Template:Infobox organization
The All India Women's Conference (AIWC) is a non-governmental organisation (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.[1][2][3] 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.[4] The first meeting held in Poona saw 2,000 attendees who met at the Fergusson College Hall on Poona University.[4] Most of the attendees were observers, but others were women that Cousins had brought together to help create the AIWC.Template:Sfn Amrit Kaur was one of the founding members of AIWC.[5] One of the first secretaries of AIWC was Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay.[6]
Beginning in 1928, AIWC began to raise money to open the Lady Irwin College of Domestic Science.[4] Also in 1928, the AIWC recognized that women's education couldn't be addressed properly without dealing with "harmful social customs."Template:Sfn 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.[7] Other issues that were tackled included giving women the right to divorce, to inherit and to vote.[8]
AIWC was registered in 1930 under the section XXI of Societies Registration Act, 1860. (No. 558 of 1930).[9] AIWC created a journal, Roshni, in 1941 which was published in both English and Hindi.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The organisation was involved in lobbying Parliament to pass new laws to protect women in India and also to help expand voting rights.[10][11] A central office for AIWC was set up in 1946.Template:Sfn Also in 1946, a "Skippo Committee" was set up to help provide villages with medical treatment.Template:Sfn When India was fighting for independence, many more radical members left the organisation in order to become "nationalist agitators."[4] The organisation also expelled members who were associated with Communist groups in 1948.[12]
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.[13][14] AIWC also operates microcredit schemes and energy development for rural women.[8] AIWC has trained women in the use of solar driers for hygienically storing food.[15] They also help women find employment, are involved in health issues and the prevention of human trafficking.[8]
Past presidents
This is a list of the past presidents of AIWC:[16] Template:Div col
- Maharani Chimnabai, 1927
- 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
Other members
See also
References
Citations
- ↑ All India Women's Conference. Women's International Network News. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ↑ AIWC at a Glance: The First Twenty-Five Years 1927-1952, Nair, Usha. AIWC. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ↑ All-India Women's Conference. The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 The History of Doing: An Illustrated Account of Movements for Women's Rights and Feminism in India 1800-1990{{#if:Kumar|, Kumar}. Zubaan(1997). ISBN 9788185107769
- ↑ The Princess Who Built AIIMS: Remembering India's First Health Minister, Amrit Kaur. The Better India. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ↑ A voice for women. The Hindu. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ↑ Gender and Activism: Women's Voices in Political Debate{{#if:Aerts|, Aerts}. Uitgeverij Verloren(2015). ISBN 9789087045579
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Template:Cite encyclopedia
- ↑ History. AIWC : All India Women’s Conference. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ↑ Choosing Life Over Death. The Age. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ↑ Modern Women. The Springville Herald. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ↑ Rural Origins of Women's Liberation in India. Social Scientist.
- ↑ Project Details. Asha for Education. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ↑ Hope Afloat for Special Tots - Making That Vital Difference, Choudhury, Nilanjana Ghosh. The Telegraph. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ↑ Now, healthy and storable 'solar dried food'. The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2018-04-17.
- ↑ Past Presidents. AIWC: All India Women's Conference. Retrieved 2014-03-19.
- ↑ New Education, Indophilia and Women’s Activism: Indo-German Entanglements, 1920s to 1940s{{#if:|, {{{last}}}}. Südasien-Chronik. ISBN 978-3-86004-337-0
Sources
- The All-India Women's Conference: Silver Jubilee Session{{#if:AIWC|, AIWC}. The All India Women's Conference(1953)
- Women in Modern India{{#if:Forbes|, Forbes}. Cambridge University Press(1996). ISBN 9780521268127