Social Reform movement and Women,

 Concept of Social Reform movement

According to Herbert bloomer, a social movement is a collective effort to bring about a new system in some field of life. It is born from the dissatisfaction that emerges from the prevalent situation, and it is born from the expectation of a new social system taking its place. A movement is a pressure created by people in order to bring about social change.

According to Smelser, "Collective movements refer to collective efforts to modify norms and values, which frequently (but not always) developed over longer period of time."

 Points Related to Social  Movement 

All social movements are the result of collective action and efforts, but it is not necessary that all collective efforts would be able to lead a social movement.

A social movement may lead to or inspire are revolution.

A social movement is generally inspired by relieving people or its members from some evil or other specific goals.

 These movements include in them only certain classes of the society, and their influence can be seen on certain sections of the society, and generally, their consequence is the manifestation of change.

Women movements in India

In India, women movements started in the 19th century as a social reform movement. When the western concepts of freedom, equality and brotherhood, started to spread in the elite classes through the English language, it led to raising of questions retaining to women, and thus, started the work of spreading awareness about women's condition. If we look at the Indian perspectives, we find that here the movements are quite weaker when compared with the movements in the Western and European civilization concerning the issues opposing patriarchy as well as gender injustice.  In fact, expression against patriarchy has been quite week in India. Some voices of discontent can be felt in the articles written by women in the 18th century, yet there cannot be seen any active opposition or revellion about them. The women try to go against the patriarchal system of the society by participating in the bhakti movement. Of course, in the 19th century, women expressed themselves against patriarchal concepts, but this awareness could not transform itself into open and organize struggle for existence and livelihood. Of course, the voices against injustice being meted out to women could be seen everywhere.

Women movements in India can be classified into three waves. The first wave was seen during the 19th century and the freedom movement, and by the middle of the 20th century, women took active part in the freedom movement. By the end of 1960s, we can see a paradigm jump in the political activism, and it can be seen by as the second wave. By the end of the 1970s, its third wave was created whose focus point was women empowerment.

Pre- Independence Women Movments in India

First Wave of Women Movements

We can find from diverse political, religious, social, literary and cultural articles, folk songs and folk tales as well as sayings that women have been in subordination since the very beginning,  though some voices of a opposition have been raised at different times. The India history is replete with several such instances in which women raised boys against the established system, such as Razia Sultan, Rani Lakshmi Bai, Ahilyabai Holkar, Muktabai and others. In each Era, women have tried to break away the slavery bonds.  Women of different races and castes took part in bhakti movements. Several saints and seers too came forward for equality of men and women. The bhakti movement was a movement which was free from Gender and caste discrimination.  Akkam Mahadevi and Janki became chief poetesses.  The saints and seers of the bhakti movement created much literature in regional and local languages and dialects and they worshipped gods as well as goddesses together, and such as Lakshmi-Narayan, Krishna- Radha,  Vishnu-Lakshmi and so on.

Some Social Reformers who work for Women's progress 

Raja Ram Mohan Roy

The first public debate to educate women was started by the Atmiya Sabha, founded by Raja Ram Mohan Roy, in 1815 in Bengal. The same year, he assailed the Sati custom and wrote the first article on it in the Bengali language. Raja Ram Mohan Roy was the first to raise voice against the Sati custom and it was owing to his potent  opposition to it that lord William Bentinck passed the Sati abolition Act, 1829. He wrote his book, A Conference between an Advocate for and an Opponent to the Practice of Burning Widows Alive, written in 1815, when upon his brothers death, his wife was forced into the burning pyre.

The Sati movement progressed as a cause for improving women's condition, while the second cause was women's education.

Development of Women's Education

The girls schools were first started by the English and Christian Missionaries in 1810.

The first book in Bengali language was written in 1819 which concerned women's education, it was written by an Indian named GurumohanVidyalankar, and it was published by the Kanya Bal Samiti.

Until 1827, the missionaries started 12 girls school in the Hooghli district.

 A year later, the Ladies Society for Native Female Education in Calcutta and its vicinity opened school which were run by Miss Cook.

Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar

Hey drew attention of people towards the problem of widow remarriage and thus worked on improving the condition of widows. He ran a movement in 1850 to eradicate the prohibition imposed on widow remarriage, and also published a book in Bengali which claim that widow remarriage was in consonance with the holy scriptures.  In 1856, the Widow Remarriage Act was passed.

Justice Mahadev Govind Ranade

He founded an Indian organisation, called the National Social Conference, to carry forward the social reform movement. It was the first national organisation to run the social reform movement in an organised way and to provide it a momentum. It earnestly raised the issues of widow remarriage. Hee was ordered by Shankaracharya in 1869 to attend the first widow remarriage ceremony. Ranade also worked for women education. He and his wife opened a girl school in 1884.

Maharshi Karve

He too worked in the field of improving the condition of widows, and revived the widow remarriage organisation, and also started the Hindu Widow Home. He worked for spread of education among girls as well as widows.  In order to establish a role model, he married a widow after his wife death. 

Swami Dayanand

He setup the Arya Samaj. He believed in the equality of men and women. He advocated for women education for 16 years and set up a number of educational institutions.

Swami Vivekanand

Stressing the need for women education, he said that educated women would be able to resolve their problems emphatically. He also opposed early marriage of girls. According to him, a woman should distance herself from the conventional Anti-social institutions, and they should be taught the lessons of freedom and equality he also explored the historical causes for decline in women's standard, and laid stress on the need for eradication of their social subordination. He described women education as necessary not only for themselves but for the whole country's progress. 

As a result of social reform movements, several institutions and organisation's were set up. They spread their work all over the country. The institutions established during this period were as follows:

The Gujarat Vernacular Society

This society was set up in 1848, its aim was to eradicate illiteracy and orthodoxy prevalent in Gujarati community, it worked on social reforms linked with women and their education. It established a number of co-education schools and it also published several issues concerning women. It provided women a stage for raising their problems, and also organised lecture contests.

The Deccan Education Society

This society was set up in 1884. It opened girls schools in Maharashtra and encourage their education. 

Ramkrishna Mission

It was set up in 1897. It opened homes or refuge centres for widows and girls.  It also supported helpless and caste away women, and trained women in midwifery and post-natal courses.

Arya Samaj

It started a revival organisation, but it did commendable work in the field of women education. It included home science, domestic matters and fine arts in the curriculum of girls,  and it also included religious education as well as rituals for women. It also gave refuge to troubled women. From the letter half of 1980s, it started to open a number of girl schools with the help of elite Arya Samajists, yet they entertained different views when it came to higher education for women. 

Hingne Women's Education Institution

It was started in 1896 with an aim to impart education to unmarried. Married and widow women. Small girls were trained in several fields in order to check child marriage. It trained married women in several skills to run their homely life well. Widows were trained to become financially self dependent. 

SNDT Women University

It was set up with the goal of imparting education in mother tongue as well as higher education.

Seva Sadan

It was founded in 1908 with an aim to bring the intellectual women of different communities on a common platform, so that they could work for the uplift of backward women. In it, children and poor women were provided medical facilities. It also set up homes for helpless women and children.

Indian National Social Conference

Some prominent issues that this organisation raised s included child marriage,  polygamy and widow remarriage. It also worked on the issue of women education.

All India Women Conference

Its chief aim was to realize the goals of women education as well as social reform. Tt's aim included general progress of women and children. It passed several resolutions to uplift women's condition and also worked for eradication of child marriage, polygamy and divorce. It advocated equal rights for women. It also raise the issue of working conditions of women. It also raised the issue of trafficking of women and children, and also raise the problem of Devdasi.

Sharda Sadan

The Sharda Sadan was set up in Bombay in 1889 by Pandita Ramabai. It was a residential co-education school, and it was the first widow home in Maharashtra in 1882, the Government of India constituted a commission to study the situation of Indian education, in which ramabai suggested that teacher should be trained and inspectors for women college's should be appointed.  Besides, she laid on compulsory appointment of women's doctor.