Mahatma Gandhi’s vision for women’s rights issues

As India prepares to observe the 155th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd October, recent incidents such as the RG Hospital Murder case and the increasing violence against women highlight the urgent need to adopt Gandhi’s vision of human rights. 

Status of Women in India and Gandhiji entry in Indian Political Arena

Before Mahatma Gandhi’s involvement in Indian politics, women’s participation in the freedom struggle was minimal, and their role in societal reforms was mostly symbolic rather than revolutionary. However, Gandhi’s entry brought significant changes.

• Rise of Nationalist Movements and Women’s Cause: The rise of the nationalist movement in India went hand in hand with social reform efforts, particularly in the realm of women’s empowerment.  Social reformers such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, D.K. Karve, Vishnu Shastri Pandit, and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar played pivotal roles in advocating for the re-evaluation of traditional practices, aiming to help Indian women secure their rightful place in modern society. 
  • Their efforts led to important reforms such as the ban on sati in 1829, the promotion of women’s education, the questioning of the purdah system, and encouraging women’s political participation.While these initiatives were progressive, they only marked the beginning of change for women’s roles in society.
• Early Political Participation: Before the 20th century, women were mostly absent from national politics. However, the 1905 movement against the partition of Bengal encouraged women to join the Swadeshi Movement, which aimed to resist British rule by using local goods.
  • For example, on October 16, 1905, Ramendra Sundar Tribedi organized “Arandhan Day,” where women protested by not cooking and held women-only demonstrations. 
  • Women also attended meetings and participated in the Indian National Congress session in Calcutta in 1890. Notable women like Kadambini Ganguly, one of India’s first female graduates, and Swarnakumari Devi, a novelist and sister of Rabindranath Tagore, were present.
  • Organisations like the Bharat Stree Mahamandal, founded by Sarla Devi Chaudhrani in 1910, and Abanindranath Tagore’s famous painting of Bharat Mata, which showed a peaceful woman holding scriptures, represented women’s involvement. However, despite these efforts, their impact on the movement was limited until Gandhi’s leadership inspired more significant change.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

Gandhi’s Contributions to Women’s Empowerment

Gandhi’s most significant contribution to women’s empowerment was encouraging their mass participation in the national movement. He viewed women as powerful agents of change, calling on them to join political activities on a large scale.

• Role Model Women: Gandhi often referred to female characters like Sita, Draupadi, and Damyanti as ideals of strength, virtue, and devotion.  Sita represented chastity, as she remained faithful to Ram despite Ravana’s numerous advances. Draupadi, facing various challenges, exemplified strength and resilience as a multitasking companion to the Pandavas. Damyanti, a significant character in the Mahabharata, demonstrated loyalty and virtue, even after her husband, King Nala, was cursed and abandoned her. Despite her trials, she remained faithful, embodying the ideals of devotion and perseverance.
• Feminine Virtues in Satyagraha: Gandhi believed in feminine virtues like tolerance, nonviolence, morality, and sacrifice, which became key components of his philosophy of Satyagraha (nonviolent resistance). He considered these qualities essential for both women and the independence movement.
• South African Struggle: In 1913, during his time in South Africa, Gandhi recognised women’s power when they opposed the Black Act, which labelled unregistered marriages as “illegitimate.” Indian women actively protested and even went to jail for the first time, demonstrating their resistance against British rule.
• Women’s Role in Prohibition: Gandhi observed that the initiatives for picketing liquor shops and advocating for total prohibition were unsuccessful in the early days of the Non-Cooperation Movement. He attributed this failure to the half-hearted attempts of male volunteers within the party. Recognizing the potential impact of women’s involvement in enforcing the social agenda of prohibition, Gandhi allowed women to lead these protests, which gradually became successful.
• Civil Disobedience and Women: By 1930, women took prominent leadership roles in the Civil Disobedience Movement. Women like Sarojini Naidu, Hansa Mehta, and Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay led the initiatives surrounding Khadi, the Charkha, and prohibition efforts. These women organized volunteers, demonstrating the significant impact of female leadership in the movement.
• Political Empowerment:  Sarojini Naidu’s involvement in the Dharasana Salt March and her leadership of the Kanpur Congress in 1925 demonstrated that women were accorded prominence beyond the Charkha and picketing against prohibition, indicating their readiness to enter the arena of national politics. During the 1931 Karachi Session under Sardar Patel, women’s issues gained prominence and made headlines. A Charter of Rights was demanded, emphasising women’s right to vote and participate in council elections. Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay became the first woman in India to stand for a legislative council election due to the efforts of Mrs. Margaret Cousins, the founder of the All India Women’s Council.
• Solidarity Across Classes: The Civil Disobedience Movement united women from all social backgrounds. Margaret Cousins noted that women from both upper and lower classes showed unprecedented courage by courting arrest in Bombay’s jails. The movement even extended to Nagaland, where a young Rani Gaidinliu led resistance efforts and was imprisoned until independence in 1947.
• Emergence of Women’s Organisations: As these movements gained momentum under the leadership of women in Congress, new organisations began emerging in India exclusively dedicated to the women’s cause. In 1925, the National Council for Women in India was established by Meherbai Tata, Cornelia Sohrabji, and Maharani Sucharu Devi. In 1927, Mrs. Margaret Cousins founded the All-India Women’s Conference, which registered significant influence when the Hindu Women’s Right to Property Act was passed in 1937.

Criticism of Gandhi’s Vision for Women  

• Criticism of Gandhi’s Notion of ‘Virtuous’ Womanhood: Gandhi’s vision for women was deeply rooted in traditional values like purity, sacrifice, and service. He believed that these virtues were inherent in women and could be channelled into their participation in the nationalist movement. He frequently articulated these ideals in his newspaper Navjivan, promoting women as the custodians of these virtues, essential for building a moral and ethical society. 
  • Gandhi’s Moral Expectations: While Gandhi encouraged women to move beyond traditional domestic roles, he also imposed strict moral standards, emphasizing ‘pure’ and ‘virtuous’ womanhood. This focus on traditional values limited women’s opportunities for broader participation, as those not adhering to these ideals were marginalised.
  • Exclusion of Sex Workers: Gandhi’s insistence on moral purity created divisions among women. He excluded sex workers from Congress campaigns, reinforcing a distinction between ‘women of the street,’ viewed as impure, and ‘women on the street,’ who were considered morally ideal, thus limiting the inclusivity of his movement.
  • Moral Demands at Ashram: In the Sabarmati Ashram, Gandhi applied his moral ideals to women’s participation. For instance, he required women to donate their gold jewellery for the cause of Swaraj. This was noted by Madeleine Slade, also known as Mira Behn, in her book The Spirit’s Pilgrimage.
• Responsibility of Household Duties: Gandhi placed the entire responsibility for household and religious duties on women, framing them as the solution to societal ills. This perspective limited women’s roles to caretakers and moral guardians, which undermined their potential for broader participation in society.
• Education Distinctions: While advocating for women’s education, Gandhi made a distinction between the education of men and women based on what he perceived as their natural differences. This approach reinforced traditional gender roles rather than promoting equality.
• Child-Rearing as Women’s Work: Child-rearing was primarily viewed as women’s work, integral to the character-building of the nation. Gandhi believed that the nation would prosper if children were instilled with good values, placing the burden of moral education solely on women.
• Disconnection from Modern Values: Gandhi’s vision of returning to village life and living a morally restrained existence did not resonate with many modern Indian women. His ideals often seemed out of touch with their desires for independence and agency. This disconnect was compounded by societal norms that restricted women’s freedom through moral policing. Women were pressured to conform to traditional values, which limited their choices and stifled their voices. The emphasis on strict moral codes created an environment where they felt compelled to suppress their aspirations for personal freedom. Instead of empowering women, these constraints often became tools for controlling their actions, hindering their pursuit of equality and autonomy in a rapidly changing society. 
• Imbalanced Expectations: Gandhi’s expectation that women embody the ideals of figures like Sita, Draupadi, Meera, and Damyanti demanded significant sacrifice from women, while he imposed no reciprocal moral expectations on men. This imbalance raised questions about the fairness of his vision for gender roles.
• Limited Impact of Self-Sustainability Initiatives: Although Gandhi promoted self-sustainability through the Charkha and self-help groups, these initiatives brought little benefit to women and attracted minimal interest. 
  • For instance, Hazara Begum from Rampur expressed her disinterest in the Gandhian strategy for women’s participation in the labour force, noting that it neither made women conscious of their rights nor encouraged them to fight for their political rights.

Check Out UPSC NCERT Textbooks From PW Store

Conclusion

While Gandhi’s involvement significantly advanced women’s empowerment in India, his vision, though often seen as conservative today, was radical for its time. His emphasis on traditional roles and moral purity challenged prevailing societal norms and encouraged women’s participation in the nationalist movement, promoting their agency in ways that were revolutionary in the early 20th century. As India reflects on Gandhi’s legacy, it is vital to acknowledge how his ideas laid the groundwork for future progress and to adapt his principles to foster true inclusivity and empowerment for all women in today’s context.

DOWNLOAD PDF