International Women's Day
March 8, 2024
Since today is International Women’s Day, it seems like a good day to talk about Gandhi’s efforts for women’s equality in India. “If women resolve to bring glory to the nation, within a few months they can totally change the face of the country,” he wrote in 1947. Gandhi firmly believed that women were equal to men and that they should have the same rights and opportunities as men in all aspects of life.
There are many examples. In 1924, Gandhi was elected as President of the Indian National Congress. After a year, he supported Sarojini Naidu for the role, the first Indian woman to hold the office. Years later, Gandhi also chose her to lead the 1930 civil disobedience campaign when he was arrested after breaking the salt laws. Women played a crucial role in the freedom struggle, and their participation helped to break down many of the social and cultural barriers that had previously prevented them from participating in public life. “I am taking no part or interest in the [1937] elections,” he wrote to a friend. “But I agree with you that women should be treated on a par with men. I go further, where they are equal in ability they should be preferred.”
Gandhi also advocated for women's education as a key to empowerment. He encouraged women to pursue education and urged parents to educate their daughters. He also believed that education should be practical and relevant to the lives of women, and he encouraged women to learn skills that would enable them to support themselves. This included economic empowerment; the spinning wheel at the center of his constructive program created the means and the market for women to earn money independently. “If I could have my way,” he groused in 1937, “I would see to it that women are paid the same wages as men.” He also supported the idea of women's cooperatives, which would enable women to work together and support each other economically.
Now, it’s fair to say that you can also find examples, particularly in his younger days, of Gandhi acting in ways that reflected the patriarchal culture he grew up in. The very purpose of this blog is to examine aspects of self-improvement, and not see ourselves as trapped by the errors of the past.
Gandhi's impact on women's equality in India was far-reaching. Looking backward to 1965, America was struggling with the civil rights movement. But on the other side of the world, Indira Gandhi (no relation) became prime minister of India, an office she would hold for more than a decade. Nearly 60 years later, America has yet to elect a woman to the highest office in the land. Had Gandhi’s commitment to women’s equality been present among our own founding fathers, I suspect it would have occurred long ago.
In 1921, Gandhi wrote, “A woman’s intuition has often proved truer than man’s arrogant assumption of superior knowledge.” Do you agree with his observation?