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Unit 9: Status of Women

country or in the interests of the people. It was primarily meant to exploit Indian resources for the profit Notes
of the ruling class. But industrialization led to many changes like mobility of the people, growth of means
of transport and communication, weakening of the jajmani system, availability of some new opportunities
of work to people, and so forth. All these created new values and behaviour patterns.

Spread of Education
The idea of imparting education to women emerged in the British period. Earlier, it was almost
universally held that since women had not to earn their livelihood, there was no need of education
for them. After the Bhakti movement, the Christian Missionaries took interest in the education of
girls. A girl’s school was started for the first time in Bombay in 1824. Lord Dalhousie also declared
that no single change in the habit of the people is likely to lead to more important and beneficial
consequences than the introduction of education for their family children. Since then, there has been
a continuous progress in the extent of education among females. The literacy percentage among
females in India increased from 0.6 per cent in 1901 to 2.93 per cent in 1931, 7.30 per cent in 1941,
12.95 per cent in 1961, 18.69 per cent in 1971,24.88 per cent in 1981, and 39.42 per cent in 1991 (Handbook
on Social Welfare Statistics, Ministry of Social Welfare, Government of India, 1981, p. 85 and Census of
India, 1991). The number of literate women in the rural areas is much lower than in the urban areas.
In 1981, as against 17.99 per cent in the rural areas, there were 47.65 per cent literate women in the
urban areas. Further, in 1979-80, of the 78.9 million students studying in the primary classes (I to V
standard), only 38.45 per cent were girls; of the 18.7 million students in the middle classes (VI to VIII
standard), 32.90 per cent were girls; of the 7.51 million students studying in high school (IX and X
standards), 29.24 per cent were girls; and of the 1.19 million students studying in XI and XII classes,
32.35 per cent were girls. This shows that broadly speaking, at the school level, the ratio of boys to
girls is 3: 1. The percentage of girls undertaking higher education and those receiving professional
education (medicine, engineering, law, teaching, etc.) is extremely low.

The Hunter Commission too emphasized on the need for female education in 1882.
The Calcutta, Bombay and Madras universities did not permit admission to girls up
to 1875. It was only after 1882 that girls were allowed to go for higher education.

While out of every 100 girls in schools, sixty-two study at the primary level, twenty-six study at the
middle level, and twelve at the high school level, it may be said that though the number of girls
studying at various levels is low, yet there has been a marked increase in the number of female
students at every level from 1941 onwards.
Social Movements Initiated by Some Enlightened Leaders
In the end of the nineteenth century, women in India suffered from disabilities like child marriage,
practice of polygyny, sale of girls for marriage purposes, severe restrictions on widows, non-access
to education, and restricting oneself to domestic and child-rearing functions. The Indian National
Conference started in 1885 by Justice Ranade condemned these disabilities. Raja Ram Mohan Roy,
who played an important role in getting the sati system abolished, raised voice against child marriage
and purdah system and fought for the right of inheritance for women. Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar
launched a movement for the right of widows to remarry and also pleaded for educating women.
Maharishi Karve took up the problems of widow remarriage and education of women. He established
the SNDT University in Maharashtra in 1916. Maharaja Sayaji Rao Gaekwar, ruler of Baroda State,
worked for preventing child marriages, polygyny and getting the right of education to women and
the right of remarriage to widows. Swami Vivekanand, Swami Dayanand Sarswari, Annie Besant,
and Mahatma Gandhi also took interest in the social and the political rights of women. Gandhiji was
of the opinion that women should labour under no legal disability not suffered by man. He was in
favour of treating daughters and sons on a footing of perfect equality. The advantage of the movements
started by various social leaders was that they succeeded in arousing social consciousness for the
liberation and equal rights to women.

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