Being a woman and that too in a developing country has never been so easy. To study the evolution of the women from home to the workplace in all the developing countries is beyond the scope of this article. However, this particular article is an endeavor to focus on the gradual transition of the Indian women from the confined boundaries of their domestic walls to the threatening border-less world of the workplace and the role played by education in this transition. Some of the factors, which impacted the transition from home to workplace, are events like social reform movements, influence of education, the participation of women in the freedom struggle, the role of government, industrialization, women’s active involvement in the Indian politics, socio-economic conditions, and demand for intellectual jobs.
The Background of Indian Women
In ancient India, women had no voice of their own and were discriminated and subjugated by the more powerful and superior sex. Patriarchal form of society was one of the underlying causes of violence against women inIndia. Societies that are supposed to be heavily patriarchal – male dominated, male –identified, male-centered, are the ones in which women’s lives are the harshest. The patriarchal ideal is that a woman’s duty is to serve her father, brothers and husbands for their entire life; it is a sentiment lived out in many societies where women are subjugated to spousal abuse daily. In addition, the discrimination against women was also laid in the religious and cultural practices of India like child marriage, dowry deaths, sati (widow immolation), and the stringent living mores of widows. Women had little or no say in domestic decisions and little freedom of movement. From the day she was born until the day she died, an Indian woman was expected to be under the control of a man and to serve him without question Events That Impacted the Transition
Social Reform Movements for Women (1850-1930)
Since time immemorial, Indian women have always lived their lives by complex and stringent codes of behavior where submissiveness was always valued and rebellion was never encouraged. But things started changing in the early nineteenth century with some social reformers voicing their strong opinion against the injustice done to the Indian women and they began deploring the condition of women. The first man to publicly speak out against the injustices perpetrated against women was Raja Rammohan Roy, who in early nineteenth century condemned sati (widow immolation), kulin polygamy, and spoke in favor of women’s property rights. Meanwhile, many reformists were committed to further the cause of women’s education, as they understood that knowledge is power and education is the only medium for the Indian women to fight for their own cause. In colonial India, it was male reformers and philanthropists who publicized the virtues of women’s higher education and subsequently sustained the cause, unlike the west, where females led their own campaigns for education, though often aided by supportive men. Thus, it can be concluded that slow changes were occurring due to the various social reforms taking place.
The Influence of Education (1900-1930)
Education for women became a major tool and women’s education, which saw it’s first beginnings in this milieu, was thus visualized as a panacea for improving the social status of women.The first schools set up were by the Christian Missionaries in Bengal, while Hindu and Muslim reformers and movements followed suit.
In the mean time, by the end of the nineteenth century, some women who hailed from reformist families started to raise their voice against the injustice done to the women. Despite the fact that educated women were increasingly becoming aware of their rights, there was little or no contribution from the women from a major cross section of the society, mostly from the rural and the semi urban areas where education for women was still a tabooed concept. Their voice was still falling on deaf ears and they were going through the same atrocities and nothing really changed much for them. Finally in 1917, Annie Beseant, a prominent figure in the history of Indian social reform movement along with Margaret Cousins and Dorothy Jinarajadasa formed the Women’s India Association (WIC) in Madras. The other two major organizations identified with the fledgling women’s movement were the All India women’s Conference (AIWC), established in 1927; and the National Council of Women in India (NCWI), organized in 1925.
Women in Freedom Struggle (1917-1947)
Lots of movements for social change started in the early twentieth century, and some scholars viewed it as the emergence of a rudimentary women’s movement inIndia. It was no more a movement led by men reformist rather it was led by educated elite women, who became activists on their own behalf and began to develop their own social and political agenda. This phase marked the beginning of women’s entry into a domain, which was dominated by men hitherto. Women’s association and organizations provided extended domestic space to the elite and educated middle class women of all communities to come together and to pursue their public activities on behalf of women and children.
This phase in Indian history was very crucial as it was marked by India’s struggle for freedom. The Indian Diaspora realized it was impossible to fight for freedom without getting support from the Indian women, who were increasingly becoming aware of their own rights and causes. As the nationalist cause was becoming pre-eminent, women were called upon in service of the nation with their abilities of caring and nurturing. The campaigns for women’s political representation went through two phases: between 1917 and 1928, the issues focused upon were women’s enfranchisement per se and their eligibility for membership in the legislatures and between 1928 and 1937, the issue in focus was the liberalization of the terms of enfranchisement and increased representation of women.
Nineteen thirty one was a significant year for Indian women when Mahatma Gandhi, also regarded as the “Father of Indian Nation”, called for the women to join the nationalist struggle for independence, which led to channelizing the energies of the emergent women’s movement into the political movements.
The Role of Government, Industrialization and the Second Wave Feminist Activism (1947- 1975)
In the initial years after independence, the government was sensitive to women issues and promoted lots of welfare programs for the development of women and encouraged their active participation in all the sphere of life be it in politics, work place, or higher education. After independence, the Constitution of India, based on liberal principles of equality and social justice, tried to strengthen the women’s role in society by giving importance to education, as it would lead to equal status and opportunities for women in reality. The government also took some initiatives in promoting women’s education through Operation Blackboard, literacy mission, and year of female girl child.
Industrialization brought with it a myriad number of jobs and it opened the horizons for Indian working-class women and slowly but steadily they started contributing in the manufacturing and the industrial sectors. Non-government organizations (NGOs) have also played a vital role on the economic development of the women, inundated in poverty and have widely espoused a commitment to women’s empowerment. Their efforts are praiseworthy as far as providing education to the rural women is concerned, which in turn will aid in making them financially independent so that they can at least fight for their own cause, if not anything else.
Remarriage, divorce, and property laws for the Indian women, and improved educational and employment opportunities were few big steps which were perceived as significant gains and a strong weapon for the women and gave them a platform to contribute to the economic development of the country. Despite so many laws and movements, which really encouraged participation of the Indian women in the political, social and economic development of India, a bitter but hard truth was that the women were still considered inferior to the men and were still struggling to prove their mettle as far as the gender equality was concerned. The proportion of successful women politicians was not growing and in spite of a steady increase in female voter turnout since the 1950s, the focus on women’s issues were one of the lowest priorities on the national agenda. This realization gave birth to the second wave of feminist consciousness in the late 1960s and early-mid 1970s. For the first time in 1974, a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the impact of “planned development” on Indian women was made available in the publication “Towards equality”, the report of the committee on the status of women set up by the Government of India. One of the shattering findings of the committee stated: two and a half decades after independence, women continued to occupy and inferior position in religious, cultural, and family life, had disadvantageous access to health care, legal remedy, and counsel, and were severely marginalized in regard to political, economic and educational opportunities
In the mean time, one more factor that abetted the decision of the Indian women to enter into the public sphere of life was the proliferating network of women’s groups and grass root organizations. They started feminist magazines and newsletters, set up study groups and support networks, and publicized, organized, and mobilized against dowry, dowry related deaths, widow immolation, rape, and police violence
The Rise of Women Power in Indian Politics (1960 onwards)
A major turning point in Indian politics was the election of Indira Gandhi as the first women Prime Minister of India in the year 1966. The ascension of a woman, to the highest position in the world’s most populous democracy was especially significant for Indian women, who had traditionally been subservient to men. This was certainly a moment of glory for the Indian women and instilled in them a new confidence of taking new and bold roles and coming out from the periphery of their homes to take responsible positions outside the purview of a secured boundary. Women also succeeded in becoming members of the two houses of parliament (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha), and they also became Governors and Chief Ministers of States, Ambassadors, Members of the Cabinet, and Deputy Ministers; and they also held the highest positions in the organizations of the major political parties.
It was not so late when the Indian think tank realized that educated and empowered women could bring wonders to the economic and social development of a country. But at the same time, they knew that empowering the women of India especially in the rural sectors might threaten the status quo – a status quo, which was based on the belief of male superiority. They knew to bring this radical change; they had to provide the grass root levels with enough provisions and facilities, considering the fact that majority of women’s population in India dwell in rural areas. Eighty percentage of India’s population is rural and an equal percentage of the female working force is engaged in agriculture. The first step, they thought was to allow more women’s participation in politics, which would automatically result in more awareness. Needless to say, the most neglected and the most deprived, the women of rural India had been excluded from participation in the political arena altogether and were the victims of social and economic inequality. If not Indira Gandhi, her son Rajiv Gandhi, took the initiative of inclusion of women in politics and finally in the year 1993, it was unanimously decided to have 33 percent reservation of seats for women in order to aid the participation of women in the Indian politics in the grass root level or the village governing bodies known as panchayats.
The Socio-Economic Conditions (1970 onwards)
The rapid changes in the quality of life in the past few decades have resulted in the concentration of more and more educated work force in the urban areas. Inevitably these changes in all spheres of life have had their impact on the role and status of women in the changing society. The migration of some of the family members in lure of a better life has resulted in socio-economic changes and has been distinguished by the break-up of the traditional joint family system, to be replaced by the nuclear family household. The rise of nuclear family has put a lot of onus on the women, and has pushed them into having a career so that she contributes in large measures both financially and socially to the well being and development of the family. Economic independence is essential for the personality development of women and boosts their confidence, identity, and status and helps in giving them a voice in the decisions taken in the family as well as in the work place.
Rise of Intellectual Jobs (1980 onwards)
In the last fifty years since independence, women inIndia have witnessed a sweeping metamorphosis as far as their role in society is concerned. They have successfully surpassed the traditional view that women are incapable of taking up jobs and professions outside the home. They are going for higher education and joining universities and colleges, entering into all kinds of professions like engineering, medicine, and teaching and have become the sole bread earners of the family as well. Education undoubtedly can be regarded as the panacea for all the women atrocities because it made them independent and broad minded and change their attitudes and thinking. The introduction of thirty three percent reservation for women has given an impetus to their deplorable condition and has brought them in the same platform as their male counterparts. In many of the Indian states, where women are still very backward economically, the government has introduced reservation for them not only in the professional sector but also in colleges and universities to further their cause for education.
Improved technology, globalization and diminishing boundaries between nations have given rise to a plethora of intellectual jobs and women are certainly at an advantage as the focus has shifted from physical labor to mental labor.
The increased number of call centers and IT jobs has provided a secured working atmosphere for the women and has made them financially competent.
In summary, the factors which really helped in making the transition to the workplace for Indian women are the increased awareness on account of education, economic development, social awareness, social organizations fighting for women cause, industrialization, urbanization, disintegration of joint families, economic and technical developments, more opportunities for work, social mobility, rise of intellectual jobs and finally a welcoming change that has occurred in the attitude towards women.
Education is power and certainly a vehicle for the oppressed Indian women, to be heard in the male dominated society. Though today’s modern women are joining workforce in large numbers, the plight of plenty of women in the rural setting is heart wrenching and dismal and they are still struggling alone in their fight for justice from the clutches of their male counterpart, who can go to the lowest possible extent to dominate and oppress the women. Rural areas especially, are plagued by illiteracy and poverty, and patriarchy remains deeply entrenched. Practices such as wife beating and dowry deaths are still prevalent. Education is becoming more popular among the girls in all parts of India inclusive of villages, but the drop-out rate for girls is higher than that for boys as the girls should not be highly educated than their husbands. The major task that lies ahead of the Indian government is to increase awareness amongst the rural and poverty-stricken Indian women that education is the only relief for them if they want to lead their life happily and independently. The answer certainly is more jobs but to access them, education is the means.
On the other hand, if one ignores the nuances and tries to see the big picture, one can see Indian women going all over the place from the professions to politics and from the arts to business, the diva is in full control of her life and is competing with men in the public sphere, succeeding in their jobs, rewriting their family lives, nurturing their children and contributing to the society as well. This is the reincarnated Indian woman of today, albeit she certainly has paid a heavy price to reach to this acme of success fighting social evils and blocked minds, and her achievement is really worth mentioning. Recently, Indra Nooyi was appointed as the CEO of PepsiCo and she also ranked eleventh amongst the fifty most powerful women of the world, which is again a reflection of how Indian women are making their mark and touching new heights.
The concluding thoughts end with the well-known adage, “for every successful man, there is a woman behind”, and this paper contends, “for every prosperous nation, there are plenty of educated women behind”.
