Source: Centre For Law and Policy Research
The decade after the first world war saw the formation of multiple women’s organisations. Unlike those that came before them, these were not restricted to a particular city or region but encompassed the whole of the nation.
Women’s India Association
In 1917, Irish suffragettes Annie Besant, Margaret Cousins and Dorothy Jinarajadasa along with Malati Patwardhan, Ammu Swaminanthan, Mrs Dadhaboy and Mrs Ambujammal founded the Women’s India Association. Based in Madras, it was described by Rajkumari Kaur as the ‘first purely feminist organisation to arise in India’.
Right to Vote
When Lord Montague opened the question of political reform, WIA organised a delegation of women to meet the Montague-Chelmsford committee. They brought with them a memorandum signed by women across India demanding that women be given the Right to Vote on the same terms as men.
Despite this, the Southborough Franchise Committee after its 1918 tour of India reported that it would be premature to give women the vote. In response, women’s groups redoubled their agitation, while Sarojini Naidu and Annie Besant left for England to present evidence before the Joint Parliamentary Committee.
Parliament finally ruled that the decision be left to provincial legislatures, and in 1920 Madras became the first province to give voting rights to women, followed by Bombay a year later. Even after the long struggle, franchise was extremely limited and in the first election held under the Montague-Chelmsford Reforms, less than 1% of the female population held the necessary qualifications. Some of these restrictions were removed under the Government of India Act of 1935, but it was only after independence that women would secure absolute adult franchise.
Women in Politics
In 1926, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya made history by standing for the Madras Legislative Council election from Mangalore. Although she lost by a narrow margin, her candidacy was an important step in the women’s movement. The Madras government nominated Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy, a social worker to the Legislative Council where she took up the women’s cause.
All India Women’s Conference
While WIA was engaged in the battle for political rights, the All India Women’s Conference took up the cause of reforming personal laws. AIWC was founded in 1927 by Margaret Cousins primarily for women’s education, but in doing so tackled issues of purdah, child marriage and other social customs that impeded their access to school.
The first session of AIWC was held at Poona and was attended by women from different religious groups for across the country. It is necessary to keep in mind that the AIWC like organisations that came before it were elitist. The language of discussion was English, and members had to travel at their own expense, making it clear members were from the upper classes.
They launched campaign after campaign demanding reform of
Hindu laws to prohibit bigamy, provide the right to divorce and for women to
inherit property. Their decades long crusade yielded certain victories such as
the passing of the Sarda Act in 1929, but their ultimate objective was achieved
in the 1950s with the passing of the Hindu Code Bills.
Written by: Devi Sankhla
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