Women’s Social Reform

In 19th-century India, the social status of women was the central axis around which the Socio-Religious Reform Movements (SRRM) revolved. The prevailing social order subjected women to institutionalized subordination, restricted domestic roles, and severe physical and psychological deprivation. Reformers—initially men influenced by Western liberal thought and later pioneering women themselves—argued that no society could achieve political or economic modernization while keeping half of its population in bondage.

Key Structural Evils and Reformist Interventions

The reform movement targeted specific, deeply entrenched socio-religious practices through institutional organizing, public advocacy, and legislative lobbying.

Abolition of Sati

• The Practice: The self-immolation or forced burning of widows on the funeral pyre of their deceased husbands, prevalent primarily among the upper castes in Bengal and Rajputana.
• The Reformist Crusade: Raja Ram Mohan Roy initiated a systematic campaign against Sati in 1818. He utilized the Sambad Kaumudi to publish anti-Sati tracts and cited the Upanishads to prove that Hinduism did not mandate the practice.
• Legislative Outcome: The Bengal Sati Regulation (Regulation XVII of 1829) was passed by Governor-General Lord William Bentinck, declaring the practice illegal and punishable as culpable homicide.

Eradication of Female Infanticide

• The Practice: The killing of female newborns immediately after birth, driven by high dowry costs, hypergamy, and social stigma associated with being the father of a daughter. It was highly prevalent among the Rajputs of Central India and the Bedis of Punjab.
• Legislative Outcome: Regulatory measures were initiated via the Bengal Regulations of 1795 and 1804. A comprehensive pan-Indian check was established through the Female Infanticide Prevention Act, 1870.

Legalization of Hindu Widow Remarriage

• The Practice: Widows, including child widows, were forbidden from remarrying. They were subjected to ascetic austerities, tonsure (shaving of the head), social ostracization, and economic dependence.
• The Reformist Crusade: Pandit Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar led the movement in Bengal, presenting a petition signed by nearly 1,000 individuals to the government. He utilized the Parashara Smriti to argue that scriptural sanctions existed for widow remarriage. In Western India, Vishnu Shastri Pandit founded the Widow Marriage Association in 1850, and Karsondas Mulji ran the Gujarati journal Satya Prakash to advocate for the cause.
• Legislative Outcome: The Hindu Widows’ Remarriage Act, 1856 (Act XV of 1856) was passed during the administration of Lord Canning, legalizing such marriages and safeguarding the legitimacy of their offspring.

Anti-Child Marriage and Consent Legislations

• The Practice: Prepubertal marriages were the norm, frequently leading to early widowhood and high maternal mortality rates due to premature consummation.
• The Reformist Crusade: Behramji M. Malabari, a Parsi reformer, campaigned fiercely against child marriage, publishing his famous Notes on Infant Marriage and Enforced Widowhood in 1884.
• Legislative Milestones:
  • Native Marriage Act, 1872 (Civil Marriage Act): Legalized inter-caste marriages and prohibited child marriage, but applied only to those who declared they did not profess any specific religion.
  • Age of Consent Act, 1891: Triggered by the tragic death of a child bride, Phulmoni Dasi. Despite fierce opposition from orthodox leaders like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, the Act raised the statutory age of consent for sexual intercourse for girls from 10 to 12 years.
  • Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929 (Sarda Act): Pushed by Harbilas Sarda, it legally fixed the minimum marriageable age for girls at 14 and boys at 18 across British India.

Development of Female Education

• The Rationale: Reformers recognized education as the primary tool to liberate women from superstition and domestic subservience.
• Key Institutions and Pioneers:
  • J.E.D. Bethune: Established the Bethune School in Calcutta (1849), which served as the pioneer institution for secular female education in India. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was closely associated with it as its secretary and established nearly 35 girls’ schools in Bengal.
  • Jyotirao and Savitribai Phule: Founded the first indigenous school for girls in Budhwar Peth, Pune (1848), focusing specifically on girls from low-caste communities.
  • Charles Wood’s Despatch (1854): Officially recognized and provided government grants-in-aid for female education.

Women as Independent Agents of Reform

By the late 19th and early 20th centuries, women transitioned from being mere passive subjects of male-led reform to active agents leading their own emancipation movements.

Pandita Ramabai

• Key Contributions: A profound Sanskrit scholar who challenged Brahmanical patriarchy. She founded the Arya Mahila Samaj (1882) in Pune to promote women’s education and welfare.
• Institutions: Established the Sharada Sadan (1889), a residential school and home for destitute high-caste widows. She authored The High-Caste Hindu Woman, highlighting the structural oppression faced by Indian women.

Tarabai Shinde

• Key Contributions: An associate of Satyashodhak Samaj, she authored the radical text Stri Purush Tulana (A Comparison Between Women and Men) in 1882. This text is considered one of India’s earliest systematic feminist critiques of patriarchy, double standards in morality, and scriptural bias against women.

Begum Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain

• Key Contributions: A pioneering writer and educationist in Bengal. She founded the Sakhawat Memorial Girls’ High School in Calcutta and established the Anjuman-e-Khawatin-e-Islam (Islamic Women’s Association) to advocate for the education and socio-economic rights of Muslim women. She authored the famous feminist sci-fi satire Sultana’s Dream (1905).

Evolution of Women’s Organizations

The institutionalization of women’s demands led to the creation of formal, nationwide organizations run entirely by women.

Bharat Stree Mahamandal (1910)

• Founder: Sarala Devi Chaudhurani.
• Significance: Formed in Allahabad, it was the first pan-Indian women’s organization run by women for women, aimed at improving education, health, and political awareness across communal lines.

Women’s Indian Association (WIA) (1917)

• Founders: Annie Besant, Margaret Cousins, and Dorothy Jinarajadasa in Adyar, Madras.
• Significance: Campaigned aggressively for women’s suffrage and representation in local boards, leading to women gaining voting rights in several Indian provinces in the 1920s.

All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) (1927)

• Founder: Margaret Cousins.
• Significance: Initially formed to discuss educational reforms for women, it quickly evolved into a powerful lobby for legal reform, playing a monumental role in drafting the Hindu Code Bills in the post-independence era.

Quick Reference Summary: Major Legislations affecting Women

Key Historical Trivia for UPSC Prelims

• Anandi Gopal Joshi and Kadambini Ganguly (1886): They became the first Indian women to obtain degrees in Western medicine. Kadambini Ganguly was also one of the first women to address the Indian National Congress platform in 1890.
• Muthulakshmi Reddy: The first female legislator in British India (Madras Legislative Council, 1927). She was instrumental in passing the Devadasi Abolition Bill, which outlawed the dedication of young girls to temples.
• Lady Hardinge Medical College (1916): Established in Delhi to provide medical training exclusively to women, a crucial step in ensuring women could receive healthcare from female doctors due to the Purdah system.
• Rani Rashmoni: A wealthy widow and zamindar who founded the Dakshineswar Kali Temple (where Ramakrishna Paramahansa was a priest). She famously challenged the British East India Company’s shipping tolls and actively supported reform initiatives in Bengal.