W omen ’ s O rganisations You are already familiar with the th century social reform movements that raised various issues concerning women. Chapter had dealt with it as did the earlier book. The early 20th century saw the growth of women’s organisations at the national and the local level. The Women’s India Association (WIA) ( ), All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) ( ) and National Council for Women in India (NCWI) ( ) are ready names of organisations that we can mention.
While many of them began with a limited focus, their scope extended over time. For instance, the AIWC began with the idea that ‘women’s welfare’ and ‘politics’ were mutually exclusive. Few years later in one of the Presidential addresses it was stated, “…Can the Indian man or woman be free if India be a slave? How can we remain dumb about national freedom, the very basis of all great reforms?” (Chaudhuri : ) It can be argued that this period of activity did not constitute a social movement.
It can be argued otherwise too. Let us recall some of the features that characterise social movements. It did have organisations, ideology, leadership, a shared understanding and the aim of bringing about changes on a public issue. What they succeeded together was to create an atmosphere where the women’s question could not be ignored.