Devesh Uniyal

20151178

Gandhi and Women

Gandhi ji had a very different view from his 19th century contemporaries when it came to the
idea and role of women in the public sphere. For Gandhi women constituted a strong force
that were necessary for the establishment of a new social order. During the 19th century the
role of women was confined to the domestic sphere and that too in relation to the household
works. So, in order to include the women into the on-going freedom struggle Gandhi
formulated a connection between the private and public life which thereby enabled the
women to break their domesticity stereotype. During his speech at the All India Women’s
Conference in 1936 Gandhi said, “When woman, whom we call abala becomes sabala, all
those who are helpless will become powerful”.1 This message given by Gandhi gives an
insight into the fact that for him women’ freedom and empowerment was of very high
importance. Rather than thinking of women to be subjected to reforms Gandhi considered
them self-sufficient and that they could shape their own destiny. Therefore, to understand
Gandhi’s take on women, one has to look into matters such as; his views on the role of
women in the Indian society and the oppressions faced by them; how Gandhi mobilized the
large number of female participants into the national movement; and then his personal
relationship with women.

Gandhi in is pursuit of inclusion of the women invoked the traditional Indian symbols of Sita
and Draupadi as an inspiration. And these characters of the Indian mythology weren’t used
by him just as the lifeless rule obeying examples but they were used so as to invoke the
qualities in marginalized women of the Indian society, which these characters possessed. In
his various speeches and texts Gandhi talked about the iron will of Sita and also about Sita
being a symbol of Swadeshi, thus also conveying an anti- imperialist message. For Gandhi
the freedom of women meant that they should be fearless. He was correct in realizing that it
was not the physical fear but it was the deep-rooted psychological weakness and the
culturally imposed helplessness that made the women downtrodden. Gandhi’s true measures
of a woman’s strength were the consciousness of her chastity. He believed that it was better
to give up life than to part ways with her chastity. He believed that ‘this dazzling purity could
1
The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, Volume LXIV, 1936-37, page 165; Gandhi on Women, Madhu
Kishwar, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XX, No. 40, October 1985, page 1691.
disarm even the most beastly men’.2 Rather than promoting the narrative of physical strength
Gandhi advocated for the upliftment of the spiritual and moral courage of the women. He
believed that physical strength could be curtailed but the spiritually and morally uplifted
women cannot be subjugated. Gandhi also emphasized upon the role of women in the
domestic setting and felt that women should assert themselves in the family life and try to
bring a change in the social order. He said “wives should not be dolls and objects of
indulgence, but should be treated as honoured comrades in common service”.3 He believed
that women must protest against being treated as just sex objects and should demand
inclusion into the other important affairs. Therefore, what can be considered as a major
contribution of Gandhi in this sphere of upliftment of women is his insistence about the
importance of purity and also the autonomy of women in the private as well as the public
setting.

In Gandhi’s eyes one of the most heinous forms of women abuse was the evil of child
marriage, which in turn was a stepping stone for another evil of child widowhood. Even
though Gandhi was a follower of the scriptures but when it came to this issue, he felt that “It
is irreligion, not religion, to give religious sanction to a brutal custom”.4 He even considered
to part ways from the religious scriptures which paved way for such an evil practice and
believed that such a practice was a danger to the nation. He believed in the practice widow
remarriage. He felt that women should also have the same freedom as that enjoyed by men
when it came to remarrying. He critiqued the growing numbers of child widows by saying,
“men have ordained perpetual widowhood for women and conferred on themselves the right
to fix marriage with another partner, on the cremation- ground itself.”5

For Gandhi the practice of prostitution was an evil that germinated from man’s lust. He
believed that it was the man’s unsatisfied lust that turned such an abhorrent crime into a
thriving profession. For Gandhi prostitution was a mutual degradation for both men and

2
Harijan, March1, 1942, C W Vol LXXV, p 338; Gandhi on Women, Madhu Kishwar, Economic and Political
Weekly, Vol. XX, No. 40, October 1985, page 1691.

3
Cited in “the role of women”, op cit, p1.
4
Young India, August 26, 1926. C W Vol XXXI, p 329-330; Gandhi on Women, Madhu Kishwar, Economic and
Political Weekly, Vol. XX, No. 40, October 1985, page 1692.

5
Navajivan, June 28, 1925. C W Vol XXVII, p 309, Gandhi on Women, Madhu Kishwar, Economic and Political
Weekly, Vol. XX, No. 40, October 1985, page 1692.
women. “Does not man, by his subtle and unscrupulous ways, first rob woman of her noblest
instinct and then make her partner in the crime committed against her?”6 He urged that
prostitution could be fought by rehabilitating the women fallen prey to such evil and this
would in turn lead to the reconstruction and purification of the nation. Even though he was
the pioneer in the inclusion of women in the national movement, Gandhi outrightly rejected
the women associated with prostitution. He considered them worse than pickpockets as they
merely stole material things but these women according to him robbed the people of their
virtues. Gandhi’s idea of womanhood revolved around becoming sisters. He felt that the
women would only be able to serve selflessly if they became sisters. And that had to be done
by giving up the love for worldly possessions and working for the upliftment of poor and
down trodden. In the process of uplifting themselves Gandhi expected them to relate to all the
oppressed people and join their cause.

What separated Gandhi from his contemporaries was the fact that he saw women as a strong
force that could help in the freedom struggle. It was during the first non- cooperation
movement in 1921, when Gandhi whole heartedly included women in the satyagraha. What
he aimed was to create a nexus between women’s internal struggles and the national
movement. But what Gandhi had realized was that there still existed certain barriers for
women, so he designed their participation in such a way that it worked through their domestic
setting. Be it the boycott of the British institutions or the Swadeshi movement, women
consciously took part in them while not defying their domestic limitation. While talking
about the advantage of women in Charkha spinning Gandhi rightly pointed out, “In spinning
women have a natural advantage over men. Spinning is essentially a slow and comparatively
silent process. Woman is embodiment of sacrifice and therefore, non-violence. Her
occupation must therefore be, as they are, more conducive to peace than war”.7 What’s
remarkable about Gandhi’s approach was that he turned women into a strong front of the
national movement even without disturbing their role in the domestic sphere. What acted as a
unifying force between the women was the narrative of Khadi. Gandhi believed that it was
the duty of the Indian women to spin the Charkha and clothe the entire India in the swadeshi
made clothes. The Indian Village textile industry that was crippled by the imperial industrial
revolution, Gandhi saw women as a reviving force for that industry. As flag bearer of the
Swadeshi movement, Sarla Devi Chaudhurani, who was the founder of Bharat Stree

6
Young India, April 16, 1925. ‘Our Unfortunate Sisters’, cited in “to the Women”, op cit, p 166-167.
7
Harijan, December 2, 1939, C W Vol LXX, p 381.
Mahamandal, wore khadi sarees to all the gatherings and even toured most part of the North
India, thus gathering more support for the Swadeshi movement. Gandhi saw her as an idol of
self-sacrifice and modern womanhood. Why Gandhi considered women as an important force
for the Swadeshi movement was because of their role of home makers. It was the women
who had the responsibility of the children and therefore, it was the women force who could
envelop the domestic setting into the Swadeshi spirit.

Gandhi believed that in order to eradicate the evil of untouchability women had to step up. As
he said, “If the Hindu heart is to be cured of the taint of untouchability, women must do the
lion’s share of the work.”8 As Gandhi believed that women were idols of purity and sacrifice,
so such a movement of self-purification would require the women come up and work for such
a noble cause. He created comparison between the sanitary duty of a mother towards her
child and the sanitary service performed by the Harijans for the society. From his personal
experiences Gandhi was aware about the importance of women in the eradication of
untouchability. In addition to untouchability, women also played a key role in combating
communalism and ensuring national integration by turning their domestic settings into
individual Satyagraha.

It was during the Salt Satyagraha and the Dandi march when women participation increased
in tremendous numbers. Initially Gandhi started with just 79 satyagrahis but as the procession
reached near Dandi, it turned into an exorbitant number of participants and a large number of
which were women. At this point women were done with playing supportive role and thus
demanded active participation in the freedom struggle. It was due to Gandhi’s strategies
which turned the traditional housebound women into the strong forces of political actions. It
was Gandhi who referred Sarojini Naidu for Congress presidentship. Non- violence being the
primary weapon of Gandhi, it ensured conditions that were favorable for the participation of
women in the freedom struggle. Moreover, Gandhi credits this quality of non-violence to his
mother and his wife. He explains how Kasturba’s passive resistance to his unreasonable
actions made him believe in non- violence and the spirit of equality.

It is therefore the dawn of Gandhi that marked a break in the traditions that confined the
women to the domestic sphere. Rather than being considered as helpless creatures, Gandhi
believed women to be a strong force in the process of asocial change. What Gandhi mainly
8
Harijan, March 9, 1934, cited in “Role of Women”, op cit, p 76
worked for a change in the social matrix. Rather than men taking the charge Gandhi
advocated for an equal environment where both men and women enjoyed equal rights. He
didn’t envision equal employment or political powers but equality of moral conditions. He
asked the women to be resistant to the unreasonable needs of their men and this self-
resistance would provide them with the power in the domestic sphere. Gandhi was among the
few leaders who brought about radical changes in the traditional structure of the Indian
society. He helped the women in achieving a higher sense of dignity in the public sphere. He
advocated for the active participation of women in the national struggle but always kept in
the mind the boundaries that women had. He designed the movements in such a way that
women were able to actively participate through their domestic sphere. From passive objects
and subjects of oppression women rose to becoming the active force in the social change and
not only for themselves but for the whole society.

REFRENCES
Gandhi on Women, Madhu Kishwar, Economic and Political Weekly, Vol. XX, No. 40, October
1985