INDIAN ASSOCIATION FOR WOMEN'S STUDIES

NEWSLETTER NO.2, MAY 1986

Editorial

What indices are there that Women's positionin Society today has improved from the situationin which they found themselves before the Decadeof Women was announced and ended?

Rising incidents of Abortions and increasesin the number of unmarried mothers has serioussocial implications. With legallisation of medicaltermination of pregnancy in 1971, the number ofabortions has skyrocketed to 3000 a month.Ignorance about adequate use of contraceptivemethods and negligence in their use, is responsi­ble to a large extent for increase in the incidentsof abortion. How educated is the educatedwomen on abortion and its implications for the

s~atus of women in society?

The recent discovery of sex determination priorto the birth of a child has also added to the ex­ploitation and oppression of the famale child evenbefore the baby is born.

The cover page of INDIA TODAY startles uswith figures -

6000 infanticides-female children abortedover a period of 10 years in one single State of

India. This a good or bad omen for the Women'sMovemet at present and in the future?

The casual attitude of some women going infor MTP is indeed shocking. Mrs. Grewal, agynacologist at Marie Stoppes Clinic in Karol Baghremarked: "Some women have one abortion andfind it so comfortable that the next time they comeback they get caught. In a sense they getacclimatised to the whole procedure." Manywomen reveal an appaling ignorance of its re­percussions, both psychological and physiological.

Is Abortion in fact, murdering half of one selfand murdering half of some one else. It is desir­able (i) to have a thorough debate on the prosand cons of abortion (ii) urgent need todisseminate information on adequate use of con­traceptives. Have you seen the Silent Scream?If you have not, then do see it and dispel the manyfalse notions that the unborn child and especiallythe foetus 4-6 weeks old, does not feel pain in theprocess of aborting. The debate is urgent. Canyou enter the debate orally with your friends or onpaper? Express your views to the Editor whowill publish your comments in the next issue ofthe lAWS Bulletin.

Sr. Karuna Mary Braganza

Editorial Board

Sr. Karuna Mary Braganza (Editor) Dr. Leela Dubie Dr. K. Saradamoni

Mrs. Amrit Nikore Miss Neeraja Chowdhary Miss Sujata Madhok

Dr. Sushila Kaushik

Dr. Malshree Lal

lAWS Editorial Board, welcomes the FIRST RESPONSE to its first NEWS LETTER from Kumkum

Roy. We hope this will set the ball rolling !!!

MUSLIM WOMEN'S ACT. \./

DIVIDING INDIAN WOMENBarely a year since the UN Decade for

Women has come to an end, women's struggleagainst injustice and inequality, for rights that havelong been denied to them. have had to be intensi­fied. The burden of a growing rate of unemploy­ment, illiteracy and a rising cost of living has leftwomen, and large sections of the Indian population,with no other option but to struggle for their basicrights and a life of dignity.

The roots of oppression for all women, irres­pective of their religion, are common and lie in thepresent socio-economic structure. Hence thecommon demands, the common bonds and thecommon struggles that have marked the democra­tic women's movement. Today this common bondis being eroded in the name of religion. Unfortu­nately, those involved in creating, rather reviving,the wrost communal tensions are not just the reli­gious fundamental ists and obscurantists but thegovernment itself. The issue at stake is the right ofa divorced woman to claim maintenance from herformer husband. The recent Supreme Court judge­ment upholding this right in the case of a Muslimwoman. sparked off a fierce controversy. Underpressure from the fundamentalists, the governmentintroduced in Parliament a bill that exempts Muslimwomen from the provisions of Section 125 Cr.Pcand from the positive aspects of the Supreme Courtjudgement.

The judgement pertains to 65 years old ShahBano of Indore who was deserted by her husbandin 1975 after having lived with him for 43 years.In 1978, she filed a suit against her husbandclaiming maintenance under Sec. 125 Cr.Pc. in theCourt of a Judicial Magistrate at the rate of Rs. 500per month. Once she filed her case and it waslisted for hearing, her husband pronounced irrevo­cable divorce on her and claimed that since shewas no more his wife she was not entitled to anymaintenance. He also claimed that he had deposi­ted certain customary amounts in the Court­Rs. 3,000 as mehr (dower or bridal gift) andRs. 600 for maintenance during the iddat (waitingperiod of three months after the divorce) period,and there was no question of paying any mainte­nance.

However, the District Court granted her a sumof Rs. 25 per month as maintenance. In a revisionapplication in the Madhya Pradesh High 'Court, thesum was revised at Rs. 179.20 per month.

It was against this that Shah Bano's husbandfiled an appeal in the Supreme Court which wasrejected on the ground that mehr cannot be seenas a legal substitute for maintenance but is money

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given as a token of respect to the woman at thetime of marriage. The amount of mehr has nothingto do with the event of divorce as the husband isobliged to pay it at the time of marriage or at anytime thereafter, if claimed by her. What theSupreme Court observed is borne out by manycases today, where mehr is a mere ritual and ishardly a means of support to the deserted, divorcedwife. Even Shah Bano's mehr, fixed 40 years ago,hardly has any monetary value today.

The Supreme Court upheld Shah Bano's con­tention for maintenance beyond the iddat periodunder Sec. 125 Cr.Pc. This provision, which cameinto force in 1973, is basically social legislationmeant to prevent vagrancy and destitution. Itentitles divorced women (in fact any destituteperson including old parents and children) tomaintenance upto a mavimum of Rs. 500 permonth from their former husbands.

Prior to the inclusion of Sec. 125 in theCriminal Procedure Code, there was a provision ofmaintenance for wives in Sec. 488 of the old Cr.Pc.(1898). But there was no liability of payment toa divorced wife. Taking advantage of this lacuna,many deserting husbands divorced their wiveswhen an application for maintenance was filed andthus escaped the liability to make payment. Toprevent this abuse, the Joint Select Committee ofParliament (on the Cr. Pc. Bill 1970) extended thebenefit of the provision to a divorced woman whohas not remarried. Accordingly a 'wife' was definedas "including a woman who has been divorced orhas obtained divorce from her husband and hasnot remarried".

From the time of desertion to the SupremeCourt judgement, it took Shah Bano 10 long yearsof struggle. What is the outcome of this positiveand progressive judgement? While it is a tremen­dous gain for the women's movement, it has beencondemned by Muslim fundamentalists as anti­Islamic and an outright attack on their religion.Their argument is based on their belief that theMuslim Personal Law is divine and must not be'nterpreted by any human agency and that thejudgement violates the Conscitutional guarantee toprofess and practice one's religion without anyinterference from the State.

There can be no doubt that the issue of main­tenance goes beyond the legal or religious inter­pretations of Muslim Personal Law. In mostcases, it is in fact a question of the woman's verysurvival, as most women who seek maintenancehave np means of livelihood. But to reassert theirhold on Muslim public opinion, the fundamen-

talists have sought to exploit religion for communalpolitical ends. They have taken advantage of thesense of insecurity among Muslims, which is, to alarge extent, caused by the persistence of commu­nal riots and the prevalence of discrimination inemployment.

It is not surpnslng that a few months afterthe judgement, Shah Bano had to plead in Courtfor the withdrawal of her case. Tremendous com­munity and social pressure was mounted on herby maulvis and others who managed to instil asense of fear in her that if she refused to recant,she alone would be responsible for the riots thatcould follow.

Instead of effecrively curbing such exploi­tative communal forces, the government chose tocompromise with them. In a blatant attack onsecularism and women's rights, it introduced inParliament the Muslim Women (Protection ofRights on Divorce) Bill, 1986 despite severeopposition not only from women's organisationsbut a sizeable section of the Muslim communityitself. The highlights of the Bill are that:

The· husband is exonerated from the respon­sibility of maintaining his divorced wifeafter three months (iddat period).

a husband has to maintain his children foronly two years in the event of their beingwith their mother.

The divorced woman has been given thelegal right to file a suit against male membersof her natal family for maintenance.

In the event of the male members (father,uncle, brother) failing to pay maintenance,the wakf Boards (community run, charitableinstitutions) are to take the responsibility.

The Bill has far reaching implications notonly for women but for the whole society,particularly as it has come in response to the fun­damental ists' demands It is d mockery of secula­rism as it takes Muslim women out of the purviewor Sec. 125 Cr.PC which is a secular law meantfor all women, irrespective of their religion. Free­dom of rei igion does not'mean tolerance of prac­tices which are disciminatory and unjust. Shouldhuman rights and the Conetitution be violatedunder the guise of religious practices?•

Contrary to the government's claim that theBill would protect Muslim women, given the dec­lining status of women in general and Muslimwomen in particular, the Bill will in fact, ensurethat large number of Muslim women are turnedinto destitutes. If the government is genuinelyinterested in improving the status of Muslimwomen, it must adopt positive policies which

would reflect this interest.

The crucial issue to resolve is the social andeconomic dependence of women. If they hadaccess to employment, which is their Constitu­tional right, would they have to fight such longlegal battles for a pittance? Muslim women cons­tituta nearly 50% of the Muslim community andno progress is possible without their cooperation.

In the event of desertion or divorce, a womannaturally turns to her own family for support andsustenance. By making her natural family legallyresponsible for her maintenance the Bill, in effect,encourages conflict between her and the family,closing one mOre door on her. The Bill proposesthat where the family fails to maintain her, theWakf Boards would fulfil the responsibility but itis common knowledge that Wakf Boards are mostlydefunct institutions. In all probability then, theBill is pushing women out on the streets whileprotecting men from their responsibility to paymaintenonce.

Women's organisations and a large sectionof progressive Muslim and non-Muslim opinionhad demanded from the government that the Billbe scrapped or atleast referred to a Select Com­mittee but all this was in vain as the ruling partypushed the Bill through with haste in the firstweek of May, Subdving dissent within its own rank.

What had further compounded the alreadycomplex issue was the role of the Hindu communalorganisations who became particularly vociferousin their opposition on the Bill. Their attempt wasto intensify the sense of insecurity among theMuslims and to create contempt and hatred againstthem by using this particular issue.

The storm over the Supreme Court judge­ment was amazing, to say the least. This was notthe first time that the Court had granted mainte­nance to a Muslim woman under Sec. 125 Cr.PC.There have been several similar court judgementswhich have gone unnoticed. Why was there nocontroversy prior to this judgement?

The Shah Bano case has become historic forat least two reasons : fi rstly that the SupremeCourt, in its observations on the judgement referredto Article 44 of the Constitution which calls fora uniform civil code and secondly it interpreted theQuran in the light of the judgement. This wasmore than enough for the fundamentalists to situp. Moreover, the judgement came at a time whenthe growth of communal forces, which seem deter­mined to divide people in the name of religion, isat its peak.

In any case 'l\Ihat is obvious is that theissue has gone beyond that of the Bill and hastouched, rather shaken. the core of our society.Shah Bano will always be remembered for crea-

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ting history. But the other side of it is to remem­ber how easily the secular, social fabric of oursociety can be disrupted or destroyed. The contro­versy highlights the extent of communilisation ofIndian society and its polity and the urgent needto be on one's guard against attacks on even ourConstitutional rights.

Tha unity and unanimity expressed in oppo­sitiof! to the Bill by women's organisations,Muslim women and the secular, democratic opinionin general. is surely one of the most positiveaspectsof the present struggle against communaldisruptive forces. '

Sahba Husain

I.A.W.S· Resolution

"This meeting of the Executive Committee of the Indian Association forWomen's Studies resolves to request the Prime Minister to withdrawthe proposed Muslim Women (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Bill,1986as it violates the constitutional rights of Muslim Women and infringesthe secular frame-work of the Indian Republic as well as the Constitut­ional commitment to justice for all citizens."Resolution approved by the Executive Committee of Indian Association for Women's Studies in itsmeeting held on 31st March, 1986 on Muslim Women's Bill.

From the General Secretary

1. Enrolement as lAWS members :-

The Third National Conference on Women's studies will be held from 1st to 4th October,1986 at Chandigarh. The theme is Women strggles and movements.Those prospective participantswho have not enrolled themselves so far, may do so as early as possible. Those ordinary memberswhose membership have expired on 31st March, 1986 may renew their membership for the currentyear (April 1986 - March 1987).

2. Announcement of the General Election of the lAWS.

The General Election of the lAWS to elect the members of the Executive Committee for1987-1989 will be held sometime in November 1986. The Electoral list of the members Electorallist will include only those who enrol themselves as membersupto 31st July, 1986. The membersmay check that their names are in the Electoral list by writing to either the General Secretary orthe Joint Secretary.

Susheela Kaushik, Jt. Secretary80, Dakshinapuram, J.N.U CampusNew Delhi-11 0 067

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Lucy M. Jacob,General Secretary

Male Feminists -,039V 13

"I'm a feminist." Every time I hear a manmake that remark my hackles rise. I have to curbmy growing irritation as I scan his statement andhis face for signs of smugness, of self-congratula­tion. No matter how earnest his tone, how serioushis manner, I seem to detect a certain glibness inhis' more-progressive-than-the-prog ressives' stance.And I am instantly on guard.

"My husband is a feminist." Every time I heara woman proclaim her spouse's virtues in thismanner, I feel a certain unease. I scan her state­ment to sense if she truly believes it or whether itis a case of protesting too much. Is she snugly,smugly congratulating herself for so easily. almostby sleight of hand, escaping the old patriarchalbondage of marriage? Or is it self-deception, anexercise in pulling-the-wool-over-the-eyes, becauseit is safer to hide under a cliche than examine arelationship too closely?

Why is it so hard for me to believe that a mancan be a feminist? Do I believe that the old genderdivisions are immutable? If so, what is my feminismall about, then? A utopian demand for change,along with the paradoxical belief that change can'thappen? Or am I being merely pragmatic in real is­ing that the sex role change, while revolutionary incontent is evolutionary in process, that change isnot instant coffee downed in a few gulps.

But if a female can change in a few yearsfrom a quiet long-suffering woman into a vocalfeminist, why can't a man do the same? Theanswer, perhaps. lies in this business of being long­suffering It is precisely because a woman suffersoppression at first hand that she understandspatriarchy. A man may be witness to the oppressionof a woman a mother or sister or friend-as a smallboy he may even have experienced paternal tyranny

but he is not oppressed by it in the same way as awoman. By the simple fact of being male a boyescapes much of the conditioning girls are subjectto; at a subconscions level he knows that some dayhe can be as powerful as the father and only has tobide his time. He may reject his father's tyrannicalways and choose to use his power benevolentlybut he knows that the power will be his. A girlknows instinctively that she is and will be excludedfrom power and subject to the powerful. This is astark analysis of the situation but who saidfeminism was a rose garden ?

The analogy that is often used is. if a middleclass person can be a Marxist, then a sympatheticmale can be a feminist. But Marxism is an ideologythat one adopts not because of one's class orexperience but because noe's mind is convinced ofits rationality and justice. If one's Marxism is alsofuelled by personal experience of injustice andopprepsion, more power to it. But it is not anessential prerequisite.

The personal experience of oppression. o.discrimination, is however the core of feminismfThe feminist ideology was not developed on theori­es of material deprivation, of economic injustice(though theses enter into it) but on the experienceof emotional alienation, of psychic mutilation, ofpersonal rather than economic violence.

"The personal is the political" is hence thekeystone of the movement. It is because of itsemotional origins that the term feminist is for manyof us so emotive. Maybe that is why it is so hardto let men have a part of it, to let any man call himself feminist. For me, at best. he can be a sympath­iser.

Sujata Madhok

The lAWS Panel in the Eleventh World Congress of SociologyA World Congress of Sociology is held every four years by the International Sociological Associa­

tion. The eleventh of these congresses is to meet in New Delhi from 18 to 22 August 1986.The ISA has several Research Committees. each with a specific interest. One of the most active of

these is RC 32, 'Women in Society', which has members from allover the World. RC 32, which wasone of the co-organizers of the 'Women and the Household' conference in 1985. has planned a seriesof sessions for the World Congress of Sociology.

One of these sessions is organized in collaboration with the lAWS. This will be a two-hour-Iongpanel discussion on the theme 'The importance of a focus on women for a more purposeful socialscience' in the specific context of India. This is scheduled for 4 p.m. on 22 August,,, ""1.

There will be four brief presentations followed by the comments of a discussants. An hour or morewill be available for an open discussion, It is hoped that some particularly significant issues will beraised.

18 May 1986 Leela Dube

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WOMEN'S NEWS

West Bengal

March 8th, the International Women's Day, isno longer an obscure date. More women's organis­ations are now observing this day all over WestBengal. The number is still small but not discourag­ing. Previously, only women's units of the leftpolitical parties observed it. But now March 8th isobserved with enthusiasm wherever there is a littleconsciousness of women's rights. Simultaneouslywith urban women's groups, small organisationslike PIRA in Manosri village (Howrah), Daspur(Midnapur), Satmanirhat (Diamond Harbour) havecelebrated this day.

However the history of March 8th continuesto be vague by known. So this year. Nari NirjatanPratiradh Mancha (Forum Against the Oppressionof Women), Calcutta decided to publish a leaflet inBengali giving the background and history ofMarch 8th. The leaflet also presented a charter ofdemands concerning women It was well receivedby the public and members of other women'sgroups.

The Forum organised a procession and initiat­ed a mass signature campaign against the propos­ed Muslim Women (Protection of Rights of Divor­ce) Bill. Two members of the Committee For theProtection of the Rights of Muslim Women, SajidaAsad and Mumtaz Choudhury, were specially invit­ed by the Forum to address street corner meetings.They both criticised the Bill strongly, describing itas anti-woman and anti-religion.

The other demands of the Forum were for auniform civil code granting equal status to menand women of all religions, an anti price-rise move­ment, recognition of the right to health as fundam­ental, solution of the housing problem, speedyhearing and disposal of cases of dowry, bride­burning, maintenance and rape, more opportunitiesfor women to become economically independent,an end to discrimination in jobs and equal wagesfor equal work, A strong plea was made for thesocial recognition of domestic labour and establish­ment of creches, community kitchens and old agehomes to lighten the housewife's workload.

The Bhopal gas disaster was also an issue ofthe March 8th campaign. The Forum demandedproper examination of all MIC affected women whohad suffered from irregular periods or miscarriagesand of lactating mothers who had problems ofbreast milk drying up. Many pregnant women hadgiven birth to deformed babies. A demand wasmade for the free supply of necessary drugs andabortion facilities.

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The Forum which complises several women'sorganisations and individuals was formed two yearsago for joint action on issues affecting women. Theconstituent members are Sachetona, Women'sLibrary (a documentation centre), Mahila Pathach­akra, Progotisheel Mahila Samitee, Women'sResearch Centre and Lahari. All are Calcutta based.

Sachetona chose to celebrete Women's Daywith a two-day open air fair, a cultural programmefelicitations to important women and the release ofits journal Saehetona with special emphasis onwomen from the Third World. One of the womento be honoured was the pioneering woman tradeunion leader Santosh Kumari. A seminar was alsoorganised to highlight women's changing roles inart, literature and society in post-IndependenceBengal.

In Manosri village PIRA put up posters againstatrocities on women and organised a procession.Sarbik Gana Unnayan Parish ad in Daspur publisheda leatlet and organised a procession of 100 womenand same men in the village.

The West Bangal Unit of the National Feder­ation of Indian Women organised a seminar on"Women and Peace" to commemorate 1986, theYear of Peace, as well as March 8th. It stressed theimportance of women's role in anti-war rallies andpeace movements. Joint Women's Programme tookout a procession of women in protest against theproposed Muslim Women Bill. They presented amemorandum to the Government demanding itswithdrawal. Lively songs and skits were presentedalong the roadside, highlighting the problems of ofwomen.

Ahalya (an autonomous group) organised aseminar on the theory of feminism. Among thewomen's units of political parties the SUCI women'sgroup the Mahila Sanskriti Sangha, called a protestmeeting against the Muslim Women Bill whereeminent Muslim scholars described the Bill asretrograde, communal and violative of the fundam­ental rights granted by the Constitution.

A definite trend to emerge from all thedemands is the politicalisation of women's issueswhich are no longer restricted to typical demandslike creche facilities and maternal health. Theconsciousness that women's movements have to belinked to broad democratic movements, while reta­ining the right to form separate women's organisa­tions, will hopefully guide the future of the move-ment in West Bengal. •

M aitreyee Chatterjee

Tamil Nadu

The first week of March saw hectic activityby a number of women's organisations in TamilNadu, cuiminating in programmes througout theState on International Women's Day, March 8th.

Just like last year, the Joint Action Co~ncilfor Women's organised ,in the forenoon of March8th a meet with various women's organisations inMadras city. Representa.tives from different organi­sations spoke on the contemporary issues facingwomen in India today. The occasion was also usedto honour the women Publ ic Prosecutor fromMadas and also an enterprising woman entrepren­eur.

The Rural Women's Libvration Movementlocated in Arakkonam in North Arcot District orga­nised a long march from Arakkonam to MadrasCity. Comprising of women agricultural labourersand other rural women, it started on March 5th andproceeded through different towns and villages ofthe district until it reached Madras city, where ahuge public meeting was organised. Many ruralwomen and other speakers addressed the publicmeeting at Periyar Thidal. Both the March and themeeting focussed largely on the problems of ruralwomen.

The Democratic Women's Association submi­tted a memorandum protesting against the MuslimWomen (Protection of Rights on Divorce) Bill thatis presently before Parliament. Earlier, in the wakeof police firing on fishermen in Madras City in Dec­ember and subsequent police harassment, the Dem­ocratic Women's Association constituted and led a

fact finding team consisting of V.R. Krishna Iyerand other concerned persons, The team highlight­ed the atrocities perpetrated on fisherwomen, mel'!and children and urged the authorities 10 withdrawthe false cases foisted on them. The otl:ler women'sorganisations, Pennurimai Iyakkam and the Work­ing Women's Forum, also expressed their concernon this issue through a procession and site visits.

In the first week of March, members of Penn­urimai Iyakkam protested outside a theatre on theobscene and vulgar portrayal of women in films.

In January a Chinese delegation visited theWorking Women's Forum and spoke to its membersin different areas in Madras city.

The Joint Action Council for Women is soonsetting up a shelter home for battered and destitutewomen. In collaboration with the Andhra MahilaSabha they have already started Sahodri, a counse­lling centre for women, which has become popularin the city.

Academic women are not far behind. TheMother Teresa Women's University in Kodaikanalheld a seminar on Tamil Women Writers in Marchin Madurai. Theyalso had a seminar on womenand the New Education Policy in the first week ofApril. Tremendous concern appears to exist onwomen and the new education policy as even theDepartment of Sociology, University of Madras,recentaly organised a seminar on this issue. •

U. Kalpagam

WOMEN & CUL TURE

The national conference on culture held inBangalore from March 9-16, 1986 to reflect anddebate on "Cultural Forces shaping India today­Education's response" has great significance at atime when we are at the crossroads. A distin­guished gathering of women and men expressedconcern at the failure of the present social systemto reduce oppression, exploitation and class-caste­gender inequalities. What is the way out? Thediscussions in seminars and workshops werefocussed on this.

At the outset, Sr. Braganza observed that anyconference on culture that is worth its salt mustinclude an important component on women, In achanging society, women who are the conserversof culture, can also be great impediments to socialchange, On the other hand, committed and enligt­ened women are a powerful factor of change.

Margaret Alva, minister of state for HumanResource. Development, in her valedictory addressstressed that a society cannot progress if its womenare left behind. She urged women to rise abovetraditional taboos, gain self confidence and asso­ciate actively in national development.

Devaki Jain in the paper "Culture of poverty-Is equitable development possible?" brilliantlypresented women's perspective. She said that thepoor in India are terribly deprived but not over­powered by poverty, being alert and capable ofcarving spaces for themselves against all odds. Shejustified her stress on women by pointing out thatwhether the criterion is nutrition or income womenare the poorest but it is their creative energy whichsustains the culture of the poor.

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Development activists conf!rm that (he poorare able to perceive, design, articulate and imple­ment collectively their own plans for themselves.If so, why is development so troublesome? ~heanswer lies in identifying with the poor, learningfrom them and allowing their own dynamics tofunction at a less dehumanising level. The cultureof the poor, argued Ms. Jain, thus can be a modelfor development. Women's dynamism, hardstruggle for survival and capacity for nurturancemakes them central to the development process,she felt.

Dr. Kapila Vatsyayan's paperon "Ecology aridIndian myth" showed how the Hindu venerationof all life, be it plant, animal or human, and thebelief in the cosmic order, the rhythm of the move­ment of earth, water, fire, ether and agni. Suryawas essential to the preservatien of the ecology.The Hindu emphasis on purification i.e. non­pollution and the many myths that glorify naturecan be used to reassert the need to preservetheenvironment today, she said.

Sessions were devoted to media science andtechnology, tribal culture and peace.

The session on science and technology wasvery stimulating. Dr. Ramasashen stressed(j) Science must relate to the well-being of themassesat their micro and macro-reality. (ij) Highpriority by given to the needs of the poor womenand men in meeting their aspirations.

Amrit Nikore's case studies of tribal culturein the Rourkela and Bhilai areas which are facedwith the onslaught of modernisation focussed onthe precarious condition in which the tribals ofSundergarh and Ourg region have been placed.

Dr. Anima Bose traced the historical evolu­tion of the concept of peace in India, from theshanti and Ahinsa of the vedas, through the Karunaspoken of by Buddha to the prem of the Bhaktimovement arid finally the ahinsa expounded byGandhi.

The conference concluded with stress onpriority for cultural autonmy, alleviation of poverty,imjJroving the status of women and creating a justsociety where education, culture and religion growtogether. "Can we do it? Can Women give theleaa ?" Herein lies the challenge of the conference.

Arnrit Nikore

Communica tion

It was good to seethe first newsletter of thelAWS. A publication meant exclusively for reportsand news on women's studies has becomeabsolutely essential at present and the newslettercertainly has a great deal of potential. I wouldlike to make a few suggestions regarding futureissues of the newsletter.

It would be good if the newsletter couldcontain information about future conferences,workshops etc. (both those organised by the lAWSand by others). Such information, if published ona regular basis, would be extremely useful inhelping readersto plan/participate in such events.

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If possible, short reports (maybe a paragraphor two) should be published on recent/on-goingresearch projects in which indvidual members/groups are involved, so that one has a better andmore systematic idea of current developments.

If specepermits, a list of recent publicationsof interest (journals, articles, booksetc), would beusefuI.

Looking forward to the next issue of thenewsletter,

KUMKUM ROY

T ASK FORCE ON WOMEN IN FREEDOM MOVEMENTDuring the Second Nation~1 Conference on

Women's Studies held at Trivandrum in April 1984an unanimous resolution was adopted that theIndian Association for Women's Studies shouldpromote a national study on the Role of Womenin the Freedom Struggle, since various authors ofpapers on this theme had commented on the acutescarcity of published material.

The few studies that existed, it was felt, weresuperficial and focussed on a few well knownleaders. It was felt essential to probe the lives androle of the millions unkown women who tookpart in this struggle, making use of documentary,oral and other types of evidence. The project hadto be dealt with urgently as most of the freedomfighters might not be with us for too long.

The Executive Committee of the Associationat its meeting on July 28, 1984 decided to setup a task force for formulating a research projecton this theme, for identifying scholars across thecountry who could participate in the project, andfor requesting various agencies like the ICSSR,(CHR, UGC and the Indian Institute for AdvancedStudies to provide supportive funds.

The Task Force Committee comprises: Prof.Ravindra Kumar, Dr. Hemlata Swarup, Dr UshaMehta, Dr D. P. Barua. Prof. Sunil Kr. Sen, Dr.Veena Mazumdar, Dr. Taneka Sarkar and Prof.Susheela Kaushik.

The Task Force belives the immediate task isthat of consolidating and preserving the varioussource materials for a study of this period. Towardsthis, it has worked out certain proposals.

Preparation of Bibilographical Surveys

It is important that a number of bibliographi­cal surveys listing the primary source materials onthe role of women in the freedom struggle, availa­ble in archives, libraries, newspaper and periodicaloffices, professional and political associations, beprepared expeditiously. For this purpose, it wouldbe advisable to zone the country into four regions,in each one of which a Project Director would belocated with requisite staff and infrasturcture toprepare a Regional Bibliographical Survey. Theheadquarters of the northern region could be Delhi,of the eastern Calcutta, of the western Bombay andof the southern region Hyderabad.

The Regional Project Directors would berequired to survey repositories housing sourcematerials pertaining to the subject. With the assist­ance of Senior Research Officers they would preparecomprehensive and critical bibl iographical surveysrelating to documentary materials illuminating therole of women in the freedom struggle. It is estima­ted that the examination of sources would takethree years. Another two years would be requiredfor preparing the bibliography.Oral History

Besides conventional sources, an Oral Historyproject could contribute substantially to the genera-

tion of new documentation on the topic. For thispurpose an all-India programme similar to the oneoutlined above could be undertaken. The RegionalProject Directors vested with the responsibility ofpreparing bibliographical surveys of existing sourcesshould also prepare oral history material. Fiftypercent of the research staff provided to them couldbe engaged in this segment of the programme.

The staff engaged in preparing oral historymaterials could draw profitably on the conceptualapproaches outlined in the accompanying paper onWomen and Nationalism which has profitablegudielines as to the manner in which interviewscan be conducted.

The generation of oral history records shoulddraw upon a perception of the freedom movementwhich puts as much stress on social, cultural andeconomic liberation as it puts upon political libera­tion. Besides, it would be profitable to recordinterviews with so-called 'unknown' women fromdifferent regions and social strata whose perceptionsmy help in generating a rounded documentationbase, particularly for scholars interested in "historyfrom below". The Oral History programme needsto be undertaken expeditiously, since the subjectsof such interviews may not be with us for very long.

Workshops and SymposiaThe Task Force considered the question of

organisation of workshops and symposia: (1) todiscuss sources pertaining to the role of women inthe freedom struggle (ii) to formulate conceptualmethods through which our understanding of thisfield could be enhanced (iii) to initiate substantiveresearches regarding the role of women in India'sliberation. It was of the view that the organisationof such activities by universities, research instituti­ons and other bodies engaged in social scienceresearch would go a long way towards generatingnew ideas and perceptions.

The organisation of these workshops andsymposia could be an on-going activity, since thesubject has wide ramifications. Further new develop­ments in social theory have often enabled scholarsto draw upon novel documentation and fr~sh areasof human endeavour to enrich our understandingof the subject.

The Task Force endorses the paper "Womenand Indian Nationalism" as a fundamental contri­bution to studies in this field.

It is hoped that the above suggestions may bekept in view by the research scholars and theacademic community while formulating theirproposals for research both in Women's Studies aswell as in the parental disciplines. The Associationwould also appeal to the university authorities aswell as the research funding agencies to encourageresearch and seminars on these lines and to accordthem priority.

Susheela Kaushik

9

WOMEN & INDIAN NATIONALISMThe study of the interrelationship between

women and Indian nationalism poses seriousproblems at the level of concepts, sources andmethodology. It is essential to distinguish betweendifferent issues, levels of consciousness and ideol­ogies and their impact on different groups in society.It is necessary to look upon nationalism as a phen­omenon which encompasses social, economic andcultural issues as much as the political strugglefor the over-throw of colonial rule ..

The articulation of the women's question hasto be examined from the integrated perspective ofa social revolution, wherein established norms arein a state of flux and the vision of a new society isbeing formulated.

The nationalist movement embraced a varietyof ideological trends concerning the existing andthe prescriptive roles of women-some complement­ary, some contradictory. There were also significantdifferences in the articulation and perception ofthese trends, just as there were marked differencesin the aspirations of different groups who participa­ted in the complex types of movements that formedthe Indian people's struggle for liberation.

A re-examination of Indian nationalism fromthe perspective of (a) women's participation, (b)the significance of the situation of women fromdifferent classes, castes, communities and thenature of their participation in these struggles, and(c) the articulation of the debates on the women'squestion at various levels and stages of thesestruggles would provide new insights into thenature of the movements, their ideological andoperational character, and their eventual influenceon the status of women in past independence India.

"Women and Indian Nationalism is to be a sub­theme of the Third National Conference onWomen's Studies to be held from Oct. 1-4, 1986.Papers are being invited for the following panels.1. Culture consciousness and social liberation

This panel will be devoted to an explorationof the growth and articu lation of consciousness ofwomen and about women, located in the contextof the sociocultu ral processes which sought tocontend with their exploitation and subordinationwhich also manifested itself in forms of violenceagainst women. The canvas would be the socio­cultural movements during the colonial period-bothproto-nationalist and nationalist. How did thecultural struggle, embodied in the socio-religiousmovements during the 19th century, look at theproblem of women and formulate solutions; howdid women perceive men-women relationships andtheir position in the family etc.; what were thesocio-cultural imperatives which enabled womento participate in the national movement? Did theirparticipation stem from a consciousness of theliberation possibilities of the movement?

2. (a) Nature of women's participationThis panel will focus on women's participat­

ion at various levels in different regions and indifferent forms, examining it both from the point ofview of consciousness and action. Apart fromdocumenting the actual roles played by womenovertly or covertly, it is important to examin theirbackground, their perception and the way in whichtheir roles were perceived by their own family, theneighbourhood, the community, the leadership etc.2. (b) Organisations, Institutions and Movements

This panel will focus on specific case studiesof institutions, organisations and movements whichdrew on women's activism. Such case studies may!ocus on organisations/institutions which onlyIncluded women or general organisations, suchas trade unions, political parties, cultural institut­ions, etc. The following key questions are offered.

1. What was the nature of women's participa­tion in various movements?

2. What did such participation mean to womenfrom different groups who had to functionwithin a social structure deeply influencedby class, caste, communal and regionaldifferences?

3. How did such women, from different back­grounds, view the national movement?

4. How did women's participation affect otherpeople and eventually the various move­ments?

5. How did this affect the consciousness ofand about women - particularly their rolesin the three sectors of family, economy anddecision making - among the political elite,the intellegentsia and the less dominant/visible groups, e.g. peasants, workers,tribals and minorities?

3. Development of IdeologiesThis panel will explore the development of

various ideologies regarding women's positior.and roles in society that affected the articulationor non-articulation of the women's question. Howwere these ideologies influenced in their turn bythe fact of women's participation in the politicalstruggle? It would be important to include in thisexamination the role of different strands withinthe social reform movements of the 19th centuryas well as the differing approaches of radical andconservative elements in the cultural and politicalfaces of nationalism.

4. Nationalist historiogrc:phy and the women'squestion

This panel aims to examine the social vision ofthe historians whose writings contributed sub­stantially to the growth and understanding ofnationalism. It may involve reviews of historicalliterature of that time as well as later.

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