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.
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.[5]Amrit Kaur was one of the founding members of AIWC.[6] One of the first secretaries of AIWC was Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay.[7]
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."[8] 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.[9] Other issues that were tackled included giving women the right to divorce, to inherit and to vote.[10]
AIWC was registered in 1930 under the section XXI of Societies Registration Act, 1860. (No. 558 of 1930).[11] AIWC created a journal, Roshni, in 1941 which was published in both English and Hindi.[12][13] The organisation was involved in lobbying Parliament to pass new laws to protect women in India and also to help expand voting rights.[14][15] A central office for AIWC was set up in 1946.[12] Also in 1946, a "Skippo Committee" was set up to help provide villages with medical treatment.[16] 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.[17]
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.[18][19] AIWC also operates microcredit schemes and energy development for rural women.[10] AIWC has trained women in the use of solar driers for hygienically storing food.[20] They also help women find employment, are involved in health issues and the prevention of human trafficking.[10]
Past presidents
This is a list of the past presidents of AIWC:[21]
^"All India Women's Conference". Women's International Network News. Vol. 23, no. 1. Winter 1997. p. 56. Retrieved 17 April 2018 – via EBSCOhost.
^Nair, Usha. (PDF). AIWC. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
^"All-India Women's Conference". The Guardian. 5 February 1938. Retrieved 17 April 2018 – via Newspapers.com.
^ abcdKumar, Radha (1997). The History of Doing: An Illustrated Account of Movements for Women's Rights and Feminism in India 1800-1990. New Delhi: Zubaan. pp. 68–69. ISBN9788185107769.
^Omvedt, Gail (1975). "Rural Origins of Women's Liberation in India". Social Scientist. 4 (4/5): 45. doi:10.2307/3516120. JSTOR 3516120.
^. Asha for Education. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
^Choudhury, Nilanjana Ghosh (22 February 2005). . The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
^. The New Indian Express. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 17 April 2018.
^. AIWC: All India Women's Conference. Archived from the original on 19 March 2014. Retrieved 19 March 2014.
^Horn, Elija (2018). New Education, Indophilia and Women’s Activism: Indo-German Entanglements, 1920s to 1940s(PDF). Humboldt University of Berlin: Südasien-Chronik. ISBN978-3-86004-337-0.
Sources
AIWC (1953). The All-India Women's Conference: Silver Jubilee Session. New Delhi: The All India Women's Conference.
Forbes, Geraldine (1996). Women in Modern India. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN9780521268127.
External links
AIWC Official Website
April 13, 2023
india, women, conference, aiwc, governmental, organisation, based, delhi, founded, 1927, margaret, cousins, order, improve, educational, efforts, women, children, expanded, scope, also, tackle, other, women, rights, issues, organisation, oldest, women, groups,. 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 All India Women s ConferenceFounded1927FounderMargaret CousinsTypeCommunity serviceLocationIndiaArea servedShelter amp Rehabilitation for Women in Distress Home for Orphans amp Destitute Children Old Age home for WomenKey peopleSheela Kakde President Websitewww wbr aiwc wbr org wbr in Contents 1 History 2 Activities and programmes 3 Past presidents 4 Other members 5 See also 6 References 6 1 Citations 6 2 Sources 7 External linksHistory EditThe 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 5 Amrit Kaur was one of the founding members of AIWC 6 One of the first secretaries of AIWC was Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay 7 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 8 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 9 Other issues that were tackled included giving women the right to divorce to inherit and to vote 10 AIWC was registered in 1930 under the section XXI of Societies Registration Act 1860 No 558 of 1930 11 AIWC created a journal Roshni in 1941 which was published in both English and Hindi 12 13 The organisation was involved in lobbying Parliament to pass new laws to protect women in India and also to help expand voting rights 14 15 A central office for AIWC was set up in 1946 12 Also in 1946 a Skippo Committee was set up to help provide villages with medical treatment 16 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 17 Activities and programmes EditOne 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 18 19 AIWC also operates microcredit schemes and energy development for rural women 10 AIWC has trained women in the use of solar driers for hygienically storing food 20 They also help women find employment are involved in health issues and the prevention of human trafficking 10 Past presidents EditThis is a list of the past presidents of AIWC 21 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 2016 2020 Sheela Kakde 2020 presentOther members EditKitty Shiva Rao 22 See also EditList of women s rights organisationsReferences EditCitations Edit All India Women s Conference Women s International Network News Vol 23 no 1 Winter 1997 p 56 Retrieved 17 April 2018 via EBSCOhost Nair Usha AIWC at a Glance The First Twenty Five Years 1927 1952 PDF AIWC Archived from the original PDF on 17 April 2018 Retrieved 17 April 2018 All India Women s Conference The Guardian 5 February 1938 Retrieved 17 April 2018 via Newspapers com a b c d Kumar Radha 1997 The History of Doing An Illustrated Account of Movements for Women s Rights and Feminism in India 1800 1990 New Delhi Zubaan pp 68 69 ISBN 9788185107769 Forbes 1996 p 79 Pal Sanchari 5 March 2018 The Princess Who Built AIIMS Remembering India s First Health Minister Amrit Kaur The Better India Archived from the original on 17 April 2018 Retrieved 17 April 2018 Vaidehi 26 October 2017 A voice for women The Hindu ISSN 0971 751X Retrieved 17 April 2018 Forbes 1996 p 80 Aerts Mieke 2015 Gender and Activism Women s Voices in Political Debate Amsterdam Uitgeverij Verloren p 40 ISBN 9789087045579 a b c Lodhia Sharmila All India Women s Conference Description History amp Work Encyclopedia Britannica Retrieved 17 April 2018 History AIWC All India Women s Conference Archived from the original on 17 April 2018 Retrieved 17 April 2018 a b Forbes 1996 p 82 AIWC 1953 p 12 Bone Pamela 9 February 1990 Choosing Life Over Death The Age Retrieved 17 April 2018 via Newspapers com Maffett M L 14 March 1940 Modern Women The Springville Herald Retrieved 17 April 2018 via Newspapers com AIWC 1953 p 16 Omvedt Gail 1975 Rural Origins of Women s Liberation in India Social Scientist 4 4 5 45 doi 10 2307 3516120 JSTOR 3516120 Project Details Asha for Education Archived from the original on 3 March 2016 Retrieved 17 April 2018 Choudhury Nilanjana Ghosh 22 February 2005 Hope Afloat for Special Tots Making That Vital Difference The Telegraph Archived from the original on 23 October 2012 Retrieved 17 April 2018 Now healthy and storable solar dried food The New Indian Express 21 March 2018 Archived from the original on 17 April 2018 Retrieved 17 April 2018 Past Presidents AIWC All India Women s Conference Archived from the original on 19 March 2014 Retrieved 19 March 2014 Horn Elija 2018 New Education Indophilia and Women s Activism Indo German Entanglements 1920s to 1940s PDF Humboldt University of Berlin Sudasien Chronik ISBN 978 3 86004 337 0 Sources Edit AIWC 1953 The All India Women s Conference Silver Jubilee Session New Delhi The All India Women s Conference Forbes Geraldine 1996 Women in Modern India Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 9780521268127 External links EditAIWC Official Website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title All India Women 27s Conference amp oldid 1135372692, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
