The All India Women's Conference (AIWC) is a non-governmental organisation (

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

) based in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

. It was founded in 1927 by

Margaret Cousins Margaret Elizabeth Cousins (''née'' Gillespie, also known as Gretta Cousins; 7 November 1878 – 11 March 1954) was an Irish-Indian educationist, suffragist and Theosophist, who established All India Women's Conference (AIWC) in 1927. She was ...

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 the oldest nation-wide women's rights organization in India and has branches throughout the country. It is a member of the

International Alliance of Women The International Alliance of Women (IAW; , AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international organization that campaigned for women's suff ...

History

The All India Women's Conference (AIWC) was founded in 1927 in

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

in order to promote women and children's education and social welfare.

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. The first meeting held in Poona saw 2,000 attendees who met at the Fergusson College Hall on Poona University. Most of the attendees were observers, but others were women that Cousins had brought together to help create the AIWC.

Amrit Kaur Rajkumari Dame Bibiji Amrit Kaur (''née'' Ahluwalia) DStJ (2 February 1887 – 6 February 1964) was an Indian activist and politician. Following her long-lasting association with the Indian independence movement, she was appointed the firs ...

was one of the founding members of AIWC. One of the first secretaries of AIWC was

Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (3 April 1903 – 29 October 1988) was an Indian social reformer. She has worked for the promotion of Indian handicrafts, handlooms, and theatre in independent India to uplift the socio-economic standard of Indian women ...

. Beginning in 1928, AIWC began to raise money to open the Lady Irwin College of Domestic Science. Also in 1928, the AIWC recognized that women's education couldn't be addressed properly without dealing with "harmful social customs." 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 Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative co ...

. Other issues that were tackled included giving women the right to

divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

, to inherit and to

vote Voting is the process of choosing officials or policies by casting a ballot, a document used by people to formally express their preferences. Republics and representative democracies are governments where the population chooses representative ...

. AIWC was registered in 1930 under the section XXI of

Societies Registration Act, 1860 The Societies Registration Act, 1860 is a legislation in British India which allows the registration of entities generally involved in the benefit of society – education, health, employment etc. The British Indian Empire, with a wish to enco ...

. (No. 558 of 1930). AIWC created a journal, ''Roshni'', in 1941 which was published in both

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

. The organisation was involved in lobbying

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

to pass new laws to protect women in India and also to help expand voting rights. A central office for AIWC was set up in 1946. Also in 1946, a "Skippo Committee" was set up to help provide villages with medical treatment. When India was fighting for

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

, many more radical members left the organisation in order to become "nationalist agitators." The organisation also expelled members who were associated with

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

groups in 1948.

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 Literacy is the ability to read and write, while illiteracy refers to an inability to read and write. Some researchers suggest that the study of "literacy" as a concept can be divided into two periods: the period before 1950, when literacy was ...

programmes for adult woman with craft training through its branches. AIWC also operates

microcredit Microcredit is the extension of very small loans (microloans) to impoverished borrowers who typically do not have access to traditional banking services due to a lack of collateral (finance), collateral, steady employment, and a verifiable credi ...

schemes and energy development for

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry are typically desc ...

women. AIWC has trained women in the use of solar driers for hygienically storing food. They also help women find employment, are involved in health issues and the prevention of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

Past presidents

This is a list of the past presidents of AIWC: *

Maharani Chimnabai Maharani Chimnabai II (1872 – 23 August 1958) was a queen and the second wife Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad of the princely state of Baroda, Gujarat, British India. She is the author of the treatise '' The position of Women in Indian Life'' (19 ...

, 1927 * Jahan Begum of Bhopal, 1928 * Dowager Rani of Mandi, 1929 *

Sarojini Naidu Sarojini Naidu (Birth name, née Chattopadhyay) (; 13 February 1879 – 2 March 1949) was an Indian political activist and poet who served as the first Governor of Uttar Pradesh, Governor of United Provinces, after Independence Day (India), Indi ...

, 1930 * Dr.

Muthulakshmi Reddy Muthulakshmi Reddy (also spelled Reddi in some British Indian sources; 30 July 1886 – 22 July 1968) was an Indian medical practitioner, social reformer and Padma Bhushan award recipient. Muthulakshmi Reddy was appointed to the Madras Legisl ...

, 1931 *

Sarala Roy Sarala Roy (1861-1946) was an Indian educator, feminist, and social activist. She was one of the first women to matriculate from Calcutta University, and was the first woman to be a member of the University Senate. She founded a school for girl ...

, 1932 * Lady

Vidyagauri Nilkanth Vidyagauri Nilkanth (1876-1958) was an Indian social reformer, educationist, and writer. She was also one of the first two women graduates in Gujarat. Early life Vidyagauri Nilkanth was born on 1 June 1876 in Ahmedabad. She was the daughter o ...

, 1933 *

Lady Abdul Quadir ''Lady'' is a term for a woman who behaves in a polite way. Once used to describe only women of a high social class or status, the female counterpart of lord, now it may refer to any adult woman, as gentleman can be used for men. "Lady" is al ...

, 1934 *

Hilla Rustomji Faridoonji Hilla Rustomji Faridoonji (1872–1956) was an Indian educationist and political activist. She was secretary of the Women's Education Fund Association. At the All India Women's Conference meeting in Madras in 1931–2, Faridoonji proposed the r ...

1935 * Maharani

Sethu Parvathi Bayi Moolam Thirunal Sethu Parvathi Bayi (1896–1983), better known as Amma Maharani, was the Junior Maharani (Queen) of Travancore as well as a promoter of Indian Classical music. She was the mother of Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma, the last Kin ...

, 1936 * Margaret E. Cousins, 1937 *

, 1938 * Rani

Lakshmibai Rajwade Rani Lakshmibai Rajwade (, 1887–1984) was an Indian medical doctor, feminist, and family planning advocate. She was also a suffragist and advocate for the right of women to vote in India, and presided over the All India Women's Conference as ...

, 1939 * Shareefa Hamid Ali, 1940–41 * Rameshwari Nehru, 1942 *

Vijayalakshmi Pandit Vijay Lakshmi Pandit (''née'' Swarup Nehru; 18 August 1900 – 1 December 1990) was an Indian freedom fighter, diplomat and politician. She served as the 8th President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1953 to 1954, the first woman a ...

, 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 Renuka Ray (4 January 1904 – 11 April 1997) was a noted freedom-fighter, social activist and politician of India. She was a descendant of Brahmo reformer, Nibaran Chandra Mukherjee, and daughter of Satish Chandra Mukherjee, an ICS officer ...

, 1953–54 *

Lakshmi N. Menon Lakshmi N. Menon (29 March 1899 – 30 November 1994) was an Indian freedom fighter and politician. She was Minister of State from 1962 to 1966. As delegate she held a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in December 1948 at the ad ...

, 1955–58 * Raksha Saran, 1959–60 *

Mithan Jamshed Lam Mithan Jamshed Lam (1898–1981) was an Indian lawyer, social activist and the Sheriff of Mumbai. She was the first Indian woman barrister and the first Indian woman lawyer at the Bombay High Court. She was a member of the All India Women's Co ...

, 1961–62 * Masuma Begum, 1963–64 * M.S.H.Jhabwala 1965–68 * B. Tarabai, 1969–70 * Lakshmi Raguramaiah, 1971–79 *

Sarojini Varadappan Sarojini Varadappan (21 September 1921 − 17 October 2013) was an Indian social worker from the state of Tamil Nadu. She was the daughter of former Chief Minister of Madras, M. Bhaktavatsalam. Early life Sarojini was born in Madras on 21 ...

, 1981–85 *

Ashoka Gupta Ashoka Gupta (November 1912 – 8 July 2008) was an Indian freedom fighter and social worker. She was the founder of Mahila Seva Samity, member of the All India Women's Conference and president of Indian Society for Sponsorship and Adoption. Sh ...

, 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, 2017–2019 * Sheela Kakde, 2020–2022 ABMP

Other members

* Kitty Shiva Rao * Indirabai Maydeo (Secretary 1953-54)

References

Citations

Sources

* *

External links

AIWC Official Website
{{Authority control 1927 establishments in India Liberal feminist organizations Women's organisations based in India Organisations based in Delhi Organizations established in 1927 Women's conferences 1927 in women's history