N OTE

P UB ! I S H E R S

TH E make r s of h istory have no time to b e

writers of i t till afte r wa r d s T h e aut hor of
.

this book i s so busily engaged in o n e depart

ment o f histo r y making in In di a th at it h a s
-

taken t h e publishers two yea r s to get t he

materials for it f r om her H er duties a s Joint
.

S ec r eta r y o f the W omen s I n dian A ssociation
call her to places as far apart as K arach i a n d
M a n dalay i n the disinterested a nd lovin g
service o f he r sisters to w hic h sh e ha s devoted
he r life A t the same time sh e h as h ad to
.

fulfil o ver e x ten ded periods th e duties o f E ditor

!

p ro te m o f Stri D harma th e m onthly org an

,

o f The W omen s I ndia n A ssociation and th e

n o n sectarian feminist m ovemen t in In dia

-
.

T he contents o f th is book ha ve therefo r e , ,

come into e x istence n o t a s cold reminiscent

,

history but a s livin g an d im mediate despatch es

,

in the fo r m o f newspape r and magazine articles

w r itte n du r i n g th e cam p aig n i n I n dia f o r t h e
 vi

brin ging o f t he d irect power of women into all

departments o f public life Th is campaign .

began wit h the d eman d for the leg islative

franc hise by t h e A ll In dia W omen s D eputation
-

t o the Viceroy and t he S ecretary o f S tate in

1 9 1 7 and h a s been amazin gly thoug h not yet
, ,

completely successful Beh ind this demand

, .

for th e vote as a symbol o f free citizenship lay

the prin ciple of freedom for women to vote o r
not to vote to c o o perate o r t o n o n co operate
,
- - -
,

as th ey chose Th is i s th e centre point of all

.
-

M rs Cousin s self renouncin g work It applies
.
-
.

to all purely national movements and yet a s , ,

work for woman a s woman k nows no frontiers , .

F or this reason M rs Cousin s has laboured for

, .

t he sacred cause o f purifying th e world t hrou g h

t he free power o f woman hood wit h equal zeal
in Ireland a nd E n glan d ( in both o f wh ich
places s h e suffere d im prisonment fo r the
cause ) in I ndia an d in Burma
, .

I t i s plain h owe v er from this book th at

, , ,

I ndi a n womanhood has won a special place in

t h e author s h eart ; and th ose who h ave
observed M rs Cousi n s moving among her
.

I ndian sisters have expres sed t heir admiration

fo r her p owe r of identifyin g h e rg e l f with
 vii

t h ei r lives even despite lin guistic d ifficulties ,

and of unobtrusively in spirin g t he m to

u nwonte d activities H er reward is the
.

wa r m affection o f I nd ian women o f all ranks

all over t he count r y w h o h ave r esponded to
,

her lofty sincerity an d to her e nthu siastic

practical idealis m which step s wit hout i n c o n
g ru i ty from argument c r iticism
, o r p ersuasion
on the p ublic platform to th e floor o n whic h
s h e teac hes arts and crafts ( wh ich s h e learned

for th e purpose ) to I ndian girls an d women

a s a mean s o f creative expressio n an d social
amenity .

T his book the publishers believe will be

, ,

t r easure d by many the world over not only

fo r its record of o ne p hase o f t h e comple x

struggle fo r In dia s freedom but for its ,

declaration o f u niversal and everlasting

principles concernin g wom an hood for its illu ,

m i n a ti n g c haracter analysis o f A sian women

-

in general an d its intimate appreciation i n

particular o f three o f I ndia s most notable

women o f today .

T he chapters o f this book have appeared

a s articles in T he Times o f India N ew ,
!

!
Stri D harma
!
India, Tomorrow
, an d ,
!
 8 0

V I1 1

B r itain a nd I ndia W here necessa r y ,

permissi o n has b ee n obtain e d fo r th e iri n c l u s i o n ,

fo r w hich th e publish e r s express thei r tha n k s .

 CO N TE N T S

CH AP . PA G E

I . Th e Awa k e n in g of A si a n W o m a n h o o d 1
II . I n d i a n W o m a n h o o d A N a ti o n a l A ss e t 17
III .

I nd i a n M a rri a g e A ct ua l a n d I d e a l 27
IV . I nd i a n W o m e n a n d F re e d o m 50
V . T h e So ut h b o ro ug h F ra n c h is e C o m m it
t e e s R e p o rt

61
VI .

Suf f ra g e D e b a t e s A St ud y i n C o n t ra sts 73
VI I . I n dia n W om a n h o od Tod a y 84
VII I . Sh ri m a ti R a m a b a i R a n a d e 1 07
I! . Sh ri m a ti Sa ro ii n i N a idu 1 16
! . Sh ri m a ti A b a l a B o s e 1 27
! I . B u rm e s e M i n ia t u re s 1 36
! II . C h a ra ct e ri stics o f A si a n W o m a n h o o d 1 45
 CH A PTE R I

T H E AW A K E N IN G O F A SIA N
W O M A N H OO D

N O T W I T H ST A N D I NG th e i m men se exten t of
th e contin e nt of A s i a a nd th e gre at number
,

an d variety o f t h e ra ces in habit i n g i t it i s very

,

remarkable how from t i m e to time it respond s

, ,

a s one entity to a single well defined current

-

of thoug ht H istory show s u s h ow a wave o f

.

relig i ou s revival h as s wept over it from end

to end at o n e time a wave of artistic e xpres
,

sion at another time of political wea kn ess a t

,

st i ll anot her ; an d a t th e presen t time t h ere i s

risin g in t he hearts o f A sian womanh ood a
mig hty wa ve of d esire for freedom .

F r o m Palestin e to Japan i t d isplays itsel f .

I t w h ispers i ts presenc e a mon g st t h e

M oslem women ; i t sh outs o f itself alon g th e
s t reets o f Can t on ; and it win s it s v i c tory in
S ou t h I ndia . E verywhere t here is a s hakin g
2 T H E AWA K E N I NG OF A S IA N WO MA NHOO D

off of
sh ackle s a nd everywh ere it i s from
w i th i n th a t th e effort come s to get r i d of them .

I t is not W estern ers wh o a re c om i n g alon g

and from outside strik i ng o f f fetters N o !
, , .

the women of A sia are of th eir own i nit i at i ve

, ,

an d t hroug h t heir own growin g surge of

desire for self expression pressing a gain st
-
,

t heir barriers and break in g t hem down .

People hard ly realise how mu c h activity is

going on in t hese direction s Th e feeling
.

shows itself in d iffere nt ways in different

countries I n o n e plac e women rebel a gainst
.

veils ; in a nother country o r part of a country

, ,

th ey begin to mak e u s e of umbrellas and

sandals ; in a nother th ey reb el a gain st th e
bind ing o f t he feet ; i n oth ers they ask for
e ducational facilities o r for pol it ical recog nition .

I ntercom mun i c ation between th e various

countries of A sia i s comparatively small .

The I nd i an woman a s a rule kn ows muc h

, ,

more about t h e wo men o f Brita i n or A merica ,

t housand s o f miles away from her t h an o f ,

t he Ch i ne s e women wh o are her next door -

n eighbour s . Y et a fa i r a mount of i nformat i on

h a s been gleaned from var i ous sources by th e
W omen s I nd i a n As sociation about the details

T H E AWA K E N I NG OF A S I A N WOMANH OOD 3

of th e growin g fem i nist movement in A sia ,

an d progres s ive men a nd women e verywhere

will n o d ou b t be g lad to h ave i t brough t to
t he i r notice in a collected form .

Re v iewin g b roadly t h e people s w h i c h

comprise A sian woman hood t he c h i ef ar e
,

the M uham mada n t h e Jewis h t he I ndian

, , ,

the Burmese the C hinese an d th e Japanese

, , .

A mon gst the M u ha mmadan wom en whether ,

of A sia M inor A ra b ia Persia Turkista n

, , , ,

or I ndia t he sti r rin gs o f a n ew life are

,

discernible t he moveme nt for remo vin g

,

veils b ein g s o stron g in Tehera n a mong t he

Persian wome n t ha t a deputation of well
kn own women waited some time ag o o n th eir
Prime M inister to request h i m to h elp them in
t heir attempts at e man cipation Th e A rm e .

n ia n women ha ve volunteered to f i ll a d m i n i s
tra ti v e posts i n order to relea se th e i r m en f o r
a ct i ve military service in an army whic h t he
A rmen i an s have m obilised to oppose t he
Turks T h e Republic o f A rmenia has been
.

the first to appo i n t a woma n as a C o n s u l ,

having constituted an A rmen i an w i dow i ts

Consul to t he E mpire of Japan S o advanced i s
.

education for women an d girls i n A fg hanista n

4 T H E AWA K E N I NG O F A S I AN WOMAN HOOD

th at a W omen s Univers i ty for th e study
o f medicine h as been built in K abul an d h as ,

f i ve h und red women students in attendance .

T he Turk ish women h ave been forced o u t of

t heir very strict man i a /1 by th e rigo u rs and
hardsh ips of war a n d th e poor thin g s are n ow
,

in a very deplorable state preliminary d oubt

,

less to a freer life in th e future .

T we n ty fi v e wom en representatives of dif

f e re n t countries in the N ear an d M iddle E ast
a t tend ed a W orld Con feren ce of Com munist
W omen at M osco w in 1 9 2 1 . T he pre s ence of
t h e se A sian women wh o h a d surmounted
,

al m ost in credible difficulties in j ourneying

t hither created a very profou nd impression
, .

O ne of the m T u rs u m Baya a member of th e

, ,

E xecutive Co m mittee of t he S o v iet Republic o f

Turkistan replied to g reeting s o n their behalf
,

as follows : I greet t he I n ternational

W omen s Conferen ce from t he women o f
Turkistan The strug gle o f th e Ru ss i an p ro
.

l e ta ri a t has O pe n ed t he doors to t he women of

t he E ast We who h a ve been slaves of sl ave s
.

are n ow enter i n g a life o f freed om W e j o i n

.

!
h a nds with you in a com mon cause Th e
.

Conference mad e a great i mpression in E urope .

T H E AW A K E N I NG or A S I AN WOMA NH OOD 5

The wo m en in Palest i n e h a ve started a

Jewish W omen s E qual Rig h ts A ssociation to
com b at the pos s ibility o f wome n bein g subj ecte d
to th e au thori t y of th e Rabb i nical Courts
cour t s whic h apparently scarcely recog nise th at
a woman h as a separa te e x i sten ce at all .

A ccording to th e orthodox Jewish teac hin g a ,

woman c a nnot be a wi t n ess o r the guard ia n

,

o f h er c hildre n nor can s h e in herit o r ow n her

, ,

own earn ing s S he re main s all h er life under

.

th e tutela ge o f h er fa ther h usband o r brot her

,
.

T he Je wish wo men h a ve sent forward a

m emora n dum to t h e G overn men t prayi n g th at
th ey may not h a ve t o co m e un der t he j u ri s d i c
tion o f t hese courts a s t hey can n ot submit t o
suc h a degrad ation .

Turnin g t hen to I n d i a one find s t hat

, ,

t houg h t he pe r ce nta ge of educa t io n is appal

l i n g l y lo w t he tradit i o n o f Ind ia n law leaves
,

women very free to take a ny po sitio n f o r

wh ic h th ey Sh ow t he mselve s ca pable .No
I ndian p olitica l o r g anisation s were a t any
time closed to women .W omen have at
e very stage of I ndia n history taken h igh

position s i n t h eir cou ntry s public service .

S prin g in g from th eir religiou s philosop h y

6 T H E AWA K EN I NG OF A S I A N WO MANH OO D

t here is fundamentally a bel i ef in sex equality ,

a nd th is sh ow s itself when critical period s

dema n d it Th i s has been clearly sh own
.

during t he move men t of the past ten years fo r

self govern ment
- W o men h ave h ad t h eir
.

share in all th e local Co n ferenc es and in th e

N ational Con gre ss N o o n e w h o wa s present
.

can easily forget t he sig h t of th e platform at th e

Calcut ta Congress of 1 9 1 7 w h en th ree women
leaders M rs A nnie B esant Pre sident of th e
, .
,

Con gress M rs Sa ro j i n i N aidu representat i ve

, .
,

of th e H indu women an d Bibi A mm an , ,

mother of the A li brothers and representati v e

of t he M u slim wo men sat side by side , ,

p eeresses of suc h men leaders [ also present ] a s

-

T i lak G and h i an d Tagore an d receivin g e qual

, ,

h onour with them .

D urin g all t his time t he m en o f th e I ndian

,

nation dema n ded that whatever r i g ht s o f

self government were gra nted to them should
-

be applicable to wo m en also an d this b i g ,

hu ma n principle h as bee n turned i nto effec t b y

t he m i n the local Cou ncils over whic h t hey
h ave ga i n ed control I n t h e B ombay and
.

M ad ra s Presidenc i e s women h ave the M unici

pal an d Local Board s vote and t h ey exercise ,
8 T H E A WA K E N I NG o r A S IA N WOMA N H OO D

comp ulsory a nd h as exte n ded i ts period o f

years t he future of I nd i a w i ll be rosy indeed
,
.

A n incide nt will illustrate th e sp irit of th e

ne w life i n women W h en a group o f
.

M u h am mad an wome n wen t recen tly to v ote

at a S ou th I ndian M unic ipal ele ction th oug h
,

a spe ci al pollin g boo t h h ad been arran g ed for

women w i t h a woma n registrar o f votes ,

these wome n w ould n o t be content until th e

m ale s uperinte ndent of th e pollin g stat i o n
came a nd personally guara nteed that t heir
votes were leg itim a te and wo u ld be effect i ve
for t heir ca nd id ate
T h e N on c o operation mo ve me nt is play i ng
- -

a large part in the awakenin g of I ndian women .

Th e wives o f imprisoned leaders become

th e msel v es lead ers an d public s peakers ,

Presidents of Confere nces orga nisers of

,

meeting s etc
,
. Large nu mb ers o f women are
collectors for t he fund s of th e movement ,

an d everywh ere wo men en coura ge i n al l ways

its policy o f me m a nu facture] .

It is qu i te p ro b a b one day th e women

o f I nd ia will lead t he wom e n o f th e E a st in
all publ i c move men ts a s t hey are th e fi rs t to
,

ge t their hand s o n th e hel m of go vernment .

T H E AWA K E N I NG or A S I AN WO MA N HOO D 9

T he Burmese women a re possibly t he

freest women i n th e E ast taken all round, .

T hey ha v e th e bu sin ess of th e country almost

entirely in t heir own hand s and t he stand ard
,

o f female education is also very h ig h a mon g st

th em T hey are fettered by neit h er caste
.

sy stem pa r a/( 2 h n o r early marr i a ge T h e

, .

Burmese Leg i slative Coun c i l unanimously

requested th e British Parlia men t to include
woman fran c hise i n its B ill for Reformed
Burmese G o vern me nt .

I n C hina wome n a re de c i dedly awak e .

T he F ar E astern pre ss reported th at o n M arc h

3 0 1 9 2 1 o ver a t h ousa nd mili t a nt suffrage tte s
, ,

h eld a meetin g in Ca nton to discuss pl a ns for

'

securin g e quality o f t h e sexe s The meetin g

.

wa s o f th e m ost en thu sia stic c haracter T h e .

hall wa s decorated w ith scrolls inscribed

E qualit y of t he se xe s ! G ive u s th e vote '

!
W o man S uffr a g e for Ch ina ! F rom t h is
meetin g a parade of over 7 00 women m arched
t hrough th e streets to t h e a ccompani men t of
son g s and i n vad in g th e Canton Provincial
, ,

A s s embly wh i ch wa s d iscussin g a bill f o r t h e

,

elect i on o f d istrict ma gistra tes demanded th e

,

addition o f a clause gran tin g women the rig ht

10 T H E AW A K EN I NG 0F A S I A N WO MAN HOOD

to vote Th e A s s e mbly w a s at on c e thrown

.

i n t o d i sorder a nd t h e wo me n underwent som e

,

roug h treatment A fter th e uproar ha d

.

s u b sided t h e wom e n h a d a n aud ien ce wit h

,

t he Pr i me M inister a nd l ater wit h t h e c hief

,

o f th e M ilitary G overn ment bot h o f whom ,

p romised to h elp t h e m to attain t heir obj ect .

Later news i n form s u s th at t h e motion failed

to g ain a m aj ority w h en it was subsequently
i ntroduced into t he A sse mbly W e may .

t h erefore e xpect to hear more of t h e agitat i on

of th ese ea ger h ard work in g an d pract i cal
,
-

women A n oth er n otable feature o f C hin e se

.

p rogress is t he fact t hat t here are hundred s of .

Ch inese women doctors C h ristia n converts ,

wh o h ave t aken o u t t h eir d i ploma s in A merica ,

a country to w h ic h a large p roportion of the

i ntellige nt g i rl s o f C h i na g o for t heir
education .

H ere are th e words o f a K orean woman

w h o i s believed to be th e first e ver to ha ve .

entered public affairs : F o r t he past four
!
t h ou sand years she said
, t h e women of ,

K orea have been forced to stay at h ome a n d

l ook after th e c h ildren N ow th e broad curren t
.

of p rogressive i dea s s weep in g t h e world ha s

T H E AW A K E N I NG or A S I AN W OMA NH OOD 11

reached i nto t he most secluded corn er of o u r

land an d the time h a s com e f o r th e women o f
,

K orea to a waken a nd to p lay th e i r part in th e

!
general social welfare .

E vents ha ve march ed s o qui c kly in th e

Land o f t he Risin g S un that o n e is n ot s u r
prised to read o f th e large n umber o f Japanes e
women who are tram conductors typ ists , ,

d etectives clerk s teac hers and pu b lic enter

, , ,

ta i n e rs t here But wh ile n inety per cent o f th e

.

girls g ot a good education women had n o ,

political rig h ts T hey were only allowed to

.

listen to t he proceed in g s i n t h e D iet a nd quit e ,

a large number did so Th ey were n o t allowed

.

to form a ny kin d of political association o r

t o becom e me mbers of any m en s political

society A strong agita t ion arose recently le d

.
,

by th e University women aga i nst th ese unj us t

,

a nd arbitrary limitations A largely signed .

p etition wa s presented to th e D iet i n 1 9 2 1 an d

w i th mu c h lobbyin g o f t h e M embers resul ted
i n the i ntroduction of a Bill i nto the lowe r
H ou se of Represen tatives for th e removal of
th ese pro hib i tions To th e d el i g ht of a l l t h i s
.
,

passed w i t h a large maj ority H opes ra n h i gh .

,

only ala s to be dashed to t he grou nd w h en th e

,
12 T H E AW A K E N I NG OF A S I A N WO MAN HOO D

B i ll we n t for ra t ificat ion to t h e H ouse of Peers .

A n i nflue ntial member Baro n F u j im a ru took

, ,

a reactionary view o f t h e mat t er an d carried

t h e Peers with him in h is content i o n that
s uc h a Bill would jeopardise t he possibility of

t h e Japane s e wo m en bein g good wive s a nd
!
mothers The Bill failed to get a major i ty
.
,

a nd the women suffered a grea t d isappoint

m en t Bu t th e re verse made t h e m m ore deter
.

m ined than ever to win their freedom and ,

they organised su ch a vigorou s campaign o f

p rotest a n d o f education o f t h e Peers t hat a year
l a t er [ 1 9 22 ] t hey won the righ t to form political
s ocieties and t o atten d political meeting s .

Japan is th e only A sian country where th e

w omen are showin g a stron g international
spirit . Th ey h ave started a b ra nch of t he

I nternational W omen s League for F reedom
a nd Peace T h ey are al so sh owin g special
.

i nterest i n all efforts toward s disarmament .

A nother i mporta n t sid e o f th eir eman cipat i on

i s the organisi n g o f t h e millio n o dd wom en
-

factory workers into W omen s Trades Union s .

I n t h i s they are far a h ead of a ny E astern country .

F inal ly t he c h i ef Budd hist sect h a s ag reed

,

to remove all s e x disabilities f r om women

T H E AWA K E N I NG or A S I A N WOM AN HOO D 13

Budd hist priests a n d to allow t h em t h e r i ght to

,

participate in all detail s of tem ple adm i n istra

tion .

I n order to mea sure a de qua t ely th e s i g n i f i

cance of t he var i ou s atte mpt s a t re vo l t t h at a re
t ak i n g place t h rough out th e woman h ood of
A s i a o n e m ust re me mber h ow differen t h a s
,

b een an d still is th e p o i n t of V iew in th e

E ast regard in g wom an h ood fro m that in th e
W est T hroug hout h undred s of cen turies th e
.

E a stern woma n h a s fitted into th e E astern

sche me of t hin gs not as the compa nion ch um
, , ,

partner c o equal of m an ; not a s th e self

,
-

c hosen to be wooed and w o n by t he lover ;

,

not a s th e i ndepe nd ent soul workin g ou t h e r

own salvation b ut as the pa ssive secondary
, , ,

remote depe nden t

, usually ign o ran t b u t
,

n ecessary fe male whose purpose in l i fe w a s

,

f ulfilled only t hrou g h h er ability to produc e

son s and daug h ters as a c on cess i o n Th e ,

E astern view gives little or n o value to a

woma n a s a n ind i vidual s oul ; th erefore it i s
t h a t t h e v oun g widow i s considere d such a
wa s te prod uct a nd i s s o d e s p i sed But t o th e .

woman a s m o th e r u nlim ited h onour i s accorded

,

i n t heory an d often t houg h no t always in

, , ,
 14 TH E AWA K E N I NG OF A S I A N W OMA NHOOD

p ract i ce . A s marr i age i s t he gate w ay t o

freedom for F renc h wom en and e c onom i c ,

i n dependen ce for A mer i can so is moth erho od ,

for a l l E astern women Th e roots of this

.

honour o f th e mother woman are deeply -

i mbedded in th e relig ion s o f A sia a ll o f w h i c h ,

p reac h a doctrine o f spiritual entail ( th roug h

a son ] more stringent and b i nd i ng than
a n y merely material en tail of la n d or title .

I t i s alo n g t he line of reten tion of h onour for

th e woman a s mot he r o r prospect i ve mother ,

t hen that all t he g ropin g s after greater

,

freedo m are e xpressin g th em selve s i n A sia .

If the man hood of t he rac e is bein g ed uca ted ,

wh ile t he womanh ood i s left in ig noran ce ,

then for th e sak e o f t he future respect o f t he

,

s on s for their mothers t he g irls who will be

,

t hese mot h ers must get education F o r th e .

sake of her hon our a s moth er a legal rig h t to ,

a proport i on o f h er husban d s property must
be gra nte d t o th e widow wife F o r t he-
.

protection o f her sons th e mothers of a n other

,

A sian nat i on the Japanese are a g i tatin g t hat

, ,

t h ey may be g iven the r i g ht of form i n g

a ssociations ,
one to be for th e promot i on of
i n ternat i onal pea c e .
16 T H E AWA K E N I NG O F A S I AN WOMA NH OOD

back ground to e ve ry e ffort f or p ro gre ss th at is

bein g m ade by women rig ht a cross A sia Th at
.

t he same movemen t for e ma n cipation i s

d i splay i ng itself from en d to end of t h e
con t inent with out muc h impact from th e W e st ,

i s a proof that A sia is o n e by link s of re l igion,

fu ndamental custom tem pera ment at titud e to

, ,

life a nd a bove all by it s id eal of women

, , , .
 C HAPTE R I I

I N D I AN W O M A N H O O D ;

A N ATI ON AL ASS ET

NO move men t f o r n ational m oral o r social

, ,

pro gress ca n attain its tru e a nd max imu m

success if it stud i es t h e wel l bein g an d work s
-

throu g h the ag en cy of o n e s e x only or

primarily .Usually h owever t h e welfare o f
wome n is con sid ered o f suc h secondary
importance that it is ei t her overlook ed o r left

to t he future for e n quiry or taken f o r gran ted

,

as bein g s o satisfa ctory a s t o need n o improve

ment . Y et a l ittle t h oug h t en able s on e to
trace many o f t h e problem s need in g solution
back to th e failure t o re cog n ise t h e vital
importan ce to I ndia of t h e servic e wh ic h can
b e rendered to h e r only by h er wo m en
problem s th at h ave arise n becau se of co n d ition s

i n wome n s life w h ic h urgen tly n eed remedy
i n g in order t hat t h e gifts br o ug ht by them ,

2
16 T H E AWA K E N I NG or A S IA N WOMA NH OOD

back ground to e ve ry e ffort f or p ro gre ss th at is

bei n g made by wome n rig ht a cros s A sia Th at .

t h e same movemen t for e ma n cipation i s

display i ng itself from en d to en d o f t h e
con t inent with out muc h impact from th e W e st ,

i s a proof th at A sia is o n e by link s of re l igion ,

fu ndamen tal custom te mpera ment at titud e to

, ,

life and a bove all by it s ideal of women

, , ,
.
 CHAPTE R I I

I N D I A N W O M A N H OO D !

A N ATI ON AL ASS ET

NO move men t f o r n ational m oral o r social

, ,

prog res s ca n attain its tru e a nd max imu m

success if it stud i es t h e well bein g an d work s
-

th rou g h the ag en cy of o n e s e x only or

primarily .U sually h owever t h e welfare o f
wome n is con sid ered o f su c h secondary
i m portan ce th at i t is ei t her overlook ed or left
'

to t he future for e n quiry o r taken for granted

,

as bein g s o satisfactory a s to n ee d n o im prove

ment . Y et a little t h oug h t en able s o n e to
trace many o f th e problem s need in g solution
back to th e failure t o re cog n ise t h e vital
importance to I nd ia o f t h e ser vic e wh ic h can
b e rendered to h er only by h er wo m en
problem s th at h ave arise n becau se o f con d ition s

i n wome n s life w h ic h urgen tly n eed remedy
i n g in order th at t h e gifts br o ug ht by them ,

2
18 T H E A WA K E N I NG OF A S I A N WOMAN HOO D

i n com mon w i th th e wo men of a ll nation s to ,

th eir moth erland may be as valuable a s nature

h a s intend ed th e m to be .

T h e Creator of th e un i v erse h a s entrusted

to women t h e suprem e hon our o f crea t in g
in detail and brin gin g into being every
human unit in t he n ation W omen are th e
.

supreme n at i on builders in th e ph ysical sen se

- .

T h eir function o f moth erh ood with its ,

pain s responsibilitie s recompen ses sorrows

, , ,

a n d j oys is a n internatio n al bond o f union

,

among w om en all the world over T he service .

g i ven by women to the nation in the bearin g

o f ch ild ren is invaluable a service paid for by
,

their very lives in only too many cases alas ,

since in I n dia 23 2 m ore wom en th an men d ie o u t

o f every betwee n th e ages o f 1 5 an d 3 0 .

W omen con sta ntly fa ce th eir o w n battlefield

without any pomp glory proper equip ment or
, ,

d ue appreciation ; an d in th eir person i s th e

strug gle often fou g ht to a finis h between t he
forces o f Life an d D eath T h ey are a s muc h
.

n ation al h eroes as any k h ak i clad sold i er in -

t h e E uropean W ar Part of thi s great serv i ce

.

o f build in g bodies con sists in th e immen se

work o f feedin g clo t hin g a nd cleanin g

, ,
I ND I A N WO M A N HOO D : A NA T I O NA L A S S E T 1 9

t he co mmunity .Th e work of the worl d

would go on badly a n d th e temper of th e
,

men suffer seriously but f o r th e amount

,

o f cookin g alone d one by women ! M en

rarely r ealise t hat wom en s work i s a great
d eal more than s i ttin g at home W omen .

th emselves rarely a ppreciate t heir own work

at i ts proper a nd proportion a t e value In .

reality I n dian wome n are d oin g a s g re a t a

part of the work of th e country in b uildin g up
th e hu man bodie s a s m en are doin g in buildin g
up the N ational Con stitution or in doin g any
o t h er work th at belon g s to th e m .

M ar riage and motherhood are e specially

important in I n dia because t here are in I ndia
only 95 4 women to every men un l ike ,

G reat Britain an d I relan d wh ere there are

two a nd a half millions more wome n tha n
men in t h e total population I n t hese circu m
.

stanc es i t i s most necessary t hat the condition s

o f m arriage s hould be t he best possible in
o rder t h at there may be a continuation of
h ealt hy children of stron g me n an d women
, .

P hysiology we stern experience race statis

, ,

tic s a ll p rove t hat m ot herhood imposed o n

,

m ere c hildren of from 1 3 years to 1 7 years

20 T H E AWA K E N I NG or A S I A N WOMAN HOOD !

of age is the source o f weak progeny and ,

'

debilitated prematurely aged and disea se d

,

women T he I ndian cu stom o f c hild marriag e

.
-

is an an ac hronism a n insul t t o th e m oral self

con trol o f I ndian youn g men an d youn g wome n
th e ev i l legacy of a n an cient fear unbased at
,

t he present time ; a m e n a ce to th e p hysique o f

t he I ndian N ation : a nd a continuous depre cia
t i on of t h e s ervice w hic h h er women a re
w i ll i n g to give in its best degree to thei r !

country .

N ot only doe s t his stupid custom o f c hild !

motherh ood strike at t he p hysical well bein g -

of t he N ation but i t also affects its mental

progress O ne o f the cond ition s of good
.

mo t herhood is t hat th e m others wh o s o ,

largely mould th e mind s o f t heir c hildren ,

should not be ignora nt an d reactionary .

I n olden times girls got educat ion with th e

b oys. Then ca me th e t i m e w he n t his form o f
e ducation ceased but th e other system s
,

broug h t forward d id not in clude equa l

opportun i ties f o r girls . I ndeed f o r a t i m e
,

t he s e systems were blin d to th e existen ce o f o n e

great half of t he N ation T he n arose tha t
.

i g norance in I n dia n woman hood wh ic h i s th e

22 T H E AWA K E N I N G O F A S I AN WO MA NH OO D

sufficiently realised t hat wom en natu r all y

d emand an d apprecia te beauty in th ei r
su rr oundin gs T heir d esire for lovely colours
.

an d fin e te xtures in t h eir clothes for prett y ,

ornaments an d j e welry for flo wer dec ked hair

,
-
'

an d perfu mes h a ve a m uch dee per root t ha n

,

vanity It is an eviden ce of t heir in h erent

.

lo v e of beauty and it is an invaluable asset to

,

th e N ation since it draws forth th e arts and

crafts th at are t he pride o f I n dia It is n o .

h arm f o r g irls to h a ve a love of really beautiful

th i n gs F ar from bein g a weak ness i t is a
. .

stren gt h so long a s it is n ot u sed only f o r

,

selfish enj oyment b ut cultivated w i t h a vie w

,

al so to addin g to th e beauty of t heir country .

L et t he m be e ncouraged to bri n g all the love

l i n e s s t hey desire into th eir h omes th eir ,

gardens a nd t h eir country T hu s will t hey

, .

enr i ch sordid human conditions T h is sa me .

inherent love o f b eauty shows itself in t h e

talent g irls h ave for learnin g poetry for actin g ,

( w hen they g et t h e c hance ) for music T h ey

,
.

h ave natura l g i fts o f imag i nation and se n sitive

emot i on w h ich at p rese nt are larg ely was t ed .

for wa nt o f t he e ducatio n which alone c an

m ake perman en t t he fleetin g in spiration s
I N D I AN W OMA NHOOD : A NA T I O NA L A S S E T 2 3

of t h e artistic soul W h o d oes not reme mber

.

with pride such poetesses a s M ira Bai

,

M u k twBai Toru D utt an d Sa ro j i n i N aidu !

,

Th ere is a wealt h of art life hidde n and d Or

-

mant in I ndian wom en waitin g for edu cationa l

opport unity to m a nifest i tself O h th e tra gedy
.
,

o f i t t hat only one g irl out o f every hundred ,

o r only th irteen out o f e very t housand gets an y ,

edu cation in In dia ! Th e disg race o f t his

state o f affairs i s appallin g n a y criminal , , ,

wh en on e think s h ow in th e W est 9 0 girls

o u t of e very 1 00 ge t a good free and com ,

p u l s o ry education la st i n g at leas t eig ht years .

I n add ition t here is t h e in sult sh ow n to t he

fem i ni n e side in t he fact that fo r every 1 3 g i rl s
educated th ere are 1 38 boys provided wit h
sc hoolin g th at i s over ten times as muc h
, ,

attention i s p aid to boys in I n dia in one

o f t he most vital po i nt s o f t he N ation s life tha n

is paid to girls a suicidal p o licy indeed ! for
t he result is th at of every 1 00 boys wh o wis h
to march forward 9 0 will be held back by th e
,

illiteracy of their untaug ht g irl wive s -

.

I gnorance makes sla ves S lave mother s

.
-

produce craven c h ildre n T he ignoran c e and

.

en slaved con dit i on s of la t er Rom an m otherhood

24 T H E AWA K E N I NG 0F A S I AN WO M A N HOOD

b r oug h t about th e fall o f the great Roma n

E mpire T here i s a W estern sayin g E ducate
.
,

t ha t you may b e free F oremost th en , ,

a mong t he race r e gen erators an d na ti on

-

builders will be those large m inded per s ons -

who work for t h e education of women .

N ot only do com mon sense and common -

science d emon strate t he desirability nay th e , ,

absolute ne cessity of greater educat i on an d

greater freedom o f body a nd soul for women ,

but al l t he I n dia n rel i gion s supp ort th is ideal

o f th e equal comradeship of the ma scul i ne a n d

t h e fe m i nine T i me wa s in I ndia w hen she

.

c ould boast of h er daug hters a s women of

in dividuality power and capability women
, ,

w ho were no mere sh adows of men b ut sturdy ,

huma n souls e quallin g men with full freed om

, ,

for self expre ssion

-
I nd i an wome n to day
.
-

must follow t h eir example nervin g them selves ,

to face an d fig ht all form s of n ational ev i l suc h ,

a s selfish n e ss i ntemperan ce an d i m moral i ty ;

, ,

e mulating th eir self relia nce ; t h i nk i n g f o r

-

them selves ashamed to be hun g any longer

,

like mill stone s rou n d th e n eck s o f the i r male

-

re l ation s but instead offerin g th eir o w n f ree

, , ,

services to th eir M ot herlan d wit h their o w n

 IN D I AN WO M A N H OO D : A NA T I O NA L A S S E T 25

d istinctive views concernin g th e solution of

national problem s T h e N ation is but the
.

l arger h o useh old . T h e mother hood spirit is -

wanted in it s ad ministration M en are not

m others a n d fath ers comb in ed ! L et th em not
a rrogate all public service to th em selves ,

but leave opportunitie s for public service as

well as private service open t o women N ow .
,

w hen sch emes o f self govern ment are bein g

-

d eveloped l e t no artificial man mad e barriers

,
-

a nd restrictions be place d in the way of woma n s
free entry into t h e political religious an d ,

s ocial life of th e cou ntry S h e m ay n o t be

.

r eady yet for it but t h e p ath must not be

,

in a state of bloc kad e a n d o f vested s e x

p rej udice w h en sh e rea ch es th e point at
w h ich h er spirit an d in fluen ce o f mot h er
h ood overflows from t h e private life to t he
m otherin g o f th e n ation al f am ily G o d alone
.

m a y p ut bound s to th e pro gress o f th e

huma n s o u l wh et h er it fun ction s in a m a l e o r
f emal e b ody . L et n eit her s e x arrogate to
it self th at D ivin e rig h t o f restriction but l e t ,

f r e e d o m and e qu a l oppo r tu n i ty m u tu a l e n co u r
,

a g emen t ,
r e sp e c t a n d re cog n i ti o n form th e
f oundation s o f a new era of comradeship o f
26 T H E AWA K EN I NG OF A S I AN WO M A N H OO D

men an d wo men In the land sac r ed wit h

th e me mory o f h e r oes a n d he r oine s T he n
.

only will I n dia realise t h e value of the gift s

h er women can brin g to h er a l ta r a n d th e
,

impove r ish men t o f her national life tha t i s now

takin g place o win g to t he false condition s unde r

wh ic h t hey h ave to live cond ition s s o bad
t h at in stinctively n o ma n wan ts to be rebor n
a wo man ; a n d woma n he r self d epre ciate s o r i s
ig norant of her o w n value ac quie sces in wron g
,

idea s of herself as tem ptress ,u nclean an d
seco nd ary instead o f realisin g t he h onour a n d
,

responsibility t hat are give n to her by th e

Creator .

I t will no t always be so a n d those w h o

,

work for t he day o f her comin g into h er ful l

kin gdom are amon g st the blessed pioneer s
o f hu man ity .
 C H A P TE R I I I

I N D I A N M A R R I A G E A CT U AL
AN D I DEA!

M A RR I AG E is primarily a rela t ion sh ip symbol i c

cal of t h e D ivine union between S oul and S pirit ,

an d its spiritual p urpose i s to b e t he m ean s

by whic h th e united m an an d woman may
r ealise D ivinity d urin g earth life S econd
.

a ri l y
,
it is t he uni versal meth od in org an ised
social life for regulatin g t h e natural attra e
tion to each ot her of t h e sexes for com
p a n io n s h i p
, an d becau se in t h e order o f
nature t heir d ifferences in quality must be lin k
ed togeth er i n order to brin g about a sen se of
emotion al sat i sfaction and t h e best results i n
hu man a ctivity T he n t h e con su mmation o f
.

this desire for unity i s made u s e of by th e

Lord o f t h e W orld for th e cont i nuance o f t h e
species t houg h experien ce proves that t her e
,

may be e qual h appiness in a marriage rel atio n

28 T HE AWA K E N I NG OF A SI AN WO M A N HOOD

without p hysical progeny I n general practice

.

a mongst u s however the ord er o f its obj ect s has

, ,

been re versed and th e first place in marriage

,

is g iven to the importa nce of p hysical union

a nd of immediate reprod uction ; th e next ( and
o nly dimly in th e E ast ) to t he ideal compan ion

s h i p and equal c o O p eration o f the se xe s in all

-

t he affairs of l ife ; an d in t heory now and ,

generally in practice marria ge alas actua l ly

, , ,

becomes a stumbling block to th e attainmen t of

-

spi r itual vision .

I n no l an d does marr i ag e e n ter s o continu

o u s l y into t he daily t houg h t of t he peop le a s in

India . A t the very m om en t of t he b i rth o f a

c hild , t he sig h o f relief if it h appen s to b e a
b oy t he sigh o f disappointmen t if a girl large
, ,

l y arises from the c onn ection in t houg ht with

th e necessary later marriage o f th e infa nt .

A s t he c hild gro w s up the pare n ts are c o n

,

s ta n tl y haunted by the diffic ulty o f g at hering

together t h e dowry for the daug hter o r o f seek ,

in g where a wealthy girl may be foun d

w h ose money will h elp to educa te o r set up
t he so n T he prese nt customs in I ndian
.

l ife regardin g m arria g e o n th e money side

f orm one o f the influence s t hat are cha ngin g
 30 T H E A WA K E N I NG OF A S I A N WOMA NHOOD

not go to th e len gth of Sn e h a la ta wh o commit

ted suicide rather t han put h er parents to
h ard ship o n her a ccount I noticed recently
.

a little girl of about twelve lookin g aged ,

a n xious an d d epre ssed on returnin g to sc hool

a fter a summer holiday .O n en qui r y I foun d ,

t hat it wa s d ue to th e disappoint ment o f fruit

less search in g all th e t wo m onths f o r a
h u sban d f o r h e r wh o would fulfil all the caste
a nd dowry qualification s .

E ven w hen th e h usban d is sec u r ed th ere is

th e continual fear regarding t he boy s h ealth
i n th e ca se o f ch ildren ma r ried very youn g
'

l est th e little girl h e left a widow [ There are .

widow s u nder fifteen years o f a ge in

I nd ia at pres ent ) Then there is always the
.

re me mbrance of a p ossible hard u n s y m p a th e ,

ti c a nd tyran nical mot h e r i n law wh o plays a

- -

greater part t ha n th e future hu sba nd i n the

girl s thoug h ts o f marriag e

.

T here is also th at fatal arrest of all me ntal

develop ment as t he girl comes n ear her a ge ,
!

a criminal custom onl y equalled by its climax ,

th e snatc hin g o f t h e girl the moment s h e

attain s puberty an d t he forcing of moth e r hoo d

,

on her j ust as s h e turn s fourteen A fter

 I N D I A N MA RRI AG E A CT U A L AN D I DEA L 31

th e age of twelve s h e is wi t h drawn from

s chool a nd fro m t hen till the m oment when
,

s he atta in s p u berty sh e is con fined an d

,

g uard ed like a prisoner a nd j,ealously watc h ed

f o r fea r her c h astity migh t have even t h e
'

b r eath o f sca ndal pas sed over it and h er ,

m arria ge be i n a ny way i nterfered with S he .

i s discouraged fro m learn in g anyth in g except ,

p erhaps cook ing I know case s in w h ich eve n

.

a ccomplish m ents su ch a s m usic are looke d a t

a skance S h e is not allowed to m ove outsid e

.

h e r own street h ardly beyond h er parents

,

house . H er c o m panion s are limited She .

g ets p ra ctically no physical exercise A ll but .

th e dullest girls Suffer from redu ced vitality ,

d epressed spirits an d m u c h sup p ressed

,

rebellion of th e mind at a state of a ffairs wh ic h

th ey in stin ctively feel to b e wron g and u n
n atural A s in th e sacred n ame o f R eligion
.

p eople h ave been tortured an d m urdered s o in ,

t h e h oly n ame of c h astity an d marr i a ge the ,

bodies mind s a nd souls o f a ll t he youn g

,

M uh am madan a nd c a s te girls of I ndia are

starved a nd dwarfed T h eir bodies are
.

deprived o f air and m otion an d contact wit h

n ature ; t heir mind s are denied k nowled ge of
 32 T H E AWA K E N I NG OF A S I A N WO M AN H OO D

books o r free hu man con tact ; t h eir so u ls a re

,

wounded by the rep ression of all th eir i m

pulse s toward s free self expre ssion an d by the
-
,

de nial o f t he wide experience s o f life withou t

whic h life be come s mea nin gless T h e resul t
.

i s t hat t hes e youn g g ir l s are in th e worst

con d iti on possible wh en custom forces the m
into t he sexual e mbrace o f a n almost unknow n
hu sband and in a n agony o f shyness self
, ,

con sciousness an d fear t h e first bor n t h e -

,

continuer o f th e race i s c on ce ived

, .

I n a state o f weak ness a n d sick ness th e ,

little freedom t h at t h e m arried g irl h a s restored

to her durin g t his first year o f m arriage is not
o f muc h avail an d th e immature young syste m
,

g ives way u nder t h e strain o f ch ild bearin g -

and th e prevailin g u n h yg ien ic condition s o f

ch ild birt h an d th e li t tle g i rl m other s life i s
-
,
-

sacr i ficed to t h e selfish snat chin g at salvation

by t he eld ers of th e fa mily throug h t h e
product i on o f a male ch ild a t the earliest

possible moment to p erform th e pare nts d eath
ceremonies ! D aily o n e hears o f suc h death s of
tender girl wives w h o in any oth er lan d
-
, ,

woul d h ave h ad an un fettered girlh ood in wh ic h

to consolidate all th e s e x a dj ustment s o f th ei r
-
IN D I AN
MA R R I AG E A CT U A ! AN D I D EA !

bod i es an d to g row stron g en ou g h to become

,

h appy an d h ealth y c reators of a stron g rac e o f

c h ildren S tat i stic s sh ow t h at between th e age s
.

of 1 5 and 3 0 th e nu mber o f wo m en wh o die is .

a s com pared with m ale death s .

E ven am on g st th ose girls w h o are stro n g

enough to survive all th ese cu stom s a n d
cont i nue an ordinary married life there i s a ,

m i nimu m of c om pa nion ship betwee n th e

hu sband a n d w i fe probably until th e g irl is
over th irty and by t h at tim e s h e h a s bec o m e
,

suc h a recog nised inh abita nt o f th e kitc h e n

th at s h e ha s l ost t h e power a n d t h e i n terest

t o brid ge t h e gulf o f years o f cu stom s and ,
!

be com e h i s true partner ; a nd th e sa m e h old s

go o d o f h i m F i n ally th e m arriag e resolve s
.

i tself i nto an unbreak able associa tion o f o n e

a ccounted superio r boun d to protect a n d
,

su ppor t a n i n ferior w it h o n e wh ose ign orance

,

make s h er d epen den t h elpless and in capable

, .

O f c ourse fear of t h e effe ct s o f public op in i o n

i s wh at bin d s t h e pair a s mill ston es rou n d o n e
-

a not h er s n eck s I t i s really n eith er relig i o n
.

n or a sen se o f duty E ven i f cond ition s .

become i n tolera b le a nd t h ey a gree b e t ween

t he ms el ves to separa te t he g i rl s people m ay
,

3
34 T H E AW A K E N I NG O F A S I A N WO M A N H OO D

obj ect to h er return becau se of t he talk of

relative s a nd n eig hbours ; t he husband may
fea r t h at h e will be s o m isund erstood an d mis
represented that h e may even b e outca sted ; so
th e m arria ge rela tionship is continued despite
its hollo wness a n d misery a nd its mock e ry of ,

marria ge a s i t ough t t o be .

T h is i s b ut a bare outlin e o f t h e gen eral

condition s of m arriag e i n I nd ia to day I t -
.
.

co u l d be rein forc ed by shock in g d etails at

e ve ry step s uc h a s t he se xual e xcesses of
,

m any yout h s t h e b ad temper an d attem pts a t

,

disobedience o f t h e gir l s t h e appalling infant

,

mo r tality the wife beatin g th e in t rigue a nd

,
-
,

p assi o n bred of lack of mutual trust a n d

re spect ; a nd u nderlyin g all the colossal arro
, ,

g a nce o f masculine h uma nity claiming for itself

a l l t h e attr i b u tes a nd worsh ip belon gin g to
G ods an d d eman ding u n quest ion in g obedien ce

,

fro m th e f e m i n i n e h alf cond uc t wh ic h is utter

,

l y s ubversive of th e great truth t hat S hiva and

Par v at i are e qual thoug h d issimilar h alves of
t h e o n e D iv i ne Being a relation ship that
,

h uman l i fe Sh ould refle ct .

M arriage g ives n o r i g h t to a ma n to i ll treat -

h is wife to enforce obedien ce o n h er to beat

, ,
I N D I AN
MA R R I AG E A CT U A L A ND I D EA L 35

h er to keep h er i n i g norance to m ak e a com mon

, ,

drud ge of her I t g ive s h er n o rig ht to stand in

.

his way of pr o gre ss or reform t o wear o ut h i s ,

life with nag gin g to k eep h im boun d by h er

,

laziness in capa city superstition o r c o n s e rv a t

, ,

i s m N eit her must marria ge b e leg alised licence

.
,

ruinous to body an d soul wrongly enforce d a s

,

a duty o r a necessity S uc h th in gs belon g to

.

th e reig n of t h e hu ma n brute True marr i a ge .

is sacred a n d d ivorc e i s a gain st all oc cult a n d

,

spiritual law bu t it c an never be rig h t to c o n

ti n u e livin g wit h a p artner w ho d egra de s you ,

o r preve nts you from c allin g your soul your

o wn .D ig nified an d cal m separa tion by mutual

a gree ment is t h e lesse r e vil a nd more worth y of
,

rational human being s th an a n gry a nd irritating

d isunion M istakes wh e n made oug ht n ot to
.

be pers i s t ed in if circu mstances ca n be so

arran ged a s to m ainta i n an honourabl e liv i ng
f o r both parties .

T he g reatest ad m i ration must be accord ed

to th e great mass of peopl e w ho in face of suc h ,

d iff i cult condition s of m arr i ag e p atiently bear ,

b odily suffer i ng a nd m ental d epr i va t io n ; wh o

carefully protect an d w i t h d ifficulty suppor t

their househ old s wh o pull together to th e

36 T H E AWA K E N I NG OF A S I AN WO M AN H OO D

b es t of t heir a b i lity s o th at th e wedded state

may be kept intact an d t hat t he i r c hildren may
be decent l y brought up W h en th ere has been
.

so much t hat is great a n d h onourable u nder

present custom s wh at will n o t be p ossible in
,

i mpro v ed condition s E ven in t h e bes t

ord in ary h om e l ives t here is plainly to be
-

seen n ow an u nn ecessary impoverish ment of

t he health th e affections th e spiritual l ife
, , ,

w hich e very lover of th e I ndia n p eople lon g s

to r e medy .

H avin g t hus re v ie wed t he marria ge state in

t h e generality of cases l e t u s brin g to min d
,

th e ideals o f marriage stated a nd in h erent in

the Vedas and also realised in I nd ia in olden
,

times a n d largely in oth e r countries at presen t

, .

T he present time i s t h e lowest point in th e

K ali Y u ga a nd no one m ust despair b ecause
,

t h ing s are so bad now but realise i nstead that

,

as certain a s is t he ebb tide so cer tain al so ,

will be the flowin g tide an d ours i s the pri ,

v il e g e of hail i n g it givin g ne w s of it a nd
, ,

has ten i ng i t . A s i n C hristiani t y w i th th e

Curse of E ve there wa s also th e p roph ecy of
i ts removal in due course so will I ndia also ,

return to her better ways in th e days at h and .

38 THE AW A K E N I NG or A S I AN WO M A N H OO D

says t hat th e H indu Relig ion h old s u p an

ideal o f marria ge superior to a l l oth ers t h ough ,

unfortun ately t h e p ractice h a s become de grad

ed. T he very h ig h i deal i t lays down ,

w hen fait hfully complied with h a s produc ,

ed even to t he present time instan ce s o f

i deally ma rried coupl es boun d together for
th e spiritual service of th e w orld E very .

one knows the ideal o f equa l comradeshi p

vowed at the pacin g tog ether by h u sban d

a nd w i fe o f t he seven steps Become thou
!

now my partn er a s th ou h ast paced all th e

,

seven steps w i th m e A p art from the e

I cannot live . A p ar t from me d o th ou n ot live .

W e sh all live togeth er ; we ea c h sh a l l b e an

obj ect o f love to t h e oth er ; we sh all be a
source o f j oy eac h u nto the oth er ; with
m utual goodwill sh all we live togeth er ,

!
sharin g alike all good s and power combined .

T h ese are the word s w h ic h embody th e true

A ryan ideal of a marriag e but t he y were,

c omp osed at an a ge prior to era s of foreign

con quest at an ag e w h en wom en were a s well
,

educated a s m e n wh en th ey were great

,

studen ts o f th e Ved as w h en t h ey h ad th e
,

r i gh t to perform sacrifices wh en t hey were

,
I ND I AN
M A R R I AGE A C T U A L A ND I D EA L 39

free to ren ou n ce m arria ge altogeth er w hen ,

t h e husban d wa s a b ove twent y four and th e -

wife over s i xteen w hen t he g irl h ad t h e

,

rig ht to c h oose wh om sh e would take a s

hu sband a s i n t h e ca ses of S ita D ra u p a di an d
, ,

D amayanti an d h avin g herself made the

, ,

ch oice proved afterwa rd s a model o f fait h

,

fulness h elpfulness a nd self sacrific e a s t h e

,
-
,

tru e partner of h e r h usband T he se words .

,

rep eated n ow to a c h ild wife are almost -

,

bla sp h e my a m ocke ry o f th e i mplie d condi

,

tion s o f un derstan din g capacity and freedom ,

of circum stance o f bot h hu sban d an d wife .

T hey w ere n ever m ean t to be said to a c h ild

un der ten years o f age wh o cann ot possibly
c om ply wit h th em an d wh o j ust after, ,

hav i n g promised not to live a part i s i m ,

med ia tely sep arated from h er hu sban d a n d ,

return s to her p arent s h ouse .

T h e i deal s o f m arr i age stated i n th e Rig

Veda are worthy o f bein g followe d by every
nation in the world ; i ndeed it is s a d to th ink
th at h igh ca s te I n dia i s furth er from followin g
-

the m in many way s t h an an y o f t h e western

civilisation s A na l ysin g t h e Ved ic ma rriage
.

ri tual
, Pan di t M ah ad e va S a str i says th at
40 T H E A W A K E N I NG 0 F A S IA N W O M AN H OO D

th e word s u s ed i n t akin g t he se ven s t eps

Show t ha t h usba nd an d w i fe enter o n th e
d uties of marr i ed life not a s m ere novices
, ,

but both a s respon si b le persons hav i n g h ad a ,

full pre viou s t rainin g W oma n i s to be
.

man s c om r ade i n life h i s S a le/2 2 w i th th e

, ,

same ran ge o f k nowledge a nd interests ma ture ,

in body m i nd a nd u ndersta ndin g able to

, ,

e nter into a purposeful u nion on e qual term s

with a man of equal status a s l i fe partner , ,

of her o w n free c h o ic e both dedicatin g th eir

,

life work a s service to th e D ivin e Lord of the

-

U n ive r se bot h ready to fulfil t he purpose of

,

ma r rie d life from th e very day of marria ge

!
onward s . Th e rule wh ich says that men
an d women o f t h e same Ve rn a should marry
implie s that th ey both h a ve ch ose n th e sam e
s p ec ial lin e of work a s t h e d ominan t con ce r n
of t heir m arried life by wh ich they ha ve

determ in ed to seek an d to serve G od eith e r by
th e rearing o f p rogeny the develop ment of ,

natural resources t h e edu cation o f th e young

, ,

or th e pure spiritual life I n order to obtain .

t he best result s i n t h is c o operat i on the -

,

G o tra o f eac h should be d i fferen t a nd t h i s ,

M r M a hadeva S astri interprets a s mean in g

.
I NDIAN
MA R RI AG E A CTU A ! A ND I D EA L 41

t hat t h e rel i gi ous te mpera ment s of t he tw o

s h oul d b e u nlike suc h a s th e tem peramen t
,

su i ted to t he k a r m a m a ng o j u a u a m a rg a o r
-
,
-
,

b lz a tti - m a rg u .

T hus t he Ved i c ideal of ma rria ge disclo s e s

i tself a s a n ad ult a nd freely c ho s en partnership
of a ma n a n d woma n h avin g i dentity of a i m
t houg h differe nce of met hod in attain i n g it ,

and pre s u p poses t hat t h e woman i s a s well

educated both s e c u l arly and religiously a s th e
man W h at a perfe ct type o f t h a t i d ea l of
.

m arriage were M r a nd M rs Brownin g t h e

. .
,

great E nglis h poet a nd po e te ss an d are M r an d , .

M rs G an dh i in o u r own day i n Ind i a !

.

T he true Aryan marriage i s somet h in g far

broader and deep er t h a n t h e continuance of
t he race or t h e prod uction of a male c hild to
,

perform S h r a d h a s or t h e satisfaction o f the

,

sex d esire nature ; a nd it certainly is not in

-

t h e te rm s o f a letter w hic h I re c e n tl y s a w
fro m an un derg raduate to h is fat h er i n la w - -

dema nd in g h i s four t ee n year old wife -
I am
-
.

deter m ine d to have my wife I need her

.

services ser vices part i cularly a s he a lso

-

commande d th a t sh e s hou l d g i ve up at on ce
h er mu sic an d h er gen eral studies .
42 T H E A WA K E N I NG OF A S I A N WO M A N H OOD

G od ha s m ade ma n an d woma n a s comple

m ents of t h e one D ivine S elf man ife stin g
i tself i n tw o slig h tly d ifferen t form s a nd it is
,

rig ht a nd natural th at t here should be a p ower

of attraction betwee n th e sexe s ; a nd eve n t h at ,

a s th e lower a nimal s h ave attained the be st

results in t h e proc ess o f evolution by natural
!
selection , s o also the h um an animal h elped ,

still furth er by its rea son an d intuition s hould ,

base i ts marita l relation s on a sponta neous

af fection a nd re spect n ot worked up at t he
,

com man d o f a paren t bu t wellin g up from

,

natural associat i on s and ties m en tal a nd spirit

,

ual B ut i n order t o mak e th is fre e c hoice a

.

pract i cal possibility t h ere m ust be more nor

,

mal a nd u nfettered c o m pan ion ship bet ween

th e youn g me n a n d wom e n o f t h e country I t .

will tak e some tim e t o e stablish t h i s cond i t ion ,

b u t come about it certain ly sha l l i n t his l a n d

, ,

a s it h a s d one in oth ers T h e present d i vis i on

.

o f t he sexe s in all t h e a ffairs of life is u n n a tu

ral t o t h e las t de gree an d i s o n e of t h e causes

,

o f t h e back wardness o f modern I nd i a T he .

best qualities in eac h sex are dra wn out by

the presence of t he oth er save W h ere th e
,

brute n ature reigns s upreme a nd I h ave ,


I N D IA N MA R R IAG E ACTU A L A N D I D EA L 43

greater faith in t he c ha st it y o f I n dian youn g

women t han con ventional t h ou g ht cred i t s
t h em with . I can not bel i eve th at Ind ian
youn g people if g i ven th e freedom o f com
,

ra d e s h i p g ranted to youn g peop le in t h e W e st ,

w ou l d prove th e m s el ve s less worth y o f it o r

a bu se it T he present a ttitud e o f t h e elders to
.

t heir youn g people is a veiled insul t wh ich th e

latter sh ould resent .

In o r der to raise t h e present ideal o f marri

a ge to t he level o f anc i en t days wh en t h e ,

Rishi s moved in B h a ra ta v a rs h a a nd tau g h t i ts

people directly ma ny c h an g es will h a ve t o b e
,

made in t h e attitud e t hou g h t an d practice o f

, ,

th e In dia n people reg ard in g m arria g e .

F o r th e re scue of th e rac e fro m physica l

d e gen eration from pre mature old a ge individu
,

ally from wa sta ge of c h ild life from th e gri p

, ,

of n ervous disease s a m ove mu st be made by

,

the p arents toward s raisin g th e a ge of marria g e

for t h e i r g i rls an d boys T h e ea siest step s to
.

th is will be alon g t h e path of e xtend ed tim e

an d facil i tie s for th e educatio n of g irls ( else
weed s will grow up between th e a ges o f
twe l ve a nd sixteen in t h e un cult i vated soil o f

th e gi r l s mind ) and alon g th e pat h o f
,
44 T H E A W A K E N I NG OF A S I A N WO M A N H OO D

e xc l u s i o n all h
f ro m ig h cla s s a nd N a tional
'
s ch ools a nd colleges o f married yo u n g men

s tudents . Pressure also must be broug h t t o

hear to ge t a B i ll passed le ga l isin g post puberty
-

m arriag es .

The g row i ng des i re t hroug hout t he youth o f

th e country and the elders also to a l arge
,

e xt e nt , to ser v e th eir cou n try fa ithfully ca n ,

f ind i t s e xpression i n a g reater patriotic and

r elig ious con secration o f t h e united live s o f
th e hu sba nd a nd wif e to th e service o f G od
and t h e M oth erland This would b rin g
a bout n atura l ly that equa l s tand ard of s e x
morality a nd cond uct whic h must be t he goal
o f all w h o are in terested i n t h is subject .

P eople us u ally forg et tha t whe n t hey in sist on

a bsolute c has tity in women but allow men
,

t o be u nfaithful they are cond em n ing a

,

p ortio n o f wo m an hood to t he worst life of

u n c ha stity There cannot be l i ce nce for men
.

w ith o u t th e w orst consequence s to both th e

c h aste a n d th e p rostitute w o men . I t is qu i te
a s n e c e s s a rv f o r t h e husband to be c h aste a s

t he w ife a n atu ral law th at i s no t p alatable
to either W est o r E ast at th i s present sta ge
-

O f social ord er wh i c h h a s be en evolved al most

46 THE AWA K E N I NG O F A S I AN WO M A N H OO D

b o dy must raise s ome fund t o s upport

a nd ed ucate such rebel s w hen they a re
turned o u t o f their ho m es until t h ey are
,

train ed to earn t heir livin g su c h an .

i n stitution would g ive coura ge to m a ny

c on science torn -
you n g people an d enable a
,

better stan d to be made a gain st t he persisten c e

o f a n ord er of marriage cu stom s th at th e la ws

o f n ature ,national economics reason sent i

, ,

m ent a nd i ntuition a ll conde mn

, .

Pat r iotic p are nt s ha ve a field of national

s e r vice read y at h and in doin g t heir share in

reformi n g t h e pre sen t cu stom s of m arriage .

A s a first practical but partial step t hey sh ould

decide n ever to m arry the i r c h ild re n youn g ;
n ever to allow th eir daug hters to live wit h
their hu sban d s t ill after th ey are at lea st
sixteen th e years till the n bein g given to a
,

g ood education and in th e ca se of t heir boys

th ey must a s k for n o dowry .By courage a nd
steadfa stness i n p erforming t his e ssential du ty
to t heir M oth erland t h e sad and widespread
,

c a ses of virg in widows w ould be quickly a nd

quietly ended ; th e d eg radin g practice of selling

h u man be i n g s to t h e h ig hest bidder i n the
marriag e market would be a stain wiped o ff
I ND I A N MA RR I AG E A CT U A L A ND I DEAL 47

th e fair fa me o f I ndia ; t h e physique of t h e

next g eneration would be i m proved .

!
M arriage is a curse in our land ! exclaim
ed a h ig h caste Bra h m an a to me But .

!
i t need not be , I replied I f only its
.

precedin g condition s are improved it m ay be ,

!
t he g reatest blessing in th e world Le t u s.

imagine s uc h a n ideal I ndia n marriag e

I ndian boys a nd g irls you n g m e n and youn g
,

women freely a nd in nocently attend i n g sch ool

,

and colleg e toge th er meetin g in a na tural

,

way in all I ndia n festivities ; a n affi n ity

d iscovered ; t he paren ts blessi n g o b
ta i n e d ; a betroth al for a period durin g
wh ich eac h learn s to k now t h e oth er better
before the irre vocable step is taken The n .

come s th e h appines s o f m arria ge at a n adult

age with freed om of compa nion sh ip c o
, ,

operation in pla n s for p rivate an d public

service probably h ome mak i n g in a h ouse of
,
-

th eir o w n ; a nd w he n t h e foundat i on s o f t h is
,

un i ted life are well laid with th e blessin g of

con secrat i on to Bra hma ch oice of mothe rh ood
,

by the wife th e comin g o f ch ild ren t h e care

, ,

a nd love of th em father an d moth er e qually

,

able to help t hem in t heir studies good h ealth ,

48 THE AWA K E N I NG OF A S I A N WO MA N HO O D

i ntell i gence respe c t p ea c e a n d p i ety i n t he

, ,

h ome . W h at a cen tre of power for t h e

upliftmen t o f In d i a an d n o t i mpo s sib l e of
-

atta i n m en t .

N e v e r w il l p e a c e a n d h u m a n n a t u re m e e t
T ill f re e a n d e qu a l m a n a n d w o m a n g re e t
,

D o m e s ti c p e a ce

T hose w h o even n ow are experien ci n g t h e

u n c h a n gin g h appi n e ss o f a u n i on rooted in
dee p self discovered love groun ded in mut u al
-
,

m e ntal respect bou nd togeth er by perfect

,

mu tual freedom o f action r i sin g h i g h abov e

,

person al d ifferen ce s in th e searc h for truth ,

bran ch in g o u t in many line s of individual ,

fa m ily and nat i onal ser vice bearin g th e ,

blossom s of be au ty o f life a nd t h e fruit

!
of gen eration s of e xalted d eed s an d fi n e
heredity ; suc h people kn ow t hat i t i s indeed

true th at marria ge is a state in w h i c h j oy s
!
a re d oubled a nd sorrows are halved F or .

suc h couples t h e re ca n be n o possibil ity o f

se paration or d i vorce eith er i n this o r oth e r
l i ve s
.

K n ow i n g suc h m arria g es not only to b e

made in H eaven but to be t he nearest s tate

to h eaven on earth t he completion of t h e two
I N D I AN
M A R R I AG E A C T U A L A ND I D EA L 49

h alves o f the human circle h appily m arrie d

people ache a t see i n g th e m isery o f th e marri
a ge s around t hem brou g ht about under d ifferent
,

condition s an d th ey are imp elled by t heir ow n

,

h appines s to try a nd p ersuade ot h ers to rise to

t h e ideal a nd f o r th e sak e of the In d i v i d u a l
,

th e Race th e M ot herland and Religion mak e

, ,

such new condition s of m arriag e a s will brin g

back again the days o f Y a g n a v a l k y a an d
M a i tre y i of Ra ma a n d S ita o f S hiva a nd
, ,

Parvati .
 C H A P TE R I V

I N D I A N W O M E N A N D F R E E DO M

I H A V E l i ved i n I n d i a f o r over s ix years I

.

h ave al ways loved th e I n dian people I ha ve .

h ad th e great privilege o f m i x in g very

i ntimately with t heir h ome life . I h a ve tried
to find the best points in the ir habits an d
customs . I h ave had special O pportunities o f
co n tac tin g t he lives led by women in all but
t wo of its Provinces But with all th e good
.
,

will i n th e world my daily growing experien ce

,

of I nd ia br i n g s w i th i t a daily grow i n g
k nowled ge that wh en compared with th e
,

freedom of t h oug h t word an d act i on in wh ic h

,

t he women o f ot her countries live t he wom en

,

o f Ind i a are t h e m ost fettered and c ramped i n

t he world to day
-
.

This statemen t d oe s not apply to th e wom en

of t he lower ca ste s suc h a s th e peasant c la ss
,

or th e coolie cla ss ; n eith er does i t a pply to th e

 I N D I A N WO M E N A N D F R E E DO M 51

wome n o f th e W e st Coast n o r t o Bom bay ;

b ut with variations i n de gree a n d w i th n otable
, ,

e xcep ti on al g roup s a n d i nd iv i duals I a m ,

con vi n ced o f i t s truth T h e maj or it y of t hose

.

affected do n ot reali s e t he limitation s o f t heir

lives T h ey h ave s een n oth i n g d ifferent ; or
.

where t h ey see i t i n th e ca se of Br i t i sh ers i t i s ,

so far re moved fro m a nyt h i n g pra ct i cal for t he m

a t th e momen t t hat it i s wit h out appeal to t hem .

Y e t to t h ose w h o de s i re to serve I n d ia a n d wh o
have seen what may be th e ful ness o f women s

l i ve s in other c i vilisation s bo th E a st a nd
W est in B urma Jap an A m erica a nd E urop e
, , , ,

no move me nt connected w i t h t h e freedo m

of I nd i a see m s more fun da men tal l y n ecessar y
t ha n th e F ree d o m for W ome n M oveme nt N o t .

all th e G overnmen t s i n t h e world can g i ve In d ia .

true s wa ra j i f I nd i an s t hem selve s m en a n d ,

women d o no t remove t h e c h ain s of out o fi

,
-

date c ustom t h at h old t h e h i g her cla ss In dia n

women i n i m poveris h men t of body m i nd a n d ,

so u l .

F o r N orth ern wom en a nd for all M u h a m

madan women t h e p u r d a h or zen an a sy s tem i s

th e gaoler F or S ou t h I n dian an d n on p u r a a h
. -

w o m en it i s the early marr i a ge system a n d it s

-
52 T H E AWA K E N I NG O F A S I A N W O M A N H OOD

c on com i tan t th e e xa g geration of t he idea o f

,

wifely obed i en ce Un derly i n g a ll t h e limita

.

tions imposed o n wom en is a n a pp a l l i n g lack o f

fait h in th e hig her a nd p urer n ature o f men
a nd women . Th e m en see m t o t h ink th at t he
sig h t a n d comp anion ship o f wome n would
te mp t t h e m beyo nd co ntrol o r ea c h man t hinks
,

t h at w h ile h e would be a ll rig h t n o oth er m a n ,

c ould b e trusted t o Sp eak to h is women folk -

,

a n d espe cially not t he men o f h is o w n stati o n

in life ! T h e wo men are brou g h t u p t o look on
m en ( other t h an father h usb and o r bro t h e r ) a s
,

t h eir n atural ene mies Th ey al so h a ve la ck o f

.

fait h i n th eir o wn s e x W h at a v i ciou s circle !

.

F or t h e p revention of a f e w erra n t h uma n

b ein g s all wo me n are cri b bed cabin ed a n d ,

!
con f i ned a n d a p oisonou s atmosp h ere p er
m e a te s all I nd ian life I belie ve t h at t h i s
.

mutual fea r is a m ia sma a lega cy from ,

a t ime o f military conditions a n d it i s a n ,

u nfounded slur on bot h sexe s in t h e p resent

d ay.

T h e zen ana system prevents free a nd n atural

p h ysical e xer c i se such a s walkin g ; i t p romote s
b ad h ealt h an d especially con s u m ptio n thro u g h
lack of fresh a ir and s u n l i g h t; i t arrests t h e
54 THE AWA K E N I NG OF A S I A N WO MA NH OO D

of the l i fe of com mon uma n i ty i n th e street s

h .

I also sa w for myself that even amon g st t h e

o rt hodox older lad i e s w h o probably would
,

a ssert t h e i r a p pro val o f th e p u r o a /z h uman

,

n ature a nd n a t ural curiosity a s s ert t h emselve s ,

for th ey t ook e very o pportun ity to peep t hroug h

t h e slits an d small m ica openin g s in t h e cover
in g s o f o u r m otor car an d en j oyed e very excuse
-
,

f o r gettin g a d rive or a c h an ge from t heir

h ou ses. I al so ca m e a cross a nu mber o f
i n sta nce s w h ere la d ie s w h o kep t strict pa ra u lz

i n t heir n at i ve town s h ad n o hesitation i n

m oving a b out f reely a n d u ncu rtained in a
stran g e town .

A s for disease a n d e specially co nsum ption

, ,

i t is rampan t am on g t h e in m ate s of th e
ze nanas A d octor of a roya l h ous eh ol d h im
.

self told me of th e c ase of t he deat h of a j unior

p r i n ce ss wh ic h mig ht h ave been preve nted i f
o n ly t he doctors ha d bee n allowed to see h er

i n ti me and d i ag nose fro m t h e eye T h ey h ad

.

bee n p ermitted only to feel h er pulse h er ,

h an d be i n g t h rust th roug h a curta i n W h e n .

s h e was at d ea th s door th ey s a w her face a nd

recog nised th e true n ature o f h er d isea se w h ic h

they would h a ve been a ble to cure h a d t h e y
 I ND I A N WO M E N A N D F RE EDOM 55

known i t earl i er ! S he wa s o n e of th e many

v i cti m s to t hi s un natural s y ste m .

I n t h e S outh while th ere is more freedom

,

o f move men t women see m to h ave t o a sk

,

p erm i ssion b efore t h e y m ak e any new

move T h i s is n ot t h e case with ad ult wom en
.

in oth er c ountries I t is t h e natural result o f

.

t he c h ild wife system

-
Th e husband feels
.

him self a s mu c h fath er a s h usban d to h i s little

g irl wife and it is h ard for both o f the m to
-
,

get out of t he wron g relation ship wh en s h e

grows up Th e wron g atmosp h ere it engend ers
.

a bout marr i age was e xemplif i ed to me when ,

in reply to my enqu i ries about h is n ewly wed -

wife aged ten a colle ge studen t replied w i th

,

!
pr i de ,
I th i n k sh e will be very obed ien t
M ore a nd more t h e wh ole worl d is comi n g
to realise th e right an d t h e necessity o f th e
soul to freedom o f opportun ity fo r self
e xpression S elf d eter m ination is a n ec e ssity
.
-

f or t he indiv i dual m an or woma n a s m uc h a s

f or t h e c aste class or n at i on
, T h e whole .

Time sp i rit i s workin g toward s t h e l i beratio n

-

of woman in every c oun try but along d ifferent ,

lines according to t h e different c i v i lisation s .

H o w ca n we help it i n i ts work i n I ndia

56 T HE AWA K E N I NG OF A S I AN WO MANH OO D

T h ere are seve n m i llion more m en t h an

women in I n dia th erefore it follows as a
,

national service th at every wo m an shoul d

marry an d it is th e way to freed om f o r marrie d
,

women t h a t we h ave t o seek I t h a s bee n

.

foun d alon g o n e road in places s o far rem oved

as M alabar an d Burm a T h ere it h a s come
.

th rou g h econom ic freed om La nd and pro

.

perty lie i n t h e h an d s o f wome n en tirely

am on g st t h e W est Coa st w omen and m o n ey i s
,

made a lmost en tirely by wo men in Burm a :

they are th e shopk eepers o f th eir n a t ion .

W e m ay call th at th e p ower o f th e pu rse .

Th ere are four g rea t Liberato r s sta n d in g

ready to a id wo m e n to freedom Th ey are .

Rel i gio n E ducation Patriotism an d Lo ve

, ,
.

T h ere i s a n at m osph ere o f freedom for

women in all centre s o f pilgrima ge an d
h oliness Ben are s City an d th e h oly G a n ge s
.

are g raduatin g colleges in eman cipation fo r

t h e wom en o f th e p u r a a /z keepin g Provinces

- !

W h at a brea t h of fresh a i r an d fresh vitality

come s to every woma n wh o goe s o n a
relig i ous pilgrima ge ! W h at e qual i ty an d w h at
absen ce o f s e x con sciou sness th ere is for
-

women as t hey bathe ceremonially i n holy

 I N D IA N W O M E N AND F R EEDOM 57

rivers N orth o r S out h T he free s t woman in

' '

th e w orld p rob ably is th e auth e n ti c s m m y a s z m .

It is o n e of t h e astound in g parad oxica l s urprise s

o f p arad oxical an d self co n trad i ctory I n d ia t o
-

see t h e m ost veiled an d S heltered o f p u r a a h

women on dry land sud denly a ppear i n g w it h

,

ou t a ny shyn ess o r awk w a rd n ess in t h e G an ge s

or t h e Jamn a sid e by s i d e with m e n o f a l l
kind s. I f only all life be look ed o n a s a
pilgrima ge if th e h om e b e re ga rde d a s a h oly
,

place if on ly th e spir i tual a ttitu d e is taken o f

,

so ul h elp ing soul rath er than o f s e x veh icles

ready to prey o n on e a n o t h er the n t he burde n

,

of se x li mitation will b e lifted from th e

s h oulders o f fettered woma nh ood an d suspiciou s

man hood .

E ducation i s a liberati n g i nflue nc e o f th e

greatest imp orta n ce A tra i ned a n d well
.

furn ish ed min d g ive s its owner self confidence -

,

discriminat i on a prop er c o m pa rative se n s e o f

,

values a nd independen ce n e ce ssary a s a n

,

accompa n i m ent to greater freed o m of a ction ,

respon sibility an d move men t Ig noran ce is

.

weakn ess k nowled ge is p ower W e h ave to

,

pull up th e percenta ge o f literat e women from

t he present sh ameful two p er cen t to 9 2 I t .
58 T H E A W A K EN I NG OF A S I AN WO M A N H OO D

is a t ask of sup re me impor t an ce and o f almost

paralys i ng m a gn i tude but i t h as been don e by
,

o ther nat i on s a nd it mu st be a ccomplished by

t h e var i o u s Ind i an Provinces . I n K a s h m i r t he

d es i re to h elp wo m e n alon g th is path t o free
d o m h a s spru n g u p s o s t rongly t ha t a ban d of
volunteers h a s been forme d of youn g m e n who
h ave pled g ed t hem se l ve s t o teac h th e reading
a n d writin g o f t h eir vernacular to t h e women

o f th e i r families . I t was started in S rina gar ,

a n d i n two mon th s 4 50 K ash miri p rimers were

p urch ased . If t h is type of n ational service
will only sp read a nd fire t h e ima gination a nd
th e z eal o f those wh o h ave the mselve s h ad th e

p rivilege of education a lon g step on th e road

,

to t h e freedo m o f woman hood and th e freedom

o f I n dia will h a ve bee n take n Th e pre sent
.

r ate of g ro w th o f ed ucat ion a mon gst women i s

f ar too slow Th e m ot her s hould b e th e g u ru

.

o f t he c hild ; i n stead if we br i n g a not i ce of a

,

meet i ng to a lad y i n her h ome s h e h as to call

,

o u t f o r h er little Ra ma swa m i or her little

Su s h il a a n d t he c h i l d read s o u tt h e n o t ice th e

,

c hild i s ri o w t h e g u r u o f t h e moth er truly i t

i s the K ali Y ug a ! B u t wh en wo men are abl e to
rea d for t he msel ves sc ript u res b ook s o f t r avel
, ,
 I ND I A N W O M E N AN D F R E E DO M 59

b i ogra ph ies novels an d newspa per s wh at a n

, ,

expansion o f con sciousn es s t h ere will be ! H o w

t h e men t al hor i zon will w i d en w h at freedom of ,

thou gh t will be stimulated th at la t er w i ll express

it s el f in i ns i sten c e o n t h e n ece s sary freedom of
a ct i on f o r th e m an ifestation o f t h e growin g soul
Patriotism is playin g an im port a n t part in
e man c i patin g I ndia n women I re member how .

t h ey were st i rred to th eir d ep th s by the

in tern me nt of M rs Besan t a n d I wa lked w i th
.
,

a larg e nu mber o f t he m in a publi c p rocess i on

o f men an d women in h onour o f h er release .

T hin g s h ave go ne ve ry swiftly f o r women a s

w ell a s m en Sin ce t h en a n d n ow e ve n M u h a m
,

madan wo men lik e t h e mot h er o f th e A li

,

broth ers t h e p olitical l eaders ha ve co me righ t

, ,

out of th e zen an a a s th eir sacrific e to th eir

patriotism W heth er we approve of th eir
political pol i cy or n ot it is a won derful f a ct
,

t hat wom en s a rd e nt d esire for t h e freedom of
th eir country ha s g iven t hem suc h personal
freed om t hat t h ey are n ow welcomed into t he
open street s a s volunteers a s p i ck ets as , ,

!
politicia n s . Cau se s save o n e remarked a ,

wise wo man on ce T h is i s p articula rly true

.

of women T he i r lin e of least resistan ce is

.
60 T H E AWA K E N I NG O F A S I AN WO M AN H O O D

self sacrifice Th ey d o n ot n aturall y m ove

-
.

toward s fig htin g for their own freedom but ,

t h roug h thr o win g th em sel ves into a c au se
t h ey a ch ie ve t h eir o w n l i beration T he .

!
cause , ho w ever must it self be related to
,

th e attain men t o f some a sp ect o f progress or

e ma ncipation T he I nd ian n ational movement
.

can not p rog ress with out t h e aid of women

t h e l iberat ion of wo me n will be aid ed by t heir
d e voti o n to t h e n ationa l m ove me nt

.

F inally a nd p rimarily t h ere is th e u niver
sal a s well a s person al U n l o o s e r of all bond s
! ove . I f only t h ere were d eep true love ,

e xistin g between ea c h ma r ried adult m a n a n d

woman in I nd ia t here woul d be no n eed for
,

!
t h is c hapter Perfect love ca steth out fear
. .

W h ere th ere i s perfe ct love th ere is perfect

fait h and p erfec t equality S uspicion j eal ou sy .
, ,

domination obedience limitations all d is

, , ,

appear E ven th e th oug h t o f freed om van ishe s

.

i n th e realisatio n o f perfect p artn ersh i p t h a t

i s un ity not dual ity ;
,

F re e d o m th a t
i s f o n d o f i ts o w n n a m e
H a s n o t y e t s h e d its c h a i n s , b u t p e rf e ct l o v e
M a k e s h a pp y b o n d s t h a t a re b u t a n c h o ra g e
T o th e f re e s o u l .
62 T H E AWA K E N I NG OF A S I A N WO M A N H O O D

da t e un wort hy of t h e t i me s a n a n o maly a
, , ,

t hing to be g o t r i d of a t t h e firs t p ossible

m o m ent ; a nd t h ey s mash ed i t up for g ood .

N or wa s t he E as t untou c h ed by t he sp irit
of t he tim es for e ven in con servative C hin a
,

th e w om en urge ntly cla i med t h e vote K n ow

.

i ng all t h is t he dec i sion [ in 1 9 1 9 ) of th e

,

S outh b orou g h F ra nc h ise Com m i ttee an d t he

G overn ment of I nd i a to perpetuate t his d i s
cred ited s e x d i squalificatio n ad vertise s to a l l
-

t h e worl d th a t t h e views of th ese g entle men

are in th is particular beh in d t h e times th a t ,

they c on sider I nd i a n con dition s beh i nd th e

t i mes I n dian wome n la ggin g b e hind all other
,

wo m en a n d t h at they intend t h e m a n d I ndia

,

to rem ain b e h in d th e time s . A lt houg h th i s

dec i sion can not be regarded a s final for t h e ,

G overn ment of I n d i a D esp atc h i n vite s fu rth er
e n qu i r y a nd desire s that t he opinion s o f t h e
,
!
publ ic ge nerally be obtained on the i r p ro
p o s a l,s i t i s a mat t er for i nf i n i te reg ret t ha t
t h e Co mm i tt ee i n th e i r f i rst pronounceme nt
failed so lam e ntably in u p to da t e recon stru o
- -
,

t i ve s t atesm an sh i p i n t h i s fu ndam ental a spect .

I n stead of profitin g by t he experience of oth er

coun tr i es they seek to lau nc h t he sh ip of
,

S O UT H B O R O U G H C O M M I TT E E S R E PO R T 6 3

respo n sible self g overnm e nt w i th a l i st

-

toward s m asculine mo nopoly in stead o f w i t h

th e e quipoise of male an d female c o op erat i on -
.

T hey h ave so l i ttle awakened to the seriou s

ness of t he subj ec t t hat th e D e s patc h d is m isse s
t he claim s rig hts an d respon s i bilit i es o f on e
, ,

w h o l e h al f o f th e popu l at i on o f I nd i a i n tw o
s hor t sen t en ces a s i f w it h a wave o f th e
ha nd .

I t i s e n t irely si g n i ficant h owever tha t th e

, ,

one m ember o f the G overn men t wh o k now s

I ndian cond itions fro m t h e i n s i d e an d i s ,

th erefore most fitted to voice In dian O pin i on ,

S ir C S ank ara n N a ir oppo sed th e i r V iew an d

.
, ,

pres s ed for th e re moval o f t h e s ex d is qu a l ifi

cation from th e Outset I n th e precedin g .

p ara grap h t o that on th e Di squal i fica t i on s i t i s

st ated t h a t t h is w h i ch is th e f i rs t electora l
,

!
s ystem s et u p in I nd i a w i l l probably re ma i n
,

f i xed for a g i ven t i me T hey say : We d o

.

not e xpec t t ha t th e i ni t ia l al l otment w il l be

aban doned unt i l p ol i t i cal life i n I n d i a b ecome s
m ore reconciled t h an i t is at pre sen t t o w h a t
we regard a s a fun damen t a l pr i n c i ple o f
re sp on s i b le governm ent n amely t h e va l i d i ty
, ,

!
of a maj ority d ecision Jud ging from thi s
.
64 T H E AWA K E N I NG O F A S I AN WO M A N H OOD

p ronounce m ent if th e Co m m ittee s proposals

beco m e l a w wo men w i ll b e e xclude d fro m

,

a ny share in t heir o w n govern me nt u ntil

some va gue futu re d ate I t is on t h e followin g
.

word s that th e p olit i cal fate of woma nh ood i n

I nd i a ( both ea stern a nd western ) i s dec r ee d :

I n t he p r e sen t condi tio n s of I ndia we a g ree

wit h t h e m ( the S out h boroug h Com mittee s

recomme ndation s ) t hat it i s not prac tica l to

!
ope n t he fra nc hise to wome n . T hey h a ve
t hro w n t heir w h o le op position to a nd refusal
,

of, wo m e n s i m mediate e nfra nc h i semen t o n
!
th e sin gle ground t hat it is n o t practical
N o proof i s g iven as to wh y i t is not p ra c ti
!
cal .It is si mply t he dog matic state me nt o f
s eve n E n glis h g en tle men i n t h e G overn me n t
o f I nd ia .

A s t he mot i ve o f t h is article i s n ot merely

b itter attack or rig hteous indig nation but
, ,

c on structive criticis m a nd a n attem pt to

c hange t his m ost i mportant d etail o f a sc h e m e
o f R eform s w hic h i n ot he r re spec ts see ms to

h a ve bee n t houg h t out very carefully it i s ,

e ssen t ial th at e v i de nc e sh ould be sho w n i n it

t h a t i t i s pr a c ti ca l to a d m it wome n t o t h e
fra nc hise n o w an d to do a s S ir C S ank ara n N air
.
 S O UT H B O R O U GH C O M M ITT E E S R E P O RT 6 5

a nd M r H og g d esired re move th e se x dis
.

qualif i cation a t on c e
.

I t mus t a l way s be re m embered in d iscu ssin g

t h e quest i on o f th is s e x d i s qualification t h a t
-
,

t h ere i s n o dema nd for th e en franc h ise men t

o f a ll wo me n ; th at t he re mo val of th e s e x

d isqual i ficat i on would [ j udg in g b y t h e analogy

o f th e M unic i pal vot i n g ] giv e votin g rig ht s to

at most about a million women out o f t he

three hundred million o dd p opulation ; t h at
t hose women would largely be th e most
i ndepen de nt th e best ed ucated and t h e rate
, ,

and ta x pay i n g wo me n in t h e cou ntry T h oug h

- -
.

s mall in n umber t he se wo m e n would be

i nvaluable assets to public life a nd t h eir ,

e nfranch isem ent Would re move from woman

hood th e stig ma o f inferiori t y in cap acity o r
, ,

s u periority to a d esire for p ublic servic e all at ,

present implied in h er b ei n g clas sed in t h e D is

qualifications w it h t he criminals lunatic s a nd
,

c hildren of her cou ntry as unfit for citizen s hip .

W hen at th is same j un cture an d in these

social condit i ons t h e G overn ments of Bombay
a n d M adras h ave found it
!
practic al to open
t he M unicipal fra n c h ise to women it can not ,

b e truly said t h at th e vote f o r t he h ig he r

5
66 T H E AWA K E N I NG OF A S I A N WOMAN HOO D

elections could not also be exerc i sed by them .

I n th ese Pre s i de n cies a n d th eir associated S tates

there is n o p u r d a h system W ith t h e e n c o u r
.

a g e m e n t of t he women s societie s w h i c h are
spring ing up d aily an d the intere sted in stru o
,

t i o n o f male relat ive s women voters would

,

not be found back wa rd i n d isc harg in g t heir

national duties It is not t h e hab it o f woman to
.

fail i n her duty wh e n s h e k no w s what is e xpect

ed o f h er I t i s s o metimes forgotten t hat it wa s
.

only after t he gran t of t h e vo te to women in

E ng lan d t hat societie s for in struction in
citizensh ip spra n g up I t would b e almost
.

e ntirely t he women wh o are M unic ipal voter s

w ho woul d become voters for th e Provincial
Councils and no practical difficulty stand s in
,

th eir way in th ese two larg e an d prog ress

i ve Pre s i den cie s . I n A ssam also t he Ch i ef
Com miss i oner regard s t he mat t er a s e minently
practical . N either th e M adra s L ocal G overn
m ent nor t he Un ited Provinces G overnmen t

opposed W o me n s S uffrage T he practica l
d i ff i culty seem s to arise entirely i n th e
p u

m a /z di s tricts o f I n dia and no one
, seek s to
m in i mise it ; but it cann ot be pointed o ut too
often t hat i n A ust r alia where wome n are
,
 S O U T H B O R O U GH C OM M ITT E E S R E PO RT 6 7

freer t h a n per hap s anywh ere in th e world ,

women s votes were collected at t heir h omes

when suffra ge wa s first granted and th is ,

syste m w i t h spe cial women elect i on off i cer s

ca n an d must be followed i n I n dia for
t h e se sp ecia l d i str i cts A n exa mination of
.

page 2 7 0 o f the Com mittee s Report will s how
h ow m uc h specia l trouble can be take n to

collec t m e n s votes T hu s e ven i n pu m a h
.

parts t he removal of se x disqualification i s -

practical N eith er th e S out h boroug h Co m

.

m i tte e n or t h e I nd ian G overn ment alludes to

t his t horo ug h ly fea sible solution o f t h e s e c l u
!
s ion o f wo men e x cuse f o r th e postpon e -
z

ment o f wo men s enfra n c hi se men t .

Th e num ber of wome n w h o would be

qualified i f equal i ty o f p olitical opportunity
,

b e g ran ted wi l l be probab ly about o n e million

, .

E ve n if h alf of th ese d id not vote it is still n o ,

rea son for d e ny i n g it F rom th e R eport we

.

find t ha t i n s om e D istrict s n o t 4 0 per cent o f

t h e men voters used their rig h t an d th e ,

n umber of Un iversity electors i s le ss th an a

couple o f th ou san d m en It is quite a s p ra c ti
.

c al t hat even a c ouple o f thousa n d wo m en

s hould be g iven the vote to rep resent th e
68 THE A WA K E N I NG OF A S I A N WO MANH OO D

wh ole fem i nin e th ou g h t an d intere sts o f t he

n at i on T he d esire to obtain wo me n s votes

.

would h ave th e very p ractical result of brin g

ing for ward reform s d i rectly touch i n g t he
interest s o f wo me n a nd ch ildre n w h ich other
wise m ig ht h ave bee n lon g postpon ed .

Th e S outhborou g h F ran chise Committe e d is

p oses o f th e claim s of wom en in four sh ort
para graph s o u t of a volu m e of 4 00 pa g es .

Th ey a d mit th at n umerou s p etition s were

sent to the m on t h e s u b j e c t ; o n l y o n e L ocal
G overn me nt ( Ben ga l ) d ef i nitely opposed it .

!
a nd th en on ly a s prem ature ; and th oug h

t h ey record t h at n o stron g opposition w a s
!
r eveale d by th e eviden ce ( for non e ex
i s ts ! ) yet t hey d ecided [ a s aga i n st all th e

p os i tive an d l i ttle n egative opinion ] ,not
to reco mmend t h e exten sion o f th e suffra g e to
!
women T h is ca n not be co n s i dere d a fa ir
d ecision ; it i s n o t i n con form ity with t h e pro
p ortion o f eviden c e before th em ; it i s i n
c om plete O pposit i on t o th e w ill o f th e direct

representat i ve s o f t h e Ind i an people a s sh o wn

b y t h e A ll In dia W om en s D epu ta tion m any
-
,

w omen s so cietie s a n d p olitical s oc ietie s a nd

,

b y t h e v otes o f over delegate s at t h e

 70 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I AN W O MA NH OOD

d iffic ult i es would be in volve d in th e actual

!
recording of vote s T h e whole que stion of
I ndian fra nc h ise bristles with grave difficultie s .

Th ey are grappled wit h in t h e case of men .

It i s grossly unfair to re fu s e to overco me t he m

in t h e c ase of wome n especially wh en a ,

prac t ical workin g precedent h a s already been

sh own by a noth er country .

F or t h ese four rea son s eac h with n o t a leg,

to stan d on w hen practically en quired into ,

t h ese four E n glis h me n tw o B ra h ma na s and

,

on e M u h a mmada n S a hibzad a propose to
!
d isqualify wome n O ne oth er E n glis h ma n
.

boldly d issented an d in a true L iberal spirit

,

ad vised th at th e se x disqualification sh ou l d
-

be removed a t t he outset of responsi b le

T h e oth ers d o n ot
!
g overnment in I ndia .

boldly oppose woman suffra ge on principle ,

they probably recog nise th at th e world h a s

go ne too far a h ead in thou g ht n ow for th at to
b e publ i cly e xpre ssed b ut th ey take sh elter
,

i n a friend ly p aterna l pat o n t h e b ac k to the

petitioners men and women an d s a y i n
, ,

effect : Very good my c hildren bu t I h ave
, ,

nothin g for you today Come a gain to

.
!

m orrow .
!
I t is th e sa me o l d story o f W ait
 S O U T H B O R O U G H C OM M ITT E E S R E P O RT 7 1

!
a nd s ee but In dia ca nn ot afford to wait S he
,
.

m u st tak e h er place a t on ce s i d e by side with

ot her N at ion s i n th e E mp i re T h e h onour .

able p osition o f wome n m ust be up held in t he

first great step i n th e N ational Charter th e
R eform Bill .

T h e I ndia n deputat i on s t o E n gla n d mu st

press for it wit h a l l their p ower sup porte d by ,

th e women voters t he Labour Party a n d th e

,

Liberals Th ey will be supplie d with fact s

.

from I nd ia w h ich ca n contro vert th e obj ection s

o f th e Com mittee I t is th e duty o f every lover
.

of I nd ia n h onour an d every re s p e c to r of I nd i an
woman hood to work for th e reversion o f th i s
d ecision in th e R ef o rm Bill itself .

In no country i s t h is sweepin g d i squal ifica

t i on of se x to be less tolerated t han in I nd ia ,

wh ose history sh ows t h at th e women w h o s o

d esired were g iven with out any barriers o f
,

man made le gal restriction s t he fullest o p p o r

-
,

tu n i ty to serve in t he religious life o n t he ,

battle field in t h e councils of th eir peop l e in

-
, ,

all t h e public life .

To t h is modern Te mp l e o f t h e M ot herlan d

i ts p olit ical life t h e wom en wh o so d esire
m u st be allowed to brin g th eir offeri n g s o f
72 T H E A W A KE N I N G 0F A S I AN WO MANH OO D

t h ou g h t an d service an d t h e w a y must be
,

!
opened at o n ce N o practic al purpose i s
.

!
effected by remainin g beh in d th e time s in
postponin g a permissive n ot com pul s o r y
, ,

rig h t of self e x pre ssion

- .
 C H A P TE R V I

S U F FR AG E D E B AT E S A S T U DY

I N C O N TR A S T S

H U M AN IT Y is a stran ge creature I t d oe s
.

most u nexpected th in gs Th e d ebates o n

.
.

W oman S uffrage in M a dra s in A pril an d in

Poona i n July 1 9 2 1 are a n in sta n ce in
, ,

point . E xcept for th e exertion s o f on e

woma n s organisation th e W om en s I ndia n

A ssociation it could not be m aintained th at

,

women in t h e M adra s Presiden cy were

ad vanced enoug h o r organ ised enou g h to s h ow
a very stron g deman d for the leg islativ e

vote a nd yet it took only an hour an d a h alf s
,

debate to S how that th e M adra s Counc i l wa s

preponderatingly in favour o f grantin g woma n
suffra ge O n th e con trary th ou g h Bombay
.
,

is noted everywh ere for th e ad vanced edu ca

tion an d free status o f i ts woman h ood a n d ,

althou g h as m any a s n i neteen women s a sso
c ia ti o n s in Bombay City alone had comb i ned
 74 T H E A W A KE N I N G OF A S I A N WOM AN HOOD

in
a larg e pu blic meetin g to d ema nd th e vote ,

a n d four splend id m eetin g s were h eld in

P oo na a t o n e o f wh ic h th ere were over eigh t '

h undred women present a nd all enthu siastic ,

y e t in t h e Bo mbay Cou ncil it took t hree d ays

o f h ard verbal f i ghtin g to wear down the

o pposition a gainst gra nting t h e wome n s
c la im s .

I had the good fortu n e to be present at each

o f t hese historic debates an d in almost eve r y
,

d etail t here wa s a m ost interest i n g con tra st to

be n oted In settin g i n at mosp here in both
.
, ,

m e n a nd wo men they were differen t I t i s

, .

a
: fruitful p syc holog ical stud y for someon e to
follow u p I sh all merely s tate fa cts a s t hey
.

i mpresse d me .

F irst a s regard s th e Counci l Ch a mbe r s

,
.

I nteriorly t he M adra s c hamber carr i es o f f th e

p al m for art i stic effect impressive dig n i ty a nd

well plan ned arra ng eme nt To ment i on only

-
.

t wo p oints to th e detrime nt o f th e Poon a c ha m

b e r t he exit door for members is b e h ind th e
,

Pre sident s c hair a n d it mu st trouble him

c on siderably t o b e con sta n tl y interrup t ed b y

th o s e e xit an d entrance b ows o f M embers
w hi c h h e s o rigorou sly dema nd s ; an oth er
 S U F F R AG E D E B A T E S 75

po i nt is t hat t h ere is n ot e ve n a strip of mattin g

on t h e h ard paved floor a nd t h e boot s of th e
-
,

M embers mad e a h orrid c latter e very time

any on e moved i n or ou t I n o ti c e d wit h a
.

s mile t h at one h y b ri d l y garm ented M a hratta

-

M ember ha d by t he se con d d ay safeguarded

h im self from sel f consc i ousness by th e a p pl i
-

cation o f g lea mingly noticeable rubber heels .

There are n o d ivision lobbies in Poona Vote s .

are recorded in curtained corners t hat re mind

ed o n e of a medium s cabinet at a Sp i ritual i stic
sea nce O ne realised the sup eriority of th e
.

severa l doors on each side o f t h e M adra s

c ha mber and t he utility o f b eauty in t he latter
,

C h amber s arra ngem en t a nd colou r sc h em e .

But e xteriorly t he settin g o f th e Poona

c ha mber i s more d eligh tful t h an th e d in gy
surround i n g s of F ort S t G eorge in wh ich the
.

M adras cha mber is situated I n Poona t here

.

is a la rge garde n full of rose s a nd oth er

flowers wit h fine Shady trees and a n i m press
,

i ve d rive The arch itecture o f t h e build i n g

.

i s a lso d istinct i ve I t i s o n e o f t h e re sidenc es

.

of th e G overnor of Bombay th e l e v e e h all of ,

which is bein g le nt for th e Coun cil purp oses .

I sh ould th ink that it will n ot be lon g before

76 THE AWA K E N I NG OF A S I AN WOMA N HOO D

t h e Councillors build a more suitable ch amber ,

especially if t h ey p ay a visit to t he S outh ern

Presiden cy .

A t t he M adras d ebate n oth in g h ad struc k

me more th an th e absence o f W esterners .

T he r e were only four present t hen a n d eve n ,

th ey seemed to be sh rinkin g into in visibility .

N o t iceably too t here w a s an overwh elmin g

maj ority of non B rah mana s and only eig ht
-
,

M u ha m mada n members I t wa s strik ingly a n

.

assembly o f representative I ndian s h a vin g ,

power to rule t heir land with a m i n i m um of

interference from foreig ners H o w differen t it
.

wa s in Poona ! By atmosp h ere by power o f ,

oratory by t h e largeness of t h eir nu m b ers a nd

, ,

th e importance o f th e post s th ey h eld th e E n g ,

l i s h m e n seemed to dominate th e p roceedin g s ;

perh ap s n ot really so but th at i s th e impre s
,

sion o n e g o t durin g th at d ebate T he n also .

t here were t he groupin g s o f Parsis of G uj eratis

, ,

o f S indhis , o f M ahra t tas o f M uhammadan s

, .

W hile in M ad ra s we h eard only o n e Speaker

usi n g h i s moth er tongue in Poona quite a
-
,

number of speeches were made in qu i te a

nu mber o f vern aculars a nd at o n e tim e th e
,

Presiden t him self ha d to u s e some vernacular

 78 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I AN WO MA N HOO D

D eputy Pres i dent on the day of the M adra s

debate .

Th e atmosp here of th e debates t he m s elves

was very different In M adra s there wa s a
.

sen se o f ten sion a n d an xiety on the wome n s

part fo r on ly half a n hour a fter the proposer s
speech F rom th at time on ward exce pt
.
,

from t h e M u ha m mad an m e mbers th e s i ttin g ,

beca m e an accum ulation of ap p reciation of

wom an h ood a n d o f fait h in g iv i n g i t th e fullest
opportunities for e xpre ssin g itself in any and
every way it desired O nly three M embe r s
.

thoug h t th e que st i on premature on e be i n g o n e

,

of t he E nglis h M em bers o f the E x ecutive

Council a n d e ven h e did n ot pre s s t he p oint
, .

Th e o nly oth er western Speak er 3 S cotsman , ,

strongly supported th e re solution Th e per

.

vadin g tone i n M ad ra s w a s a ble nd o f senti

ment abstract p r i n c i p le a nd religiou s rever
, ,

ence f or woman h ood .

In Poona the debate s tretc hed over th re e

days and t he first day s sittin g was a five
,

hours accumulation of g loomy oppositio n

u tterly u ne xpected Th e mover o f t he Resolu

.

tion had not g i ven p erh aps enoug h stron g

reason i n g in hi s O pe n ing speech a nd t h e ,
 S U F FR AG E D E B A T E S 79

President took it s o muc h for g ran ted that th e

Co un cil wa s in favour t hat h e gave specia l
c hance s to O pposers to prove t h eir case a gain st .

A quasi philosop h i cal poet i cal sentimental

-
, , ,

but well delivered speec h by a W e sterner t h e ,

Reg istrar o f C o operative S ocieties wa s g iven

-
,

opposing t h e c o operation of men an d women

-

i n pu b lic life ( surely b e is a contrad i ction i n

t erm s a nd a parado x ! ) H is lead wa s followed
b y many an d e specially by four other E nglish
,

me n wh o harped on t he theme of p ostpone

me nt I n on e ca se t h e speaker asserted th at
.

w omen always a nd everywhere were reaction

aries and to give a vote for this resolution
,

wa s to give a v ote for rea ction T h e in j ustic e

.

of th is state ment still hurts T h e atmosp her e

.

i n Poona was that of a combination o f ca ut i ou s

b u siness men w h o wan ted to be sure i n ad van ce
of t he success of th eir ve n t ure a nd of wait an d
,

see British pol i t i c i ans T h ese were all clear

.
,

articulate a nd clever sp eakers a nd by t heir ,

man ner they al most p ulled across th e lin e

t he quieter and m ore i ntuitive or de mocratic
s uppor t ing party I t was a ten se menta l tu g
.

o f wa r
-
a n d it certa i nly would h ave been a
.

t os s u p w h ic h Side would have won if th e

-
80 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I A N WO MAN HOOD

d iv i s i on h ad been take n t hat evenin g A s in

M ad ras th e M u ham madan s as a b ody with a
,

few ex ception s were i n oppos i tion T he Parsis

.

were stron g ly i n favour O th er group s were

.

d ivided .

O n t he secon d d ay t h e I rishm an who is

,

o ne of t h e E xecut i ve Councillors saved the

reputation for p rogress o f t he W esterners by
h is very forceful support and got p ractically
,

th e first clear ap plause o f th e d ebate by h is

referen ce to M rs R a m a b a i R a n a d e ( wid ow of
.

t h e l ate Ju stice R a n a d e an d Presid en t o f t he

S eva S edan ] a s on e whose p resence would
h onour g race a n d h elp t hat Cou ncil o r a ny
,

o ther . I really th in k his speec h turned t h e

tid e . A fter i t th e w hole air see me d to lighten
th e M embers began to talk more sen se and ,

c eased to com m en d u nt h inkingly th e perpetua

t ion o f t h e s l a ms qu o or to i mag ine e ve ntual

itie s o f a terrifyin g n ature F ac ts foun ded o n
.

t h e res u lts of t h e M unicipal votin g p re vailed

o ver f i ction ,
a nd com mon sen se won t he day .

I t wa s part of t h at sa me commonsen se t hat

d ecide d most of t h e E n glish me mb ers to
a bs t ain fro m votin g in t he division a s it w a s
,

m ade clear t o th em a s t he debate went on that

 S U F F R AG E D E B A T E S 81

this was a matter for t h e I ndian s to settle

t hemselve s T here wa s g rea t j ubilation w he n
.

th e votin g a ctually took place an d th e fig ures

were a n nounced ; 5 2 for 2 5 a gain st W he n I , .

h app en ed to e xclaim to t he M embers and

fri end s afterwards in t h e lobb y I t was a ,

!
g ood f i g h t
, th ey laug hed but that is really ,

w hat it wa s I n M adra s it wa s a walk over

.
-
,

in Poon a it was a victory .

T he number of wome n w h o attended t he

M adras debate wa s comparatively small and ,

all t hroug h t h e women s p revious campaign
t h e c o O per ation o f western women ( wit h
-

t hree exception s ) with t heir I n dian S i sters wa s

c onspicuously absen t I t was most inspirin g
.

to fin d c ontrar i w i se in Poon a over fifty

, ,

we stern women in clud in g t h e Bish op s wife
, ,

th e G en eral s W ife th e E x ecutive Coun cill ors
,

wives missionarie s a n d teac hers o f all kind s

,

keenly j oinin g wit h t h e H in du Parsi M u h a m , ,

madan an d I ndian C hristia n women in e n th u

s i a s m for th e wo men s c ause ; a n d t he same i s

t h e case i n Bombay and oth er ci t ie s of the

Presidency O ver a hundred wo men attended
.

t he Poona d eb ate and ten times as many

,

were eager to come if only t here had been

6
82 T H E A W A K E N I N G O F A S I AN WO MANHOO D

a ccom modation for the m T he presen ce an d

.

k eenness o f th e wome n of all communitie s in

th e visitors gallery h ad a g ood d eal to d o with
t h e s a ti s f a c to ry re s u l t o f th e Bomb ay debate
o
.

I t hink it wa s the women of th e Bombay

Presidency w h o were t h e greatest g a i n e rs b y '

t hese deb ate s and t h e men of M a dras Pre

,

s i d e n c y ; th e former by th e very real Spirit

o f sisterh ood t h at wa s developed amon g th em

a nd t he amount of political ed ucation t hose

three days g ave t hem a nd t he latter by th eir
,

un hesitatin g an d u ngrud gin g respon se to t h e

sp irit of th e times .

O ver 4 0 me mbers spoke in t he Bombay

Cou ncil and 25 in M adra s I ndividually we .

women h ad equally fin e an d chivalrous kn ig h ts

in bot h Presidencies who ch ampioned our
cause most ably b oth inside and outside th e
Chamber and to w hom we feel most deeply
g rateful Taken however a s two contrasted
.
,
-

a ssemblies of men in their attitude to the

a spirations of th eir Sisters for a free field an d
no favour probably t heir o w n figures are
,

t heir truest index in M adra s a m aj ority of 3 7

,

i n an attendance o f 7 0 ( 5 2 p er cent ] and in ,

Poona a maj o rity 2 7 in an a ttendance o f 9 2

 S U FFR AG E D E B A TE S 83

( 2 7 per cent ] Bombay Presiden cy will do well

.

t o make up f o r a certain loss of prestige s h e

h as suffered in t his matter by becomin g t h e
first Presidency to enforce compulsory educa
tion o n g irls equally wit h b oys o r by puttin g
,

some women o n the Bombay Corporation at

on ce.

T he question wh ich now arises is W hic h

,

is g oin g to be th e n e x t Provin ce to enter the

lists o n behalf o f its women B en gal th e ,

United P r ovin ces o r th e Panj ab

,
 C H A P TE R V I I

I N D I A N W O M A N H O O D T O DA Y

NO country has a longer record o f famous

Its
!
women th a n I ndia . Ri g Veda
-
is
recog nised as t he oldest literary product in th e
world an d a number of t h e h ymn s o r d evo
,

ti o n a l poem s included in it are admitted to

h ave been written by wom en of th e tim e .

In I ndia s later myth ological stories wome n
a r e a s n oble a nd as free as t he men T here
.

is S ita th e emblem of fait hfulness and d evo

,

tion yet h aving to submit to the ordeal o f fire

,

because th e breath o f scan dal h ad playe d upon

h er ; there is G arg i famous a s a rel i g i ous
,

d ialectician and M a i tre y i t he lover o f p h il o

, ,

s op hy ,
w h o preferred th e S a nnyasi life in t h e
f orest in company with her hu sband to a life
o f w ea l th ease and worldliness in her city
,

h ousehold th ere i s S avitri w h o ch ose h er own

husband even again st her parents will and ,
86 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I A N WOM A N HOOD

self expression a s did t he me n an d that a free

-
,

an d un tram melled natural comradesh ip existed

b et ween m en an d women in I ndia un ti l th e
t im e o f t h e M uha mmada n inva sion .

Th en e veryth in g c han ged f o r Indian wo man

hood . M u h am m ada n ism h a s a d ifferent p hi
l o s o p h y of l i fe and the h ereafter from H indu
i sm It seclude s i t s wom e n from the Sig ht of
.

all me n save t h e hu sban d ; only to a veiled

woman d oes it pay respec t an d all its m arried
,

women are s o str i ctly guarded t h a t n o t eve n

to draw water fro m h er well may a M uslim
woman leave t h e zenana N aturally when these
.

people spread con querin gly over th e l a n d carrie d ,

awa y by t he lu st of war an d p ower they like , ,

all militarist people in th eir mo m ent o f victory ,

ca me u nder th e sway of th eir passion s an d ,

findin g I ndian women goin g about freely an d ,

j ud ging t he m by their o w n pu rel a h stan dards ,

t houg h t them loose women a nd used t hem,

a ccord in gly .

T h eir rule lasted five centuries and durin g ,

t h at t i m e t h e H indu s o f th e N orth were

driven in self defence to introduce th e pu r d a lz
-

an d early ma rr i age s yst em

-
. T he pan i c of
fear swept all older custom s an d wiser ways
 I N D I A N WOMA N HOO D T ODAY 87

before it an d never h ad war and con quest

,

such a h arvest of unnatural an d far rea chin g-

effects o n t h e race concerned T houg h t h e

.

p ower o f th e M uslim s h as bee n dethroned for

over a h undred an d fifty years still th e .

ob session of sex distrust h olds sway over

-

t h e h ig h er ca ste s o f I ndia I n them th e m en

.

a nd women are so divided by interests cus ,

toms outlook lack o f intercom munication th a t

, , ,

th ey m ay be likened to two different races

rath er t h an t he complementary h alve s of one
race W ithin t hese castes e very man save
.

the hu sban d is tacitly regarded as the woman s
potential enemy e very woma n save th e wif e
,

is look ed o n b y th e m an a s a probable tempt

ress E verywh ere th ere is an exa ggerated
.

a wareness of s e x c on sc i ousness wh i c h is th e
-

d irect evil h erita ge o f th e m ilitaris t ru l e of a

particularly masculin e religion t h at even goes
to th e len gth of denyin g an individual soul to
a woman .

A ccord in gly o n e find s t h e p u m a /z system

a nd c hild marria ge entre n che d in H ind u homes

-

e verywhere in N orth ern I ndia wh ere t he

M og hul dyna sties h eld greatest sway an d in ,

S out h I ndia also certain a spects o f it h ave

88 T H E A W A K E N I N G OF A S I A N WOMAN HOO D

become s o com mon t h at it w ould be difficult

to remove t h e m quickly T h e wife may n ot
.

talk to a n y other man tha n h er h usba nd eve n,

h is broth ers bein g forbidden friendship wit h

h er L adies d o not g o to public m eetin g s ;
.

they may never go about unaccompan ied an d ,

usually th e four walls o f th eir h ouses an d

courtya r d s are t h eir bou n d aries save for visit s
,

to th e temple to w h ic h th ey go toget her in

band s .

H ere at once it m ust be stated th at whil e

t he g a s /2a system prevails a mon gst all t h e
caste s i n N orth ern I ndia an d wome n ar e only
,

rarely seen in the streets or anywhere in

public an d th en only closely veiled ; in th e
,

S out h of I ndia t here is no suc h p u r d a h system .

T houg h t he h ig her ca ste women in south ern

India lead a more secluded life th an western
women t he coolie women t h e peasan t
, .

women th e lo w er ca ste town swomen wal k

,

an d work freely a n d openly and i n most

,

respects h ave a health ier and h appier life

t han their sisters o f th e same standing in t h e
W est .

I t wa s durin g t h at warlik e tim e wh ic h m ay

,

well be called th e D ark A ge s o f In dia n

 r
-( n r v
J f t r 44 0 c
All
e .

7
90 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I A N WOMAN HOOD

of education in I nd ia is a d isgrace to its conn ec

tion with B ritain an d i n respect o f female
,

e ducation it is i n an appallin gly low condition .

T he last statistics sh ow th a t o u t o f th e total

p opulation o f I ndia only 1 06 men per thousan d
c a n read or write in t heir vernacular and only ,

1 0 women in every
If i t were not f o r t he great b ody o f t r aditional
national culture imbedded in t he religious fun c
tion s an d oral k nowledge o f t h is a ncient people
!
h and ed o n from its golden a ge one would be ,

in clined to th ink th at Indian s must be a rude ,

boorish people seeing that t h eir average of

,

e d ucation is s o deplorab ly low ; but a s a matter ,

o f fact d espite th eir ig n ora nce o f book learnin g

,
-

a n d the three R s t he m aj ority of I n dian women
,

h ave a n inbred sen se o f grace courtesy g ood , ,

manners tact a nd k nowled ge o f religious

, ,

arts and literature far in advance of th e Board

,

S c hool girl o r even in many ca ses t he College

,

t rained girl o f t h e W est W ith th is basis

.

I ndian girls pick up very rapidly t he education

imparted in t h e few and far between sc hools
- - -
.

Unt il primary educa t ion is m ad e free an d

c ompulsory for g irls with sc hool hours better
,

a dj usted to t he Special domestic claims on

 I N D I AN W O MA N HOOD T O DAY 91

young I ndian g irls ow i n g to th e absence o f

ser vants t h e sta t us of wome n cannot be much
,

i mpro v ed A t prese nt t here is only o n e

.

school in every six villa g es an d only boy s,

attend most of suc h sc h ools M on ey must b e

.

lavishly alloca te d by G overn ment or by

private p h ila nthropy for buildin g sc hool s for ,

payin g staffs an d upk eep a n d for supportin g

,

numbers of tra i nin g sc hools a n d hostels for

t eac hers .I n dian women especially widows
, ,

s hould be induced to come to th ese by means

o f free sc h olarship s for education and boardin g .

The most cryin g need o f th e moment is a

supply o f women t eac hers eith er eastern or
,

western . Unle ss elem entary education is

quickly a nd broadly e x tended to girls throug h
o u t all I ndia t here can b e no satisfactory
,

improvement i n th e status of I n dia n women ,

n o r will t hey b e in a posit i on or even have ,

t h e wish to call later for certain reform s in th e

,

c ustom s o f t h e country . F acili t i e s f o r college

education are relatively far i n e xces s of t h ose
for primary sc hooli n g an d t his is only th e
,

creat i on of a n apex with out a brea dth of base .

T h e greatest barrier to e ducation h owe ver , ,

in t h e hig her castes comes from t h e custom

92 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I A N WO MAN H OO D

of marryin g t h e girls at about the ag e o f ten ,

and t hen j ealously guardin g th em within t he

four walls o f th eir home s o t h at no breath o f
scandal may tarnish t h eir fair names b efore

t hey go to t heir h usba nd s home s a t about t h e
a ge o f fourteen the n to undertak e immediately
,

th e respon sibilities o f m otherh ood . I h ave

spo k e n of this crucial matte r in a previou s
c hapter but mu st repeat it becau se o f i ts vital
,

importa nce T hroug h t h is custom t he educa

.

tion o f g irl s is ende d j ust at th e time t hey are

becomin g properly in terested in it an d m an y
,

are th e tears she d when t h e fiat goes fort h ,

!
Y ou must n o t go a g ain to t he sc hool . In
n o part o f th e world so muc h a s in I ndia
would A ristotle h ave b een j ustified in callin g

women arre ste d developments
T h is habit o f early seclusion affects also
t h e p h y s IO a l statu s o f In dian womanh ood
very detrimentally fo r it en ta i ls la ck of e x e r
,

cise j ust at a time whe n O p en air g ames would

-

be most u seful in buildin g up t he ph ysique for

t h e stra in t hat will s o shortly be placed on it .

T he heavy rate o f mortality amon g st th ese

you n g wives is one of t he stron gest witnesse s
to the need for raisin g th e a ge at wh ich a girl
94 T H E A W AK E N I N G O F A S I AN WO MA N HOOD

fo r the wife to stand when i n h er husband s

p res en c e if a s t ra nge man come s to h er

house a nd enquires f o r h er hu sba nd she may ,

not an swer h i m but will take i t a s a n insult

,

that h e should address her at all .

T h e woma n ex ist s o nly for t he h usban d and

t h e c hildren but h a s no ind i vidual recog nition
, .

This is o n e rea son why a wido w becomes suc h

a waste p roduct in I n dian social l i fe A .

woma n ha s no t houg ht of o r rig h t to a life of

, ,

h er o w n ; Sh e stan ds or falls entirely by h er

relations hip to ma nh ood either to h usband o r
,

son . A girl w h o is not married befo r e puberty

i s a cau se for excommu nication ; an d if s h e
marries after that a ge h er c h ildren will be
con sidered illeg itimate I t is very regrettabl e
.

t h at t he B ill to leg alise p ost puberty marriage -

,

i ntroduced in th e L egislature has so far failed ,

t o pass into law a s i t would mak e reform s

,

muc h ea sier o f attemp t by progre ssive parents .

N o review o f women s p osition could exclud e
t h e servan t question I t cuts very deeply i nt o
.

t h e Indian woman s l i fe M embers o f a
.

different caste or even sub caste may not touch -

t h e food or bedd i n g o r person s or t h e wells of

me mbers o f a hig her caste wit hout pollutin g
 I N D I A N WO MA N HOOD T O DAY 95

t h em A ccordingly a Bra h man househ old

.
,

must have a Brah man serva nt a s cook nurse , ,

etc a nd t h ese hig h caste servants are scarc e

.
,
-

an d expen sive so t he ch ief work o f th e house

,

hold i s usually done by the women Besides .

,

t he preparation of food i s l ooked o n a s a re l i g i

o u s d uty an d privileg e an d t he care of th e ,

baby and i ts breast nursin g are absolutely -

incumben t o n t he mot her for over its first tw o

years T hese t hin g s turn th e women o f th e
.

househ old ofte n into drudges overworked ,

cooks an d mere s e x mac h ine s t hroug h lack o f

,
-

balance fro m a ny intellectual or truly spiritual

part o f their nature T h e r e is th e ot he r .

e xtreme o f very wealt hy fam ilie s wh ere th e

wife becomes little m ore tha n a d oll I t i s .

not imp ossible but it is not so usual a s on e

,

would like to fin d t h e happy med i u m a mon gst

,

women w hose husbands are in moderate o r

poor positions .

T heoretically n o country n o rel i g i on hold s

, , ,

woman hood in such h ig h h o n our a s H indu Ind i a

does N o other religion of t he presen t t i me
.

worsh i ps G odde sses ; n o other looks on th e

M ot her a s D ivine Practically woman stand s
.
,

i n a contra dictory or a mbiguous position As .

96 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I AN WO MA N HOOD

wife she is virtuall y t h e serva nt o f her hus

ban d her primary virt u e m ust b e obedience ,

an d s h e mu st ask h er husband s leave before
u ndertakin g anyth in g unusual Y et a s mother
.

s h e is t h e virtual ruler of t heir c hildren H er .

slig htest wish es are obeyed to an extraord inary

e xtent by e ven her middle aged son s I t is in
-
.

t his relations h i p th at the i mmen se power of the

women of I ndia lies an d w h en I nd ian mothers
,

are as well educated a s I nd i an fathers they will

h ave muc h more d irect influen ce on public and
p rivate l ife t han t he wes t ern m other h as .

I t can b e definitely stated t hat t hroug hout

I ndia t h e statu s o f woman in her c apacity a s
mot her i s mu c h h ig her t h an th at of any west
e rn moth er an d it is alon g th e li n e o f th e
respon sibility t hus t hrown o n her to k now ,

h ow to lead h er c h ildre n wisely an d patriotic

ally t h at the public spirit of I ndian woman
,
.

hood m ay best be developed .

O n th e other han d in n o othe r country is th e

,

status of the widow s o low an d lame n table as

in In dia A c hild may be married at five
.

years an d a few d ays afterward s h e r husband

m ay die but yet sh e becomes a life long
,
-

widow t houg h t he second marriage ceremony

, ,
98 T H E A W A K E N I N G OF A S I AN WO MA NHOO D

selfish n ess of t h e fa mily elders and t h e d i tti

,

c u l ti e s of obtainin g s uitable ca ste lodging s in

stra n g e place s combined wit h th e obj ection

,

f elt to any woma n of a hi g h caste earnin g

m oney f o r herself ( it bein g a reflection o n t he
power an d willin gn ess o f t he m ale me mber s
o f the j oint fam ily to sup port her ) and lastly ,

her own diffidence derived from her sen se of

bein g und er a curse of K arma all make i t ,

extremely d ifficult to remove h er to the i h

flue nce of a g ood educational trainin g for th e
ser vice of her sisters an d country .

D espi te t he d isad vanta ges i n status e h u me

r ated th ere is no dou b t that t h e I ndian woman
,

of t h e h ig h er castes is Sh ielded sp l end idl y

fro m t he uncertainties d ifficulties and te m pta
, ,

tion s of t h e rou g h and tumbl e life of t h e wage

- -

earn in g western woman A S th ere is no ex .

c ess of women over men i n I ndia t here i s t h e ,

S helter o f h er husba n d s h om e ava i lable for ea ch
woman who is thu s never forced into earnin g
,

her l i ving W ith in th e narrow conf i nes of th is

.

home she h a s a peaceful irrespon sible n u , ,

tro u bled life full o f quiet little relig i ou s festi

,

vals many c harit i e s an d h ospital i ties and

, ,

surrou nded by t h e love an d devotion of her

 I N D I AN W OMA N HOOD T O DAY 99

c hildren S h e i s often steeped in religiou s

.

literature an d s h e cultivate s mu sic an d

,

t he var i ou s home h andicrafts T hus with.

,

pra ctically every woman p rovided with a

h ome it i s e xtremely unlikely t hat there will
,

a t a n y time be an incursion of wom en into

t h e arena of labour similar to th at in th e
'

W est . I n the S hudra ca ste howe ver wome n

, ,

work very freely Side by Side with me n in all

k ind s of la bour denie d to t heir sisters in oth er
countries ; but sex an d n ot th e quality of t he
,

work done rule s t h e rate o f payment in I ndia

,

as else where . G en erally speakin g th e ,

status o f t he I ndia n woma n o f to day i s very -

similar to t h at of t h e wome n of early

Victorian times in E n glan d S h e ha s better
.

rig h t s of property h owever more respect

, ,

fro m her religion for h e r s e x a g reater re ,

a

v e re n c e sh own her for h er mot herhood a n d ,

n o man m ad e leg al barriers to her publi c

-

a ctiv i ties under H indu la w wh ose princip le

,

seem s to ha ve been S h e m a y do what s h e

ca n do

T h e future p rospect of I ndia n woman h o o d i s

distin ctly hopeful . P ublic op inion is fa st
waking up to th e wron g done to th e women
1 00 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I A N WO MAN HOO D

an d the impoverish ment caused to the public

life by th e la ck o f ed ucation t hey h ave
h ad ; and the ca ll o f freedom is m aking
itself h eard in th e hearts of a ll t he youn ger
women .

I n all matters reg ardin g w om en t h e Bombay

Preside ncy comp rising 1 9 m illion o f people
, ,

i s far ah ead o f a ny ot h er part of British I ndia

.

I ts g irls are well e ducated marry a s late a s

,

possible an d do n ot become m others before 1 7

, .

Its women were g ranted t he M u nicipal vote

some years a go a n d m ak e g ood u se o f their
rig h t N ext to Bombay come s th e M adras
.

P residen cy with i ts population of 4 0 m illions .

It h a s practically n o f a ra a h disability but it

,

h a s a dowry syste m in its h ig h er ca s tes

wh ic h is unwort hy of any progressive coun try .

M atch makin g h a s b ecome a sordid matter o f

-

business with out rom an ce or ideal in it T he .

p arents o f t h e girl h ave to pay exorbitant sums

to in duce th e bride groom s fam ily to con sent to
the marriage T h is makes a family o f gir l s
.

a lmost a curse to th e i r parents .

In the se P r esid encies women are bein g

encouraged to attend public lecture s a n d
meetin gs of all kinds to read vernacular
,
1 02 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I A N WOMAN HOOD

of

Calcutta a nd N orth I nd i a an d t h e W ome n s
,

I ndia n Associat i on w h ich h as 50 B ranches

,

with it s H ead quarters a t A d ya r M adras , .

There is a purely in depen dent Ind ian W omen s
University ru n more o n Japan ese t ha n o n
,

British models w here t he vern aculars are

,

th e mediu m o f instruc tion a nd E nglish is

,

made a secondary foreign lan gua g e unlik e

,

th e G overn ment institutions A great Sig n of

.

the ti mes i s t h at parents are begin nin g to look

f o r education a s a desirable e quipmen t in the
prospective wives of t h eir sons I ncreasin gly
.

impor t ant L adies Conferen ce s are be i n g h eld
annually simu ltaneously wit h t h e N ational
Con gresses .

The S ocial Reform Con fere nce a s early as

1 9 1 7 passed t he followin g resolution whic h ,

is a regular W oma n s Ch arter o f F reed om of
O pp ortunity not yet accorded to her by western
countrie s :

T hat s e x sh all form no d isqualification t o
women entering a ny p os i tion o r profession f o r
!
w hic h s h e Shows herself capable .

T he modern p ublic spirit in w o men first

showed itself clearly wh e n a number of the
best known I ndian women were s o deeply
-
 I NDI A N WOMA N HOOD T O DAY 1 03

m oved by t h e wron g s inflicted o n t heir sisters

i n th e F ij i I s land s that t hey went in deputa
tion to t he Viceroy about t h e matter an d
s ucceeded i n gaining th e most urgent reform s .

I n 1 9 1 6 t he women of th e country were

stirred w ith indign ation a t t he i n tern men t o f

M rs Besan t an d h eld many women s p rotest
.
,

meetin gs an d walke d i n p rocession to t h e

,

temples to pray for her release T h e most.

important event till then in th e h istory of I n d i an

women under British rule was th e representative

A ll I ndia W omen s D eputation wh ic h waited
-

u pon t h e S ecretary of S tate for I ndia in 1 9 1 7 ,

a n d for th e f i r st time m ade a clear de man d

f o r W oman S uffrage a nd pressed for numerous
e ducational facilities . S ince t h at tim e there
has b een practical u nanimity between all
sections o f opinion in I n dian political life
t ha t women should be g i ven their respon sible
sh are i n self govern men t ; that a s the N ation
-
,

al Con gresses have expressed it , W omen
p ossessin g th e sam e qualification s a s are laid
d own i n a ny part of t h e ( Reform ) S c h eme
!
s h all not be d isqualified o n account o f sex .

Th e i dea o f an independen t life apart fro m

,

t h e life o f m arriage is foreign to t he t houg ht

,
1 04 T H E A W AK E N I N G OF A S I AN WO MA NHOO D

of t h e ordin ary I n dia n woman an d is likely ,

to rem ain so Y et it is possible to feel th e

.

stir of a new life new attitude s to problems

, ,

new desire s for wider servic e to t he M other

la nd movin g with in he r quiet sp h ere T he .

transi tion period between th e types o i women

will be a d ifficult o n e for ea ch individual .

A lready it is bein g felt s o but suc h is t he

,

price of g rowt h in freedom M e n are an xious

.

th at the women of th e lan d shall keep pace

with the m a nd t h ey welcome women to all
,

th eir representative g ath ering s .

O ne of the m ost n otable women in I n dia to day

-

is M rs Sa ro j i n i N aidu poetess p olitician

.
-

peacemak er S he h a s written poems wh i c h

.

move all I n dia by th eir beauty an d patriotism ;

sh e ha s bee n a leadin g figure in all political
a nd social reform mo v emen ts a nd s h e h as been
,

elected Presid ent o f s everal Provincial Con

f e re n c e s : s h e h as been one of t h e greatest i n
fluences m aking for th e H ind u M u ham madan -

entente ; she is the l i vin g continuatio n of t h e

fa mou s women of I ndia s p a st o ne of t he very
,

brig htest j ewels i n its crown of starry f i gures .

M rs G a nd h i ha s suffered martyrdom i n an
.

A fr i ca n pr i son i n her f i g ht f o r th e freedom o f

1 06 T H E A W A K E N I N G O F A S I AN WO MAN HOOD

b rushed aside like a mot h with ind i fference .

If y o u deig n to k eep m e by your side in th e

pat h of danger a nd daring if y o u allow me to
,

s hare th e great dutie s o f your life t h en y o u

,

!
w ill know m y true self .
 C HAPTE R VI I I

S H RIM AT I R A M A B A I R A N AD E

THE late Justice R a n a d e h as ma ny claims on

t he gratitude of I nd ians for t he great work h e
initiated a nd ac complish ed but th e more I s e e
,

and k now of t he life o f Bombay a nd Poona ,

t he more do I th in k th at M r R a n a d e s greatest
.

a ch ieve m en t wa s h is wife Un d er h er car e

.

t he great instituti on k n own a s the S eva S ada n

h as developed from bein g a H in d u L ad ies
S ocial Club wit h about t wenty m e mbers in
1 9 09 into t h e f i nest ed ucation al i n st i tutio n for
,

married wome n in I n dia wit h a daily atten

d a n ce of over 9 00 marr i ed women in 1 9 2 2 .

W hat ma n ner o f woman is t his w h o ha s

been able so to stimulate i n ot h er wo men such
a wid espread desire for k n owledg e a nd so to
orga n ise s uccessful methods o f satisfyin g it !
S he is a t ypical d aug hte r o f h er land M aha
ra s h tra Simple h ard working h ard headed
,
-
,
-
,
1 08 T H E A W A KEN I N G OF A S I AN WO MA N HOO D

soft hearted
-
practical i dealistic patr i otic
, , , ,

paroch ial s h y brave con servative p ioneering ;

, , , ,

a p aradox of good quali t ies but supremely a ,

servant o f h er sisters with life dedicated to ,

their advan ce ment .

Readiness seems to me to be her funda

mental ch aracteristic It is illustrate d by h e r
.

method o f replyin g to m y re quest t h at sh e

would sp are m e some o f h er valuable tim e at
t he close of a meetin g w hic h we were bot h
attendin g a nd then gran t me a n i nterview
,
.

!
Come into m y offic e n o w ; s h e said we ,

ca n have some ti me wh ile th e ladies are

!
ga therin g and I will tell y o u about my life
,
.

S o has s h e been ready a nd willing to seiz e

every opportunity fo r h elpful n ess .

But while her Sp irit of readin es s belon g s to

her o w n soul her capacity for bein g p repared
,

for the best use o f th e O pportunity is th e

p roduct of years of train in g an d educat i on
given to h er by h er noble h usban d She .

tol d me s h e was born in a little villa ge in

t h e S atara D istr i ct T h at wa s i n 1 8 6 2 and
.
,

sh e was only eleven years o l d when S h e

was marr i ed to t he th en re c ently widowe d
M r R a n a d e a ge d th i rty tw o
.
, I t w a s a great .
1 1 0 THE A W A K E N I N G O F A S I A N WO MA N HOO D

i mprovin g her min d an d g ained so m uc h,

courage from t he e xa mple of th e Pandita t hat

in 1 8 8 4 S h e read an a ddress to th e G overnor

praying t h at 3 G irls H ig h S chool m i g ht be
established i n Poona In t h ose d ays i t took
.

immen se courage for a woma n to stan d up in

p ublic a t all even to read a n addre ss compose d
,

by h er h usband I n these days it is not publi c

.

O pin ion a woma n sp eak er fears but h er o w n ,

nervousness . M rs R a n a d e is now a ready

.
,

forceful speaker able to set fort h clearly an d

,

convin cingly th e points s h e wishes to make .

Justice Ra n a d e liked to h ave t he newsp aper s

read aloud to h im S ometimes h e woul d a s k
.

his wife to read or s h e would be prese nt

,

while his clerk read t h em Th ey would t hen .

d iscuss pub lic question s together a nd t his ,

proved t he foun dation of R a m a b a i Ra n a d e s
i nterest in affairs of th e day S h e u sed to
.

travel wit h her husban d on h is official tours ,

a nd bot h th en a nd during his vacation s sh e

ca me into touc h wit h t h e wives of other
I ndian officials to wh om s h e used to speak of
what sh e had learn t t hroug h t h e papers a nd
throug h h er precious conve r sations w i th h e r
husband . T his led to t he establish men t o f
 S H R IM A T I R A M A B A I R A N A D E 111

drawin g room m eetin g s in her house

-
In .

t hese private ways sh e wa s be i n g trained

for th e great work wh ic h ha s n ow becom e
h ers.

A las in 1 90 1 after only five month s ill

, ,

ness t h e b eloved h usba nd was u nexpectedl y

,

snatc hed away by Y a ma an d th e 2 7 years

comradesh ip wa s closed F o r a year th e

.

afflicte d widow rem ain ed in th e strictest

seclusion but h er greates t a mbition wa s to
,

live as her h usb an d ha d e n coura ged h er to d o

for th e ser v i ce of other s T h ey had h ad n o
.

ch ildren but ha d a dopted a daug hter and wit h

, ,

her M rs R a n a d e re move d to a house whic h

.

was her o wn p roperty i n Poona an d t h er e ,

she tried to sof t e n her sorrow in work th a t

sh e k new woul d please h er hu sband and b e
useful to ot her s .

S he started a Hi n d u La die s S oc i al Club
w h i ch met a t her h ouse an d wh i ch later
opened classe s for ill i terate women an d
widows There was t hus an organ i se d body
.

o f women ready to wh om t h e m em b ers of th e

S ervants o f I ndia S oc i ety could turn for h el p

in urgent soci a l work w h en pla gue a nd fa min e
ravaged t he city a nd th e surroundin g districts .
1 1 2 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I AN WO MAN HOO D

T hroug h t h e c o operation o f M r G K D eva

-
. . .

d h ar one o f t h e p rom in ent members o f that

,

S ociety th e wh ole sc h eme o f t h e present

,

S eva S adan was drawn up a nd t he older ,

L a die s Club wa s expand e d into it with
r esults t hen u nd reamt of I ts obj ects m ay be .

su mmed up as education mutual h elpfulness , ,

n ational s er vice Its mean s are org an i sation

.

a n d self sacrifice
-
T h e meanin g of S eva S ada n
.

i s t h e H om e of S ervice .

A S M rs R a n a d e is th e life and soul of th e

.

move ment it was but n atural t hat it w a s roun d

,

h er home th at the classes first started T here .

i n a quiet street o ff t he mai n thorough fares o f

Poona City she a nd M r D e v a d h a r her rig ht
, .
,

h and man have grapple d wit h problem after

-
,

p roblem of fi n a nce staff housin g exp an sion a s

, , , ,

t h ey came up f o r solution O h th e prid e that .

,

shon e in her e ye s and t hrilled in h er voice

a s s h e told me t h e fact t hat Sh e ha d ju st foun d
fro m t he att endance ro l l th at 900 women
were attending daily e xcludin g t hose coming to
th e maternity an d in fant welfare centre ! O ne
is tempted to rela te t h e romance o f t h at story
o f e xpan sion but it is th e wo m a n we are here
,

c onc erned with I t is characteristic of the

.
1 14 TH E A W A K E N I N G O F A S I A N WO MA N HO OD

sisters t h ere t h ose ofte n more sinn ed ag ain st

,

( by society ] th a n sin n i n g T h u s e ven h er

S undays Sh e d evote s to freein g soul s in bondage .

T h ou g h p la i n of f ace figure a n d d re ss at first

, ,

g lance h ardly d istin guish able from hundred s

o f other d ull s a re e d M arat h i women yet there
-
,

is a sen se o f alertness a wareness al i ven ess

, ,

about h er t hat mark s h er o u t from her sisters ,

an d sh ines fro m h er clear free eyes despite ,

t h e Spectacles w h ic h tell o f limitation s o f sig ht .

S imilarly th ou g h she is small o f p hysical

,

stature s h e is h ead a n d sh o ulders over all o f

,

u s i n h er sp irit o f self re nu n ciation and in th e

-

su ccess of h er perseverin g w o rk .

I a sk ed h er
W h at do you t h in k o f t h e
,

f uture of women in I nd ia I t is full o f h ope

!
an d prom ise She replied an d in doin g s o
, ,

Spon ta neously took my ha n d and presse d it .

I t touch es a W estern er wh en h er E astern sister

does t h at I t brid ge s gulfs a n d k nits t he h uma n
.

sisterhood togeth er L ik e M i ra b a i o f th e poet s

.

intuition s h e
W e a r s littl e h a n d s
Su c h a s G o d m a k e s to h o l d b i g d e s ti n i e s .

H er h and s revealed h er soul for in their ,

touc h w a s soft sweetness and stron g vi t ality

 S H R IM AT I R A M A B A I R A N A D E 1 15

w hich still in spire m e an d w hic h promise th e

,

blessin g of h er remarkable p owers of service

to humanity for years to c ome .

S in ce writing t h e above M rs R a n a d e h as .

become th e proud p ossessor of th e leg islative

vote woma n suffra ge h aving been g ranted in
,

t h e Bombay Presidency T h e greatest applause

.

o f th e th ree days d ebate on the subj ect in t h e

Bombay Council wa s given at th e mention of

h er name by t h e H o n H L awren c e M embe r
. .
,

o f the E xecutive Co u n cil H a vin g first fully

.

supported t he grant of t he vote to women h e ,

went o n to s a y th at eve n th eir adm ission into

t h e Coun cil itself a s M ember s h ad n o t errors
,

for him for said h e
, , There is n o Coun cil
,

wh ic h would n ot be honoured graced a n d ,

h elped by th e presence of suc h a woma n a s

o n e wh o is k nown to u s all M rs R a m a b a i , .

Ra n a de
 C H A P TE R I!

SH R IM A T I SA R O J IN I N A I D U

M Y ac quaintan ce wit h Sh ri m a ti Sa ro j i n i N aid u

m ost fortunately bega n at th e centre of h er lif e ,

h er h ome and afterward s in sequen ce I grew

,

to kn ow h er in h er e ver widen in g circles of

-

influe nce power a n d service as Poetess

, , ,

P eace maker Politician Priestess of I ndia s

, ,

freedom in foreig n land s .

A d aintily expressed i nvitation h ad c ome t o

m e fro m h er in June 1 9 1 6 re questin g m e to
, ,

b r eak a j ourn ey between Poona a nd M adras by

a call a t H yderabad w here a t h er home we
,

m igh t talk over m any t hing s we h ad i n common .

I well reme mber th e delig htful sense o f cool

n e ss an d culture that gree t ed m y j ad ed sen ses
as I entered h er beautiful drawin g room w here -
,

t h e perfect i on of artist i c taste had k nown h ow

to combin e t h e ric h effects o f E astern colour i n
carp ets and crafts with t h e comfort o f W estern
1 1 8 T H E A W A K E N I N G O F A S I AN WO MA NHOO D

u nd erstan din g o f th e stru g gle of women th e n

p roceedin g f o r political a nd economic freedom
in ot her countries an d h eard h er wise attitude
to f e m i n l s t problem s o f th e E ast th at I cried
,

o u t with in myself : S he i s g reater t han th ey

told me S he is greater t ha n her p oem s H e r
. .

p atriotis m is t h e ri val e ve n w hile it i s t h e

in spiration o f her p oetry F or h er cou ntry
.

Sh e w oul d sacrifice eve n h er beloved gift o f

!
son g. S h e was n ot t h en th e power in politi
cal a ffairs that she h as since proved h erself but ,

my feelin g s t h en about her h ave proved them

selve s true prop hets I wa s much impressed
.

with th e big ness o f h er min d a nd th e d ainty

g race o f h er small p erson fragile after h er
,

lon g wre stle wit h pain .

It wa s touch in g to s e e h ow s h e was t he
c h erish ed one in th e h ouseh old There was .

th e protectin g strengt h an d up holdin g o f h er

clever quiet h usba nd with h i s sen se o f power
, ,

t he a dmiration a nd pettin g g ive n h er by h er

c h ildren t h e devotion a nd con sideration shown
,

h er by h er servan ts all bearin g eloquen t

,

tr i bute to her ideal chara cter a s wife mo t her ,

a n d employer I n personality s h e ever k ep t

.

r emind in g me of F ra nce .I felt I shoul d be

 S H R IM A T I SA R O J IN I NA I D U 1 19

speakin g F ren c h an d not E n glish to h er Th e .

silver orna ments o n h er dre ssin g table of t h e -

F r enc h E mpire desig n t he ge stures Sh e s o

,

often uses Slig ht m an neris ms ak i n to p ose

, ,

th e foreig n nua nce in h er accent an d h er wit ,

and vivacity caused o n e t o speculate ro m a n ti

,

cally about h er last i n carnation an d d r eam o f h e r

a s the brigh t and s hinin g star of some brilliant

F r enc h salon at t he h eig h t o f F ran ce s glory .

O r rat her S he i s th e A rya n type from w h ic h

, ,

we can s e e h ow easily spra ng th e w hole Ce l tic

race I n appearance save for her dress s h e
.
, ,

mig ht easily b e take n for an I talia n such i s ,

th e sim i larity between th e root stock an d i ts -

c h ildren o f E urope .

I have called h er a Peace maker and it is -

,

o n e o f t h e n ames s h e best love s I t is o n e o f

.

h er dearest d e sires to link wit h t h e bonds o f

love an d mutual in terests a nd un derstandin g
th e g reat M uslim an d H ind u section s o f I n dian
life a n d from t hat u nity to stretc h o u t h an d s o f
,

fellowship to t h e W estern races T h e cir .

c u m s ta n c e s of h e r life h ave caused h er to be a

livin g epitom e o f wh at s h e seek s H in du by .

birt h broug h t up in con stan t tou c h wit h

,

M uh am madan s in a M uha mmada n city an d ,

1 2 0 T H E A W A K E N I N G O F A S I AN WO MAN HOO D

a gain in l a ter l i fe m a kin g h e r h om e an d

frien d s i n th e s ame c i ty rece i vin g her impetu s
,

to poetic express i on from h er c ontact w i th th e

c ulture a nd c iv i lisation o f E urop e an d rece i vin g
,

a lso t here h er first re cog nition as a g en iu s s h e ,

i s th e prod uct of all t h e d iversi t ie s S h e n o w

seek s to unify T hu s s h e is e qu ally at h ome
.

i n a M u slim gath erin g an d in a n E n glish

lecture h all Th e contribution S h e unaid ed
.
, ,

made toward s brin gin g about t h e H ind u

M uslim e nten te can n ot be measured .

I t wa s later t h at s h e responded to th e call to

sta n d forward a s t h e spoke swoma n o f h e r
o wn se x in t he D eputation s first to t h e
Viceroy o n beh alf of th e Ind ia n w omen in F ij i
, ,

a n d n ex t a s t h e lead er o f th e A ll In dia -

W ome n s D eputation to th e H ono u rabl e E S . .

M ontagu S ecretary o f S tate for I nd ia durin g

, ,

h is h istoric visit to I n dia . I t w a s the n th at

s h e fu l ly id entified h erself with th e clai m f o r

th e pol i tic a l F ran ch ise for I n dia n women a ,

mo vemen t wh ic h S h e mad e particularly her

o w n durin g th e follow i n g years . I rem ember
S h e told us s h e h ad ch osen h er saree wit h
c are that day s o t ha t its effec t mig ht be l ike
t h e glea min g o f t he silver moonlig h t in t h e
1 2 2 T H E A WA K E N I N G OF A S I A N WO MA NH OO D

Com mittee o f t he N ational Con gresses H er .

e x p er i ence a n d trainin g in public a d m i n i

s tra ti v e work of a n ation al kin d make it e ssential

t h at all t h e n e w Re form L eg islature s e v en ,

th e most e xalted b e freely open to wome n

,

suc h as s h e s o th at t h eir ser vices m ay b e

,

availed of in con solidatin g an d e xpa nd in g th e

in stal men t of national freedom g iven by t h e R e
form Bill f o r w hic h S he work ed so stre nuou sly .

Pa rt o f h er popularity a s a p ublicist i s due

to h er g ift of eloquence S h e is o n e o f th e
.

m ost soug h t after spea kers in I ndia O ld a nd

-
.

y oun g flock to h ear h e r H er en unciation is

.

clear h er voice carrie s a surp rising ly lon g

,

distance h er s u b j e c ts a re always interestin g

,

a n d top ical her s tyle is r hetorical a nd impa s

,

s io n e d, depend in g o n makin g its effe cts more

by app eals to th e e motio n s an d intuition th an
to t he reason S h e also possesse s t hat personal
.

m ag netism a nd c h ar m of man n er w h ich are

s o essent i al for a fine le cturer . H er E n glish
i s p erfect bu t I h a ve always wishe d to h ear
,

h er sp eak in o n e of t he I n dia n mot her tong ues

-
.

I imagin e sh e would b e e ntirely irre s i stible i n

t he m. A s mig h t b e exp ected i magery a n d
,

figur es o f sp eec h o f all k ind s abound in her

 S H R IM A T I SA RO J IN I NA I D U 1 23

addresses a n d t h ere is a n atural ten den cy

towards r hyth m in all h er prose wh ic h add s
to its a ppeal to t h e listen er .

S h e wh o passed her M atriculation at th e

a ge o f 1 2 h as lon g been t h e idol o f studen ts a l l
over In dia .I once s a w h er bein g met b y
crowd s of t he m at a railway station w here th e
wealth o f flowers h eaped upon h er mig ht h av e
seemed a n an swer to h er own cry

H id e m e i n a s h ri n e se s
o f ro ,

D ro w n m e In a W i n e o f ro s e s
D ra w n f ro m e v e ry f r a g ra n t g r o v e

!
A n d wit h h er a s wit h Bro w n in g s Patriot
, ,

it h as indeed bee n R oses roses all th e way , ,

save w here t he t horn s of p hysical pain h av e

cau sed her to cry out
P a i n w e a ry a n d d re a m w o rn I l i e a w a k e
- -
,

C o u n ti n g li k e h e a d s th e bl a z i n g st a rs o e rh e a d

.

F rom all t his ad miration an d acclamation

Sh e turned at t h e call of p atriotic duty ,

and lik e a true politica l san nyasin wen t

o u t in to t he wilderness o f t h e W e st to ad d h e r

persuasive voice to t h ose oth er servan ts o f

Ind i a w h o went in D eputation to t h e B ritis h
Parliament in conn ection w ith th e formulatio n
1 24 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I AN W OM AN HOOD

o fth e promised R eform B ill H er M emo .

ra n d u m to t h e Parliamentary Joint Com mittee

o n the d esirability a n d j ustice o f g rantin g full

fran ch ise an d political equality to Indian

W omen was a re m arkable combination of th e
p rose of fact with th e poetry o f idealism It .

won h ig h e ncomiu m s from all an d will re main

,

a classic o f feminis m in t his cou ntry A fter .

th at S h e has spen t her time in visitin g various

E uropea n countries always in t he interest o f
,

In dia S h e h ad a royal reception i n a

.

tour s h e wa s requested to tak e in S weden A t .

th e Conference o f t h e I nternation al W omen

S uffrage A llia nce held in G eneva S witzerland , ,

h e r addresses m ad e a profound impression a nd

r evolutionised t h e false ideas of man y co n
c ernin g t h e c onditions a n d capacity of I n dian
wo men I n Paris S h e received a great o v a
.

tion and h er lec tures in all t h e important

,

c ities of G reat Brita i n d rew very larg e a nd

a ppreciative audiences w h o were en t i rely
c h armed by her eloqu en ce S h e brou g ht to t he
.

W est th e m essa ge of I nd i a s spiritual culture ,

of its ideal s of A himsa tolera nce p assive

, ,

resistance soul force a nd t h e worsh ip o f th e

,
-
,

M oth er S h e is a Priestess of a new G ospel

.
,
1 26 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I AN WO MA N HOO D

g enerally for future I ndia t he a dvan ta ges of

c ircu mstances w h ic h were e xcep tionally hers ,

a n d wh ic h u ndoubted ly h elp ed to mak e h er

N a ti v e o f a c o m i n g d a y
F a r u pon our h um a n wa y ,
W h e n i n e y e s o f a l l S h a ll S h i n e
W h a t i s p ro p h e c y i n t h i n e.
 C H A P TE R !

SH R IM AT I A B A L A B O S E

(! ADY J . C . B O SE )

I T is stran ge t hat th e wives o f great m e n do

not get th eir ade q u ate Sh are of public attention ,

for it takes a grea t woman to b e t h e worth y

h elp meet o f a genius b e h e a scie ntist artist
, , ,

poet o r statesma n ; T h e I n dia n Rishis recog

n i s e d t his fact w h en t hey d ecree d that the
wife o f th e G uru wa s to be g ive n a s great
reverence a s t h e G uru h im s elf T h e world .

o f science and t he I n dian p eople w h o recog

n ise S ir J C Bose a s a modern G uru h ave

. .

n ot recog nised h ow mu ch indeb ted t h ey are

to h i s wife both as a n i deal wife for suc h a
m a n an d a s a n outstan din g p erson ality in her
o w n rig h t
. S h e is o n e o f t h e most a waken ed
women i n I n dia tod ay an d o n e of th e m ost
potent force s in soc ial reform i n Beng al .
 1 28 TH E A W A K E N I N G O F A S I AN W OMAN HOO D

By h eredity temp erament and edu cation

,

L ady Bose is ad mirably fitted for th e great task

she is destined to fulfil H er fath er t he late
.
,

D urg a M oha n D a s wa s a n arde nt member o f

,

t h e Bra h mo S a maj a leadin g lawyer in Cal cutta

, ,

and a c h am pio n of e du cation for g irls H e .

wa s o n e of t h e found ers of a G irl s S c hool
wh ic h became so hig hly efficient th at i t wa s
desired th at it Sh ould be j o i n ed w i th th e well
k nown Bethu n e S ch ool a n d raised to t he sta t u s
,

o f a Co l lege for women L ad y Bose retain s an

.

inten se affection a n d a d m i ration f o r her fath er ,

wh o wa s suc h a won derful m an t h at h e seem ed

lik e fat her an d moth er in o n e ( h er moth er ha d
died early ) A lon g t h e roa d of science h e
.

de stine d h is A bala to travel an d she spen t

,

four years atten d i n g th e M ed i cal Colleg e in

M ad ras bu t beca me such a vict i m to fever for
.

th e la st year in th e tryin g clim a t e o f t h at city

th at muc h to her disappo i nt ment s h e h ad to
give up h er studie s an d return h ome But .

her tra inin g in sc i enc e gave her th e basis

f o r intellectual c ompa nion sh ip and aff i n i ty o f
i nteres t with th e youn g s cient i st wh om sh e
j ust about then met soon after h is return from
E nglan d J a g a d i s h C Bose is s i x years h e r
. .
1 30 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I A N WO MA N HOOD

perfect order I t i s a c h aracteristic o f t his

.

scientist that h e i s al ways sp otle ssly d ressed .

H e says h e i s to o abse nt m in ded to be a safe

-

driver of h i s car but he h a s none of the

,

personal untid iness th at o n e so metimes associ

ates with researc hers in to th e unk nown : but
th en perhap s h is wife is eyes and ears a n d
,

hand s to him on t h e lower level s o f d aily

life : it struck me at any rate that S h e i s
, , .

I ndeed s h e ad mitte d a s muc h w h en s h e said

that h e could n e ver h ave ma naged for h imself
o n h is long tours .

S he ha s accomp anied him in all h is world

tours althoug h at first S he wa s h erself very
,

mu ch averse to travelling N ow she enj oys

it thorou g hly an d Sh e told me th at nothin g
,

broadens one s outlook so much as m eeting
representat i ve men a nd wome n o f different
nationalities and yet fin din g h uma nity much th e
same despite its surface differences S he i s pro
.

bably t he mos t travelled I ndia n woman o f

today S h e h a s met the most famou s scientis t s
.

and literary men IO I nea rly e very cou n try

an d h as formed wa r m friends hip s w i th a
number o f families bot h in E urope a n d
A merica .
 S H R IM A T I A B A LA B O S E 131

M y first impression of Lady Bose was H ere ,

i s a free woman full of motherliness and

!
c ommon sense-
I foun d later th at th oug h ,

s h e ha s no ch ildren of h er o w n Sh e mothers ,

eig ht nep hews and nieces wh o t hink th e world

o f her ; S h e mot hers t h e students o f the R e

searc h In stitute ; and a s t he enth us i astic a nd

h ard working S ecretary o f t h e Brah mo G irls
-

S chool and th e Six schools o f t he N ari
Si k s h a S a miti Sh e m oth ers over 500 girls a n d
a large n umber of youn g wive s and mothers
t o whose education S h e devotes h er fin e
organisin g ability .

H er dedicat i on to t he promotion o f education

d ates from th e days o f h er g irl hood wh en t he
inten se wave o f national feelin g swept
t hroug h Beng al an d n o m ore ferv i d patriots
,

could be foun d tha n A bala and h er two

youn g friends The three o f t hem had one
.
,

day w hen girls locke d themselves into t heir

, ,

room and sole m nly vowed to o n e anoth er

th at they would d o exerc i ses daily to mak e
their bodies strong an d d evote th eir lives to
,

t he service o f the i r country F or years sh e

.

opposed t h e idea o f la c c e p ti n g any G overn ment

a id for girl s schools under h er care but a ,
1 32 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I AN WO MAN HOO D

gro win g realisation that it was t he money o f

t h eir o w n people to be used for the service o f
,

th e peo ple reconciled her to taking grant s for

,
'

t h e Splendid sc hool f o r wh ic h She and h er s i s !

ters an d brother contributed R S H ow .

I wished as s h e told m e o f t hose unique vows

, ,

t hat thousa nd s of girls th roug hout In d i a m i g h t

b e similarly fired w i th dedication to h ealth ,

self reliance a nd educat i onal service o f others !

-
,

H er keen p atr i otism Shows itself i n th e

practical detail s of her h ome life D urin g .

my enj oyment o f her delig htful h o s p i ta l i ty I

no ti ced t he absen ce of foreig n mad e art i cles in -

h er home E verywhere were brass an d stone

.
;

vessels home sp un cloth s D acca s a ri e S I ndian

, , ,

printed c otton s a s curta i ns an d covers meal s ,

take n i n t he orthodox I ndian fash ion ( delicious

food it was an d I felt honoured i n partakin g o f
,

it in th e I nd ia n man ner ) I ndian furn i ture an d

,

p icture s by I ndia n artists O nly in scientifi c.

applian ce s is th e W est allowe d to enter and ,

hyg i en i c sanitary an d labour saving arra n ge

, ,
-

m ents are m ade full use of i n th is wise lady s

home I t would be a h appier h ealth ier an d

.
,

w ealthier day f o r I ndia if all h er house wive s

t hus combi n ed the best o f E ast and W est i n
1 34 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I AN WO MAN H OO D

a Training H ome and H ostel for W idows a n d

I nd ige n t W omen to be establis h ed in Cal cutta .

I t bid s fair to become th e blessin g to E aster n

I ndia wh ic h M rs R a n a d e s similar i n s ti tu
.

tion has bee n to th e Bombay Side S he h a s .

h ad th e great encouragement of receivin g a

D on ation for it of R S . from Sh ri m a ti
H a ri m a ti D atta a not her Ben ga l i lady
, .

D evoted primarily to t h e car e an d com

p a n i o n s h i p o f h er h usband L ady Bose h a s
,

proved in h er life t hat t he awakened I nd ia n ;

wife o f today can combin e most able service to

th e education o f her s e x with private home
cares an d t hat t he internation alis m of scienc e
,

ca n be linked o n to th e promotion of nationa l

well bein g
-
.

S o far back a s 1 900 S wami Vi vekana nda

, ,

w it h h is penetrating in sight coul d s e e all these

,

powers in h er I n o n e o f h is letters about th e

.

Pa ri sl n te rn a ti o n a l Cong ress of 1 9 00 h e writes

H ere in Paris h ave assembled th e great of
every land each to proclaim th e g lory of h is
,

country S ava nts will b e ac claimed h ere a n d

.
,

it s reverberation will glorify th eir countries .

W here is t h y represen tat i ve 0 t hou th e ,

country o f my birth ! O ut o f t his vas t

 S H R IM A T I A BA LA B OS E 1 35

assembly a youn g m an stood for thee one of thy ,

heroic son s wh ose words h ave electrified t h e

,

audience and will thr i ll all his countrymen

, .

Blessed be th is h eroic so n ; blessed b e his

devoted a nd peerless h elpmeet w h o stan ds by
!
him always .

I ndeed s h e mig ht be termed our inter

,

national obj ect lesson to t he world of th e

-

ideal I ndian wife a veritable modern M a i tre y i

, ,

wanderin g this forest of a world wit h her

h usband giving and receivin g knowled g e of
,

t he D iv i ne Unity in M anifestation .
 C H AP TE R ! I

BU RM ESE M I N I AT UR ES

T H EY cam e tripping along a busy street o f

Ran goon attractin g me b y t h e smilin g inter
,

cha n ge of th eir m erry conversation which

seemed to be echoed by th e ir fluttering pink
s ilk scarves and th eir pattering san dals This .

p air o f Burme se girls seemed as careless an d

t houghtless a s butterflies when sudd enly on
, ,

passin g th e steps leadin g up to th e pagoda t hey ,

d ropped o n their k nees o n th e crowded foot

path a nd there besid e t he pagoda railing i n
, , ,

te rru p te d t heir careless c hatterin g by an act o f

sweet and simple prayer o f devotion to t he
Budd h a typ ical of their w hole race A S devoid .

o f self consciousness or s e x consciou sness a s

- -

the flowers th ey carried were they as they

rose and flitted on ward s again .

91( 9l6 it

S he sat b eside m e on a cosy couch in a

Burmese drawin g room - . H er j et black hai r
-
1 3 8 T H E A W AK E N I N G O F A S I A N WO MANHOO D

wit h the newly born pride in home manu -r

facture t hat i s becomin g as evident in Burm a

as in I ndia I also p urch ased th e under
.

camisole of th e costume T houg h it w a s

.

elaborately made with a d esig n necessitatin g

muc h care a nd stitch in g its cost was only o n e
,

rupee ! T here must be sweatin g some !

w h ere I fear t hat needs investigation I S t he

, , .

grea t ind ustry of Burmese women bein g

exploited N o Burme se men sh opkeepers are -

to be seen ; all t he reta i l commerce of th e

country is in t h e cap able h ands of t he women .

A rith metic is t he favourite subj ect of th e

Burmese sc hool girl
-
. H ow different from
I ndia
a a at

Rows of little g irls unlike any others I h a d

,

e ver seen were being taught in mu c h th e

,

s ame way a s all other c h i ldren of t he world ,

but t h eir teac hers were essentially different

because of their s t riking youthfulness These .

h ave come forward voluntarily to staff the

N ation al E ducation al S chools which Sinc e
two years a go have introduced in t o t h e
curriculum th e tea c h ing o f t h e B udd hist reli
g ion an d th e more exten sive u se of the Burmes e
 B U R M E S E M I N IAT U R E S 1 39

lan guage ! eal for serv i ce as educationists i s

.

n oticeable among the youn g men an d wome n

o f Burm a to d ay A delig htful lun ch o f Burmese
-
.

delicacies served by t h ese youn g ladies to t he

accompaniment o f music o n th e Burmese

h arp rounded off m y visit to t h ese G irls
S chools Y oung me n an d women teachers
.

moved together easily ; an d these brig h tly

dressed graceful girls fluttered han dkerc hiefs
from th e windows a s I drove away an d th en ,

shyly and quickly ran out o f Sig ht leavin g m e ,

wit h t he impression th at th ey h ad done some

thi ng unusually dem on strative for their custom ,

th e dears
919 it 3E

I n th e great G olden Pa god a ( S hwe D agon )

a p rocession comes alon g Slowly an d wit h
dignity It is that of a S h an C hieftain w ho
.

had come from N orth Burma to honour th e

Prin ce of W ales M e n and women move
.

togeth er th e Ch ieftain h is wife sons a n d

, , ,

daug hters members o f h is retinue of bot h

,

sexes A l l are richly dressed in silks th e

.
,

women s skirts heavily embroidere d round th e
ends i n s i l v er an d sequins ; beautiful j ewels are
on their neck s and hand s ( not o n t heir faces ) ,
 1 4 0 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I A N WOMA N HO OD

y et gaudiness an d o stentation are n oticeably

a b sen t T h e good taste of the Burmese in
.

dress i s un impeachable T hey carry flowers .

,

candles favours trays of sweetmeats a n d

, ,

fruit a s offerin g s Th e Chieftai n ess directs

.

t h e p lac i n g o f th e s e on th e Shrines while th e

,

youn g daugh ters are fra nkly more interested

in t he people visitin g the Pagoda and we ,

politely exchan ge stares u ntil t h ey proceed

with t h eir devotions .

as 3K

Beh old the Sh inin g G olden Pa goda o n t he

left carved brown wooden minarets o n the
,

rig ht gleamin g wh ite shrines an d tall palm

,

trees in th e back groun d an d a host o f g r ey

r b l u e pigeons on th e marbl e platform in th e
f oregrou nd In th e midst of these is a woma n
.

in a brown silk skirt a w h ite muslin short ,

j acke t a brilliant yellow scarf whic h t hrows

,

into relief th e vivid black o f h er hair a nd the

.

motion s of her pretty h an d s a s Sh e scatters grain

in the sunlig ht to these feathered friend s o f hers
w hose rank s are n o w increased by a number
o f crows an d some cock s an d h en s T hus is .

s h e practisin g com passion to all creatures

i
316 in
1 42 TH E AWA K E N I NG OF A S I AN WO MANH OO D

h ouse for t h e followin g hour S uch is t he .

quie t family eventide in t he villa ge .

9K 9K *1

A t h om e Shoppin g in th e Pagoda every

, , ,

w here Sh e carries her larg e c heroot lig hts

, ,

it now an d a gain smokes it gracefully allows

, ,

it to go o u t but still carries it for furth er

pleasure I t may b e o n e o f th ose so long and
.

t h ick that it lasts for a w hole day Sm o k .

in g is the most observable feature o f t he

Burmese woman s life Beside it the cig a .

rette of the modern W estern girl Sin ks in to

p ale insignifican ce But w h at about nicotine
.

p oisonin g !
9% 61$ 9%

T h e tall pretty youn g Burmese woman is

, ,

strivin g to lift up her heavy basket o f pro

v i sion s from t h e Shore A well dressed .
-

M uham madan of middle age is about to pass her

an d sees h er efforts H e k i ndly an d respect
.

f ully h elp s her to h oist it to her h ead She .

smiles h er t hanks and they proceed in O pposite

,

d i rections N o race a ntagon i sms h ere

. .

l alt

Those deep wicker an d lac quer trays carry

food f o r sale explain s my friend Very littl e
, .
 B U R M E S E M I N I A TU R E S 1 43

cookin g is done in in d ividual homes by

Burmese townswomen since th ey leav e th eir
,

h ouses early for t heir bu s i ness ; so meals are

boug ht ready cook ed d a i ly

T his is th e
.

B urmese solution o f c o O pera tive k itch en s

-
.

9* 9% 916

W ho are these appro a chin g in a l ine on e

beh i nd th e other E ach wears a fawn yellow -

robe each bears an eart hen pot o n h er head

, .

T here i s a sen se o f p eace an d aloofness about

t hem O nly w hen they pass close by can
.

one dist i n guish that th ey are wom en

Buddhist nun s T hey live i n t he i r own
.

community build in g near th e beautifu l pagoda

crownin g the h ill w hic h j uts in to th e r i ver ,

and they are wen d i ng th e i r way down th e

steep b an k to t he rivers i de for th e evenin g
supply of water Th ousand s of such d ed i cated
.

women t here are in Burma vowed to t he ,

service of t he S anga ( com munal order ) a n d to

th e quest for illumination Di d not th e
.

Budd ha s ay i n the C /a zz l l a a e a a l l a S u l f a

,

W oman m ay atta i n t he h i gh est path o f

h oliness that i s open to man A rhatship
1 44 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I AN WO MA N HOO D

A Splas h and a lig h t laug h I look toward s

t he shore and t here i s a you ng woman
,

swimm ing o u t towards our stea mer W it h .

rapid strong strokes s h e leaves the shore he r ,

black hair gleamin g in th e sunlig ht the n back

,

again S h e moves till S h e reac hes a naked

s mall girlie S he catc he s her up a nd plays
.

with her in th e water wh ile ot h er bath i n g

wo me n an d men lazily watc h the pair .

H avin g deposite d t he you ng ster o n th e bank ,

th e youn g moth er tig hten s her dark bathi n g

dress aroun d her an d o u t Sh e dives again in
,

Sheer j oy of water su nshine an d mot i on !

,

F ree as the fish es are th e women o f Burma .

N eit her in t he water in t h e trees on t h e

, ,

O pen roads nor in th e market place does th e

,

Burmese wom a n k now fear or hold suspicio n

,

against man in her th oug ht .

1 46 TH E A W A KE N I N G OF A S I A N WO MA N HOO D

speculation these again cul tivate indepen dence

,

an d self relianc e wh ich produce a m arke d

-

individualism with i ts te n den cy at worst ,

toward s arrog an ce a n d a g gress i on an d at best

,

towards organisation a n d strict order .

O n t h e oth er h and m ost of th e c haracter

,

i s ti c s related to th e A sian civilisation can be

tra ced to t h e in fluen ce o f th e tropical clim at e
o n over S i x hundred m illion s of i ts pop ulation .

O verpowerin g heat for Si x m ont h s in the year ,

glaring sun shine burn in g san d to walk o n

, ,

a nd an enervatin g atmosph ere w h ich weigh s

on e down ; all t he se prove th e ve ry reverse
to bodily an d me ntal stimulation Th ose who
.

ca n afford to do s o stay in doors in dark ened

room s m ove about as little a s possible an d
, ,

cultivate passivity rath er th an activ i ty R e .

creation is got from playin g card s dice o r , ,

other sed entary ga mes th rough t he cultivation

,

of literature music o r pa i nt i n g o r t hroug h

, ,

enj oyment o f t h e dra ma in th e cool hours o f

th e n i g h t a play u sually beginnin g at 1 0 p m
, . .

and en d i n g about 2 a m E ve n th ose w ho are

.

forced by econ omic n ecess i ty to work a t

m anual and un skilled labour are prevented
'

by condition s of heat an d lassitude from doin g

 C HA R A CT E R I STI C S O F WOMA NHOOD 147

as muc h work per day as would be easily don e

by a Simila r work er in a temperate climate .

T h e consequen ce o f this fun damental factor

o f climatic enviro n ment i n t he lives o f A sian

woman hood i s th at s peaking generally th e

, , ,

p hys i que of eastern wom en h a s remaine d

un develop ed Th e women are p hysically
.

small fra gile dainty graceful and fall an

, , , , ,

easy p rey to fevers plagu e consumption , , ,

epidem i cs a n d th e strain o f c hildbirth To .

t h e western min d t he lack o f interes t Shown

b y A sia n wome n in games outdoor sports an d , ,

ph ysical culture is a strikin g ch aracteristic o f

A sian civilisation To t he eastern mind
.

western women look p hysically over developed -

,

h ard bold big a nd a s If they had sacrif i ced

, , ,

beau t y o n th e altar o f robu st good h ealth T here .

are two po i nts of V iew to everythin g But th e

evid ence o f statistics leaves o n e i n no doubt
th at t he health o f A sian women is deplorably
poor as seen by the very h ig h percentag e o f
,

women wh o die youn g and by t he l o w ag e at

,

whic h th e general death average stan ds c o m

pared w ith t hat o f other cou ntr i es E xception s .

to th is state o f affairs are to be found in women

o f t he hill tribes and i n women o f t he desert
-
, .
1 4 8 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I AN WOMA N HOOD

I t is interes t in g to note in passing th at all

trade s seem open to A sian women wit hout
any d istinction of sex trades union i sm
-
.

W omen take a full Share in t he buildin g an d

road makin g trades in India for instance
-
, .

O ne sees wom en mou nting four flig ht s of

ricketty scaffoldin g step s carry i n g heavy load s
o f brick s o r c h u n a m ( lime ) on t heir h ead s ,

and seemin gly h aving no nerves A lon g t h e.

C hinese coasts the women sail t he junks a s

s kilfully a s a ny men . I n B urma th e whole
retail trad e o f the country is efficiently carried
on by th e women I n B hop al S tate t h ere
.

is still a battalion o f women warriors a s

bodyguard to th e Begum The women every
.

wh er e who h ave equality of f reSh air ex ,

e rc i se,
and mental opportunity with men ,

Show the ab ility to develop equal p hys i ca l

p owers ; but these are usually t h e women o f
th e poorer classes . A las ! t he world wide -

c h aracteristic of pay ment f o r labour by sex ,

and not by Similarity o f work h old s good

,

E ast a s well a s W est ; and In all except th e

t eaching profe ss i on s women are pa i d at a
muc h lower rate th an men . S ex as an
economic factor i s penalised everywh ere
1 50 THE AWA K E N I NG OF A S I AN WO MANH OO D

t here is a great con spiracy of silence about all

sex m atters I t is stran ge th at in th e E ast
.
,

w here all the particulars relatin g to s e x are

known to all eve n to t he young ch ildren
, ,

cu stom in all i ts c o untries en shroud s wom an

in mystery a n d seek s to secure respect for
,

her by Shuttin g h er away from view T his it .

does in one country by veilin g her in another ,

b y practically incarc erating h er in h arems in ,

a nother in zenana s in a third by s o manipul

,

ating th e feet ( in th e nam e o f beauty ! ) th at

t hey are m ade only the Size an d S hape o f a
c losed fist on which it is nearly impossible to
balance oneself or walk ( t hu s hobbled ) w ithout
torture . T he givin g of respect to woma n h as
come to be associated with custom s a nd
convention s o f t h e social life rath er t han
with t h e in h erent character o f th e woma n
c on cern ed .

Th e general artificially imposed aloofness

from th e m asculine half of hu m anity and ,

indeed also from t he wom en outside t heir o w n

fa mily circle has de veloped in A sian wome n
,

ch ara cteristic s o f Sh yness modesty an d timid

,

ity h ard to fin d in women at p resent in other

p arts o f th e world I n th e u pper classes they
.
 C HA R A CT E RI ST IC S O F W OMA NH OOD 151

a re retirin g almost t o t he poin t of self efface

-

ment D owncast eyes in th e presen ce o f m e n

.

is the order of th e day from Ja pan to S uez .

I n many countries women cannot h e a r to

appear before men o r stran gers ( even women
strangers ) wit hout th e safe enfoldment of a
veil B eh ind its protection they will speak
.

more at t heir ease W ill it be believed th at a

.

youn g M uhammadan lady w h o in tends to make

t he law her profession a n d w ho ha s alread y
,

p assed h er first law examin ation s with

d istinction has done all h er study behind the
,

curtain s o f strict p u r a a h A n d an I ndia n youn g

lady who i s brilliantly clever and is becomin g

,

an eye speciali s t in th e medical profession in

L on don clin gs to her v eil an d retain s almost
,

all her g a s /2 a custom s in that city o f women s
f reedom
Th e timidity thu s Sh own does n o t sprin g
from fear or cowardice for A sian history an d
,

story tell over an d over again o f the bravery of

women Jae] Pa d m i n i th e warrior queen of
, ,

J h ansi Sa n g h a m i ta T e ru t
, , Ab u ts u n i ; it is
,

t h e result o f seclusion with in narrow walls

lite r ally and metaphorically in such dark ness
,

t hat the glare o f th e full lig ht o f day at first

1 5 2 T H E A W AK E N I N G O F A S I AN WO MA NHOO D

h alf blinds an d confuse s them ; an d it is onl y

when they h ave become a ccu stomed to t he new
circumstances of free conversation wit h those
outside their own immediate circle t hat t hey
Sh ow t heir real c harac ter a nd ability T h e .

Shyness Shown is also due to a n excess o f self

con sciousness and e x aggeration o f s e x con -

s c io u s n e s s
. W hatever may h ave been t h e
d ifferent status of eastern wome n in early
h istoric times it i s the case that th e E ast
,

t oday ide n tifies woman to o n arrowly with her

function o f c h ild bearin g and the atmosp here
-
,

o f a wareness of sex i s too tan gible f o r p s v

C h o l o g i ca l good h ealth H o wever it gives

.
,

women th e appealing an d alluring aspect o f

th e ch arm of sex a nd streng t hens all th e
,

distinctively feminine tastes o f a n ae sthetic

nature such a s love of colour ornament music
, , ,

and rhythm .

T h e C haracteristic of repose more properl y

,

described as a lack of restlessness is marked ,

in all eastern women I n A sia there is no

.

feverish racing after c hanging fashions T h e .

dress o f I ndian women is the same in form

today as it w a s thousa nds o f years ago D urin g .

a few years when the fever o f westernis m

1 54 T H E A W A KE N I N G 0F A S I A N WO MA N HOOD

but still it i s t h e ambition of every wom an to

dress in silk for lon g experience ha s taug ht
,

th em its durability its lig htness its beauty

, , ,

its easy l a u n d ry i n g i ts ceremonial purity

, .

I n a recent large a ssembly for Convocation in

M adras every woman wa s d ressed in Silk
e xcep t th e E uropeans W it h regard to the
.

d isposition o f cloth in g E ast an d W est are very

,

d ifferent. Th e evenin g dress l o w necks of

-

th e W est are shockin g to the E ast wh ereas ,

t h e amount o f bare leg displayed by women of

m any A sian countrie s would a ppear highly
improper to a westerner A fter a lon g stay .

in th e E ast wester n hats seem a peculiar

,

p ha se o f feminine eccentricity for n o eastern ,

woman wears m ore than a veil or part o f t he

f olds of h er dress drap ery o n her h ead
-
.

I t is n o t generally know n outside A sia that

w omen all over t he A sian continent indulge
in smokin g . I n Japan a v ery small and
d ainty pipe is used in C hina an d Burma and
,

S ia m large cigars o r c h e e ro o ts In N orth ern ,

India th e hookah a nd th e same amongst all

the M uhammada n women o f W estern A sia .

T he tobacco seem s to be of a milder kind t h an

th at u sed by western smokers an d it i s just a s ,
 C HA R A CT E RI STIC S OF WOMAN HOO D 1 55

w ell ,
a s large m asses of eastern women are
devotees o f the weed .

T h e use of p owder a nd colourin g m atter f o r

th e eyes and skin see ms to b e world wide .

I t reac he s it s cl i max in the Japan ese but ,

other races also h ave strikin g colourin g

custom s .Th e m erch ant caste women in
-

I ndia cover th eir faces arms and leg s wit h

,

a greenish yello w called saffron

-
A ll Indian
.

women adorn th eir b r ow w ith a small Spot of

c rimson wh ich denotes respectability an d
marriage A widow is not allowed to wear
.

it C o l l i ri u m is u sed to darken th e eyelash es

.

b y I ndia n wom en blackenin g of t h e teet h i s

s till done b v Jap anese married women .

T here is much more display i n th e E a st

than in th e W est in th e wearin g o f j ewellery .

T he Chinese an d Japa n ese women wear very

little but wom en of th e ot her countries o f
,

A sia am ply m ak e up for th eir lack F rom th e

.

l owest to the h i g hest th e cry is for j ewels ,

m ore j ewels Th is h as two reason s partly ,

in herent love o f beautifu l and beautifyin g

thing s a n d partly becau se th e j ewellery b e
,

c omes the woman s property an d con sti t utes h e r

b ank account O ften th e lobe o f t he ear is

.
1 5 6 T H E A W A KE N I N G OP A S I AN WO MAN HOO D

pierced all roun d an d orna ments are inserted

in eac h p iercin g T h e nostrils are also
.

p ierced an d nose ring s or nose j e w e l s i n se rte d .

I n the h air roun d th e neck on the arm s

, , ,

sometimes almost covering them completely ,

round the w aist roun d t he a nkle s a nd o n th e

,

toes th ere are ornam e nts o f gold silver and ,

precious stones I n those countries w here

.

jewellery is popular it is a s fashionable to

,

wear one s w hole regalia in t he mornin g as in
t h e evenin g in th e market place an d at a fest i
,
-

val. I n many a case a face i s d i sfigured in

order to mak e p egs for j ewels whose purpose
p arado x ic ally i s to mak e th e face more
c harming .

A more ae sth etic form o f adorn ment finds

muc h favour i n certain races namely t he u s e , ,

o f flowers f o r th e beautifyin g of the hair and

t h e household The Bur me se women have

.

very dainty ways o f weavin g flowers into the

swat hin g o f their h air and at marriage times
,

in I ndia flowers are S O intricately twined into

t he plaiting of the hair t hat t he whole head is
covered wit h a floral cap The love o f flower s
.

for every purpose i s a prominen t trait o f

eastern women and sho ws itself especially i n
1 5 8 T H E A W AKE N I N G OF A S I A N WO MA N HOO D

ideals regard ing t heir duties and met hod o f

development .

N ature h as g ive n h er compensation to her

ea stern daug hters by making th em superlatively
th e cu s todian s a nd exponents of g entleness .

The eastern woman s belief that suprem e
happiness results only from utter service
to her husban d whom S h e i s taug ht to regard
a s a G od g ives her
,
a pur i ty and quiet sweet
ness not Similarly foun d in o t her parts o f th e
glob e It also gives a distin ct i v e f l avour to h er
.

self sacr i f i ce A ll w omen are self sa crif i cin g ;

-
.
-

but t he element o f fatal i sm ( K arma t he W ill ,

of G od K is m et ) gives a pe cul i ar grac e o f re s i g

,
-
e

nation to th e patience wit h w h ich eastern

women bear all suffering If th ey were not
.

so resig ned th ey would not h ave so man y

,

calls o n the i r powers o f resig nation ; but that i s

t he weste r n not t he eastern poin t of v i ew ! N o
, ,

t hing c a n e xcel t h e graceful gentlen ess o f th e

A sian wo man wh ether s h e is Showing it in the
,

deta i ls o f h osp i tality in which s h e i s so free

handed o r in serving h er husband with food
,

( no matter how late h e may be s h e w i ll not

touch a b i te l h e rs e l f till he is f i rst served ) o r
,

in sharing in t he religious function s in whic h

 C HA R A CT E R IST IC S OF W O MAN HOOD 1 59

her importance a s mother give s her a n essential

p art or in her care o f her c h ildren wh o are
,

h er livin g j ewels o r in her respect and vener

,

ation for h er parents in w hose presence she

will n ot S i t d ow n wit hout the latter s perm i s
sion o r fi nally i n h er devotion s at t he shr i ne s
,

of h er deities w here h er deeply religiou s

nature Sh ows itself fully .

The eastern woman is to o prone in her self ,

dep rec iation to con sid er her sex a curse an d

, ,

to th in k that to be born a man is a mark o f

superior evolution of soul A ccord in g to
.

Christan belief E ve the first woman ( likewise

, ,

an A sian ) felt also th at her s e x was a curse .

(W hy do people overlook th e fact th at A dam ,

man wa s fated to live un der a curse also

,
To
E ve h owever wa s made th e great a nd j oyful
, ,

promise tha t the curse would b e removed

,

from her as tim e went o n ; that throug h her

power to bring a saviour soul to earth the -
,

wh ole of h er sex would be set free from the

dominat i on of the desire n ature of man and
-

t h e travail o f painful C h ildbirth Th e awaken .

ing o f women all over the world to the

enlarged responsibilities that are theirs to
mother and redeem the world is a proof that
1 6 0 T H E A W A KE N I N G O F A S I A N WO MA NHOO D

th e curse is liftin g I t will perhaps take an

.

m o n of time to accomplish a s it involves funda

.
,

mental changes in t he present sex relation

ship s o f men an d wome n ; in th e develop ment
o f bot h masculine an d fe minin e qualities o f

s oul in eac h ma n and woman ; in better

c onditions o f hea l th for women ; in t he more

e qualised intellectual develop ment of wo men ;

in entirely reformed conditio n s o f labour in
th e world ; in the birth from ma ny o f t he ,

p urest virgin souled women of m any great

-
, ,

G urus and world reformers But the D a wn

-
.

o f t his D ay of H op e has arisen W it h a we W e .

h ail it both E ast and W est th e dawn in whic h

, ,

the awakened woma nhood of both h emisp here s

is m ak i n g itself ready to give its distinctive
gifts each to each and to H uman i ty for th e
regeneration o f th e W orld

Pri n te d b y J . R . A ri a at th e Va sa n ta . Pre s s , A d y a r, M a d ra s .