Bot at 11:21, 30 June 2023

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{{Use dmy dates|date= June 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date= June 2023}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = All India Women's Conference
| logo =
| type = Community service
| founded_date = 1927
| founder = [[Margaret Cousins]]
| location = India
| origins =
| key_people = Kalyani Raj (President)
| area_served = Shelter & Rehabilitation for Women in Distress, Home for Orphans & Destitute Children, Old Age home for Women
| focus =
| method =
| revenue =
| endowment =
| num_volunteers =
| num_employees =
| num_members =
| owner =
| Non-profit_slogan = Free Services such as Education, Food, Accommodation, Vocational Training, Counselling, Legal service & College Girls Hostel.
| homepage = {{url|www.aiwc.org.in}}
| dissolved =
| footnotes =
}}
The '''All India Women's Conference''' ('''AIWC''') is a non-governmental organisation ([[Non-governmental organization|NGO]]) based in [[Delhi]]. It was founded in 1927 by [[Margaret Cousins]] in order to improve educational efforts for women and children and has expanded its scope to also tackle other women's rights issues. The organisation is one of the oldest women's groups in India and has branches throughout the country.

== History ==
The All India Women's Conference (AIWC) was founded in 1927 in [[Pune]] in order to promote women and children's education and social welfare.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=9702066262&site=ehost-live|title=All India Women's Conference|work=Women's International Network News|access-date=17 April 2018|issue=1|volume=23|page=56|url-access=subscription |via=EBSCOhost}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.aiwc.org.in/pdf/History.pdf|title=AIWC at a Glance: The First Twenty-Five Years 1927-1952|last=Nair|first=Usha|website=AIWC|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417173219/http://www.aiwc.org.in/pdf/History.pdf|archive-date=17 April 2018|access-date=17 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19320441/|title=All-India Women's Conference|work=The Guardian|access-date=2018-04-17|language=en|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> [[Margaret Cousins]] had called for the creation of an organisation as early as late 1925 by writing to other women's groups and to friends to come together to discuss education for women.<ref name=":1">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=68xTBT1-H4IC&q=%22all%20india%20women's%20conference%22&pg=PA68|title=The History of Doing: An Illustrated Account of Movements for Women's Rights and Feminism in India 1800-1990|last=Kumar|first=Radha|publisher=Zubaan|year=1997|isbn=9788185107769|location=New Delhi|pages=68–69|language=en}}</ref> The first meeting held in Poona saw 2,000 attendees who met at the Fergusson College Hall on [[Savitribai Phule Pune University|Poona University]].<ref name=":1" /> Most of the attendees were observers, but others were women that Cousins had brought together to help create the AIWC.{{Sfn|Forbes|1996|p=79}} [[Amrit Kaur]] was one of the founding members of AIWC.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thebetterindia.com/133160/rajkumari-amrit-kaur-aiims-india-first-health-minister/|title=The Princess Who Built AIIMS: Remembering India's First Health Minister, Amrit Kaur|last=Pal|first=Sanchari|work=The Better India|access-date=2018-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417224025/https://www.thebetterindia.com/133160/rajkumari-amrit-kaur-aiims-india-first-health-minister/|archive-date=17 April 2018|language=en-US}}</ref> One of the first secretaries of AIWC was [[Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/books/a-voice-for-women/article19924223.ece|title=A voice for women|last=Vaidehi|work=The Hindu|access-date=2018-04-17|language=en-IN|issn=0971-751X}}</ref>

Beginning in 1928, AIWC began to raise money to open the [[Lady Irwin College|Lady Irwin College of Domestic Science]].<ref name=":1" /> Also in 1928, the AIWC recognized that women's education couldn't be addressed properly without dealing with "harmful social customs."{{Sfn|Forbes|1996|p=80}} Women of the AIWC set up a committee to "watch and report on the progress of the Child Marriage Bill," and to also lobby politicians relating to the practice of [[child marriage]].<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PQw9DQAAQBAJ&q=%22all%20india%20women's%20conference%22&pg=PA40|title=Gender and Activism: Women's Voices in Political Debate|last=Aerts|first=Mieke|publisher=Uitgeverij Verloren|year=2015|isbn=9789087045579|location=Amsterdam|pages=40|language=en}}</ref> Other issues that were tackled included giving women the right to [[divorce]], to [[Inheritance|inherit]] and to [[Voting|vote]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/All-India-Womens-Conference|title=All India Women's Conference {{!}} Description, History, & Work|last=Lodhia|first=Sharmila|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia Britannica|access-date=2018-04-17|language=en}}</ref>

AIWC was registered in 1930 under the section XXI of [[Societies Registration Act, 1860]]. (No. 558 of 1930).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.aiwc.org.in/history.html|title=History|website=AIWC : All India Women’s Conference|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417173417/http://www.aiwc.org.in/history.html|archive-date=17 April 2018|access-date=2018-04-17}}</ref> AIWC created a journal, ''Roshni'', in 1941 which was published in both [[English language|English]] and [[Hindi]].{{Sfn|Forbes|1996|p=82}}{{Sfn|AIWC|1953|p=12}} The organisation was involved in lobbying [[Parliament of India|Parliament]] to pass new laws to protect women in India and also to help expand voting rights.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19320210/|title=Choosing Life Over Death|last=Bone|first=Pamela|work=The Age|access-date=2018-04-17|language=en|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/19320364/|title=Modern Women|last=Maffett|first=M.L.|work=The Springville Herald|access-date=2018-04-17|language=en|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> A central office for AIWC was set up in 1946.{{Sfn|Forbes|1996|p=82}} Also in 1946, a "Skippo Committee" was set up to help provide villages with medical treatment.{{Sfn|AIWC|1953|p=16}} When India was fighting for [[Indian independence movement|independence]], many more radical members left the organisation in order to become "nationalist agitators."<ref name=":1" /> The organisation also expelled members who were associated with [[Communism|Communist]] groups in 1948.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Omvedt|first=Gail|title=Rural Origins of Women's Liberation in India|jstor=3516120|journal=Social Scientist|volume=4|issue=4/5|pages=45|doi=10.2307/3516120}}</ref>

==Activities and programmes==
One of the initial main objectives of the AIWC was education of women, and it remains a primary concern today. The organisation's literacy campaign was intensified in 1996 by initiating non-formal education programmes for school drop outs and [[literacy]] programmes for adult woman with craft training through its branches.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.ashanet.org/projects/project-view.php?p=8|title=Project Details|website=Asha for Education|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174340/http://www.ashanet.org/projects/project-view.php?p=8|archive-date=3 March 2016|access-date=2018-04-17}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050222/asp/jamshedpur/story_4410071.asp|title=Hope Afloat for Special Tots - Making That Vital Difference|last=Choudhury|first=Nilanjana Ghosh|website=The Telegraph|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121023212953/http://www.telegraphindia.com/1050222/asp/jamshedpur/story_4410071.asp|archive-date=23 October 2012|access-date=2018-04-17}}</ref> AIWC also operates [[microcredit]] schemes and energy development for [[Rural area|rural]] women.<ref name=":2" /> AIWC has trained women in the use of [[Solar dryer|solar driers]] for hygienically storing food.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/food/2018/mar/21/now-healthy-and-storable-solar-dried-food-1790597.html|title=Now, healthy and storable 'solar dried food'|work=The New Indian Express|access-date=2018-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180417222908/http://www.newindianexpress.com/lifestyle/food/2018/mar/21/now-healthy-and-storable-solar-dried-food-1790597.html|archive-date=17 April 2018}}</ref> They also help women find employment, are involved in health issues and the prevention of [[Human trafficking in India|human trafficking]].<ref name=":2" />

==Past presidents==
This is a list of the past presidents of AIWC:<ref>{{cite web|title=Past Presidents |publisher=AIWC: All India Women's Conference |url=http://aiwc.org.in/past_president.html |access-date=2014-03-19 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140319132613/http://www.aiwc.org.in/past-presidents.html |archive-date=2014-03-19 }}</ref>
{{Div col}}
* [[Maharani Chimnabai]], 1927
* [[Kaikhusrau Jahan, Begum of Bhopal|Jahan Begum of Bhopal]], 1928
* Dowager Rani of Mandi, 1929
* [[Sarojini Naidu]], 1930
* Dr. [[Muthulakshmi Reddy]], 1931
* [[Sarala Roy]], 1932
* Lady [[Vidyagauri Nilkanth]], 1933
* [[Lady Abdul Quadir]], 1934
* [[Hilla Rustomji Faridoonji]] 1935
* Maharani [[Sethu Parvathi Bayi]], 1936
* [[Margaret E. Cousins]], 1937
* [[Amrit Kaur]], 1938
* Rani [[Lakshmibai Rajwade]], 1939
* [[Shareefa Hamid Ali]], 1940–41
* [[Rameshwari Nehru]], 1942
* [[Vijayalakshmi Pandit]], 1943
* [[Kamladevi Chattopadhyay]], 1944–45
* [[Hansa Mehta]], 1946
* [[Dhanvanthi Rama Rau]], 1947
* [[Anasuyabai Kale]], 1948
* [[Urmila Mehta]], 1949–50
* [[Hannah Sen]], 1951–52
* [[Renuka Ray]], 1953–54
* [[Lakshmi N. Menon]], 1955–58
* Raksha Saran, 1959–60
* [[Mithan Jamshed Lam]], 1961–62
* [[Masuma Begum]], 1963–64
* M.S.H.Jhabwala 1965–68
* [[B. Tarabai]], 1969–70
* [[Lakshmi Raguramaiah]], 1971–79
* [[Sarojini Varadappan]], 1981–85
* [[Ashoka Gupta]], 1986–90
* [[Shobhana Ranade]], 1991–95
* Kunti Paul, 1996–98
* Kalavati Tripathi, 1999–2001
* Aparna Basu, 2002–2004
* Manorma Bawa, 2005–2007
* Gomathi Nair, 2008–2010
* Bina Jain, 2011–2013
* Veena Kohli, 2014–2016
* Rakesh Dhawan, 2017–2019
* Sheela Kakde, 2020–2022
{{Div col end}}

==Other members==
*[[Kitty Shiva Rao]]<ref name=Horn2018>{{cite book |last1=Horn |first1=Elija |title=New Education, Indophilia and Women’s Activism: Indo-German Entanglements, 1920s to 1940s |publisher=Südasien-Chronik |location=Humboldt University of Berlin |isbn=978-3-86004-337-0 |url=https://www.iaaw.hu-berlin.de/de/region/suedasien/publikationen/sachronik/04-focus-horn-elija-new-education-indophilia-and.pdf}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of women's rights organisations]]
*[[National Council of Women in India]]

==References==

=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Sources ===
* {{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.66213|title=The All-India Women's Conference: Silver Jubilee Session|last=AIWC|publisher=The All India Women's Conference|year=1953|location=New Delhi}}
* {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hjilIrVt9hUC&pg=PR6|title=Women in Modern India|last=Forbes|first=Geraldine|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1996|isbn=9780521268127|location=Cambridge}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.aiwc.org.in/ AIWC Official Website]

{{Liberal feminism}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1927 establishments in India]]
[[Category:Liberal feminist organizations]]
[[Category:Women's organisations based in India]]
[[Category:Organisations based in Delhi]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1927]]
[[Category:Women's conferences]]
[[Category:1927 in women's history]]

All India Women's Conference - Revision history

Bot at 11:21, 30 June 2023