Gandhi's Vital Roles in the Abolition of Women Inequality; 9/5 - 4:55pm

Gandi's Vital Roles in the Abolition of Women Inequality

John W. Johnston

9/5/2008

4:55:00PM

An article written by Jyotsna Kamat describes early Indian life, the process that Ghandiji and Ghandi took in altering this present Indian life, and the current growing status of Indian life presently.

First, he starts off describing the status of women at the turn of the 20th century. There was a high mortality rate of women, as the expected life of females was only twenty-seven. This was largely due in part to early marriage and teen pregnancy, something the two reformers sought to change. Also in this time, women were in complete subordination to the man, meaning that they were solely dependent on her husband for every aspect of life. This was something Ghandiji and Ghandi both felt was not moral. Women were expected to be the servants of the household, as most women were ignorant and unable to read.

He goes on to describe the increasing equality seen in women throughout the twentieth century. The women were introduced to social responsibilities outside of the kitchen, including jobs and responsibilities outside the family, such as public jobs. Men and women were now having joint births, with the man having a part in the birth instead of being completely absent. Ghandi and Ghandiji also wanted to reform the widow status of women that had been portrayed for years. If a women became a widow, she lost almost every right that she did have. Finally, he describes his disapproval for the roles of temple women being prostitutes and the overall status of women in every aspect of life.

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The article written by Kamat is extremely well written and informative for the information he is trying to portray. The role of women as equals in society is something that is catching on, even in underdeveloped countries, and it is well needed. Women have proven time and time again to be dominating forces in the public eye. They can be persuasive, emotional, yet all the while offering sound, unbiased advice based on intellect. The reason that women do not exhibit this behavior, especially in underdeveloped countries, is because they have never been shown that they can. It's like the experiment that if a society does not know a word for stutter, they do not stutter. If a women doesn't know that she is able and fully capable of offering her advice in well-needed situations, she will never do so, much less know that she is able to.
The only startling piece of information written in this article was at the very bottom, where Kamat described his concern that India may be drifting away from these practices and going back to the "old ways". I agree with Kamat whole-heartedly in the fact that this younger generation, hopefully being taught some of these ways, will take up Ghandi's work and ideas and perpetuate them so that they continue to offer women a place, well-deserved, in the society that she exists.

http://www.kamat.com/mmgandhi/gwomen.htm