Women and Freedom Struggle of India
Though women were actively engaged in the struggle for independence, some of the women leaders took a stand that women’s organisations should be away from party politics in 1930. They were concerned more with the social issues rather than the political issues. They decided so as British government’s help was necessary for the women’s organisations to bring about social changes in women’s position through legislation and education.
However, there were some women leaders who took a different stand and aligned themselves with the national movement. They were of the view that women will progress only with political emancipation. They looked upon women’s freedom to be dependent on freedom for the country. 1920s and 1930s saw active participation of women in freedom struggle. Women were more active in the Swadeshi movement and picketing of shops selling foreign goods.
The perspective with which women’s issues were looked upon underwent a gradual change. The focus shifted from social and educational to political perspectives with the forging of closer link between the Congress and women’s groups.
Major Organizations
Spread of education in the 19th and early 20th centuries made many women to be actively engage themselves in the social and political life of India. The struggle for women’s rights and equality was viewed as an integral part of the struggle for independence. Many women who participated in the freedom struggle were also active on the issues concerning the rights of women. Ten women participated in the 1889 Bombay Session of the Indian National Congress. In 1931, Indian National Congress proclaimed that equality between men and women as one of the objectives in the Fundamental Resolution.
Though, women’s movements entered a new phase with the arrival of Gandhi, women were associated with the freedom struggle before the arrival of Gandhi. They actively took part in the Swadeshi movement in Bengal (1905-1911) and laso in the Home Rule Movement. But the participation of large number of women began after the arrival of Gandhi. Non-Cooperation movement provided a special role to women. Women peasants were also actively involved in the rural satyagrahas of Bardoli and Borsad. They also participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement and in the Quit India Movement.
Attitude of Mahatma Gandhi
Mahatma Gandhi called for large scale participation of women in India’s freedom struggle. This changed the perception of other nationalist leaders. Gandhi said that participation of women in freedom struggle was an integral part of their dharma. Gandhi believed that women were ideally suited for Satyagraha as they are filled with qualities appropriate for non-violent struggle and social uplift programmes of the Indian National Congress. According to Gandhi, women possess qualities of self-sacrifice and tolerance and an ability to endure sufferings which are sine-qua-non for non-violent struggle. Hence, Gandhian ideology had significant impact on women’s movement. He proclaimed that “I am uncompromising in the matter of women’s rights”. He also said: “Woman is the companion of man gifted with equal mental capabilities.”
Attitude of Jawaharlal Nehru
Nehru had liberal views on women’s questions as he was influenced by the Western suffragettes. According to Nehru, without achieving economic freedom other aspects of women’s equality cannot be realised. He wanted women to be trained in all human activities and was opposed to the view that women’s education alone can bring desired changes in the issues concerning women. He also believed that if struggle of women got isolated from the general political, economic and social struggles then the women’s movement would remain confined to the upper classes.
Forms of participation of women in freedom struggle
Women contributed to the freedom struggle in a number of ways. They picketed shops selling foreign goods, participated in political protests, organised Prabhat Pheri (singing of patriotic songs) and provided food and shelter for underground political activists and performed the role of messengers carrying messages to political prisoners. In 1930, women participated in large numbers in Gandhiji’s Dandi march. Thousands of women got jailed for participating in various events during freedom struggle.
There were some militant groups that were active in Bengal, Punjab, Maharashtra as well as in foreign countries. Some prominent Indian women who worked with revolutionaries include Bhikaji Cama, Perm D S Captian, Sraladevi Choudhurani in Bengal, Sushila Devi and Durga Devi in Punjab, Roopavati Jain in Delhi Kalpana Dutt and Kamal Dasguptain Calcutta, Lakshmi Sahgal, in-charge of the Rani Jhansi Women’s regiment which was a part of the Indian National Army founded by Subhas Chandra Bose.
Issues Raised: Women’s suffrage
Demand for women’s suffrage was raised for the first time in 1917. A memorandum signed by 23 women was presented to Montague and Chelmsford demanding votes on the same terms as men. Other demands like education, training in skills, local self government, and social welfare were also presented. A women’s deputation including Sarojini Naidu and Margaret Cousins put forwarded the demand for female franchise to the Viceroy. The Indian National Congress supported the idea of female franchise and the constitutional reforms in 1919 permitted the provincial legislatures to decide on the issue. The Indian National Congress at its Calcutta session in 1917 presided over by Annie Besant supported the demand for female franchise.
In 1918, the Southborough Franchise Committee toured the whole British India to gather information. But initially it was reluctant to grant the right to vote to women as it was of the view that Indian women were not ready for it. But WIA and other leaders like Annie Besant and Sarojini Naidu were aggressively pursuing the issue and even presented evidence before the joint Parliamentary Committee in England. The Joint Parliamentary Committee finally agreed to disallow the sex disqualification but left the issue at the discretion of provincial legislatures to decide how and when to do so.
Subsequently, Travancore-Cochin, a princely state was the first to accord voting rights to women in 1920. Madras became the first province to allow women to exercise their franchise in 1921. But the franchise was extremely limited. Only those women who possessed qualifications of wifehood, property and education were allowed to exercise their franchise.
Women also began to become legislative councillors. In 1926, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyaya stood for the Madras Legislative Council elections contesting from Mangalore but was defeated by a narrow margin. In 1927, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy was the first woman to become legislator councillor in Madras. The demand for female franchise was later changed as demand for adult franchise within the national movement.
In 1927 when the Simon Commission was appointed, second phase in the battle for female enfranchisement started. While WIA boycotted the commission, some members of All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) met the members of the Commission. AIWC submitted its demands to the Franchise Committee of the Second Round Table Conference. The Franchise Committee of the Second Round Table Conference under the chairmanship Lord Lothian rejected the demand of universal adult franchise. The Committee recommended that 2-5% of seats in provincial legislatures be given to women. But AIWC rejected the idea of reserved seats. The Government of India Act, 1935 removed some of the previous qualifications and increased the number of enfranchised women. All the women above 21 years of age and possessed the qualification of property and education were given the right to vote. Only after independence women got the unrestricted voting rights.
Issues Raised: Reform of Personal laws
The All India Women’s conference (AIWC) at the initiative of Margaret Cousins took up the problem of women’s education. but AIWC realized that purdah, child marriage, and other social customs were preventing women from getting education. So it waged a vigorous campaign to rise the age of marriage for girls. This resulted in the passage of the Sarada Act in 1929. AIWC alos demanded to reform Hindu laws to prohibit bigamy and to provide women with the rights to divorce and inherit property. But such reforms were finally obtained after a delay with the passage of the Hindu Code Bills in 1950s.
Women in the labour movement
In 1917, Ahmedabad textile workers’ strike was led by Anasuya Sarabhai and the Ahmedabad textile mill workers union was established. In the late 1920s there was an increase in the number of women in the worker’s movement. Several rominent women unionists and women workers were working for the welfare of the labourers. Maniben Kara emerged as the socialist leader of railway workers. Similarly, Ushabai Dange and Parvati Bhore emerged as the Communist leaders of textile workers.
