 14 years and for boys as 18 years. Harbildas Sarda took the initiative in leading the campaign for increasing the age at marriage and in recognition of his role the Act also came to be known as the Sarda Act. Today the minimum age at marriage for a woman is 18 and for a man, 21 years. These changes were brought about by the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Act, which was passed in 1976.

(vi) The pre-independence era of the twentieth century was also remarkable for one more reason. The large-scale participation of women in the freedom movement both as visible and invisible freedom fighters was a standing testimony not only to their courage but also their capacities Gandhiji, under whose leadership women participated in the nationalist movement opposed such practices as child marriage and dowry. 'Swaraj without social reform was not a meaningful proposition' was Gandhiji's view.

(vii) The British period saw the rise of social reform movements which took up the issue of gender inequality, primarily by passing laws that removed barriers to women's emancipation. Though widespread changes did not take place, the stage was definitely set for launching a struggle for creation of a gender just society (a society in which laws give equal treatment to men and women. In cases relating to women courts must give judgements in such a way that the interests of women are protected). Independence brought new hopes and led to the creation of departments and launching of schemes, meant exclusively for improvement in the status of women.