Mahatma Gandhi on Women Empowerment

 

Mahatma Gandhi was one of the most honest and divine historical figures of the modern age. His philosophy of non-violence, although not new, assumed revolutionary proportions under his tutelage and captured the hearts of millions of people all over the world. Non-violence as enunciated by the Mahatma is the strongest weapon of the strong as against violence which is the weakest weapon of the weak. Humanity as a whole can seek deliverance from darkness to light and from bondage to freedom with this mighty weapon of non-violence. The power of non-violence is located in the spirit of the human being and the Mahatma indubitably is the greatest architect of this spirit and spirituality of all nobles which is widely known and recognized.

Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy to the world, and to India especially, is immeasurable; his life and work have left an impact on every aspect of life in India. He has addressed many personal, social and political issues; his collected works number nearly one hundred volumes. From these I have gleaned only a few thoughts of him with special reference to the context of women empowerment because our ‘Father of the Nation’ was a strong votary of women empowerment in India. He saw himself not as a visionary, but as a practical idealist since he saw men and women as equals, complementing each other.

Gandhiji's ideas about women and their role in public life was a departure from those of the 19th century social reformers. Though he fought against the evil practices of sati, child marriage, oppression of widows, purdah system and denial of property rights to women; he stands quite unique among others since he fuelled the concept of empowering women. Generally speaking empowerment means ‘…the process of becoming stronger and more confident, especially in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights…’ Empowering the women of India means - equality in decision making and ability to control one’s own life irrespective of one’s gender. Mahatma Gandhi was a strong advocate of women's liberalization and empowerment and was a staunch supporter of gender equality. He saw women as a potential force in the struggle to build a new social order and he consciously attempted to articulate connections between their private and public life.

Indian women who fought with true spirit and undaunted courage in the roughest and toughest for our country’s freedom from the clutches of the British rule determines the fact how they had faced various tortures, exploitations and hardships during the early decades of 20^th century. We all will be wondering that how our women entered into the scene of freedom struggle?????  Yes, the undaunted call by Mahatma Gandhi to women irrespective of their religion or region was considered to be a great turning point in the history of Indian freedom struggle. Gandhiji assured the fathers and husbands of women that these politically active women would not rebel against the family. As an outcome, the struggle for freedom had drawn many women into the public sphere and thus Gandhiji made the Indian freedom struggle as the “mass movement”. Further women also got an opportunity to participate along with men freedom fighters and contributed their might entering into politics and public life, which had been the exclusive domains of men-folk. 

It is important to highlight here that during the All India Women’s Conference held in 1936, Gandhiji stated that, "When woman, whom we call abala (weak) becomes sabala (strong), all those who are helpless will become powerful!" This message absolutely reflects how our Father of Nation has given the crucial importance to the issue of women's freedom and strength in the struggle to build a humane and exploitation-free society. In addition, he was also instrumental and contributed a lot in the process of uplifting rural women’s subordinate position in the Indian society. So we can say that Gandhiji’s leadership for women led them to maintain their self-esteem and dignity. Unlike many other noble souls who wrote and worked with the principle of sexual equality in mind, Mahatma Gandhi sought to bring about a revolutionary change in the status of women in the first half of the 20^th century.

Although the social structure has been changed and developed during the contemporary times, women still are considered more suitable for domestic work than as contributor for nation’s development; socially as well as economically. This can be easily verified by the presence of large number of women workforce in the unorganized sector and a low number of women entrepreneurs in India. Mahatma Gandhi believed in the economic independence for women; but still, the present situation is far behind the vision seen by our Father of the Nation. New problems are proliferating with every stage of women empowerment and further new issues have mushroomed after women started moving out from their home. Lot of criminal activities like rape, eve-teasing, molestation, acid attack, honour killing, sexual exploitation at work, etc have started taking place against women which are again creating obstacles in achieving the elusive dream of women empowerment. Governments do make laws against all type of crimes against women but the real need of the hour is to transform the mentality of the masses. For Gandhiji, women are not only the nurturers for preparing potential citizens of India, but they are the holders of responsibility for imparting and inculcating gender equality in the society. They should teach their children, from childhood, to respect and honour the dignity of not only their family folk but women at large.  If this happens, then only the real revolution will take place and the dream of women empowerment would be realized in full.

The views expressed by Gandhiji and the actions undertaken by him may not go entirely with the current times because the times have irreversibly changed but the honesty of the Mahatma, the love and respect he had for women can never be doubted. Gandhian literature and ideologies will continue to be a prescription for many years to come for both men and women, to have a better perspective of each other and life. On a scale of one to ten, the Mahatma comes out with flying colours for his views on the various aspects concerning empowerment of women in Indian society. He can be considered as the best friend of women in India and the world. Moreover, the Mahatma’s purity of thought and honest intentions are beyond question. No other man in the entire history of India or in the world had such godly ideas about women.

Any tribute to Mahatma Gandhi, would be an empty one, if we take no attention for guiding ourselves from the words and life practices of such a great man. I am stating this here because, for him ideas and ideals had no value if they were not translated into action. Therefore let us all join our hands together to establish his thoughts and practices along with a grateful and sincere tribute to the noble soul of our great nation.

LONG LIVE INDIA!!!