Gandhi and his Ideologies about Women and their Education I. INTRODUCTION Women have

Authors: Dr. Pooja Rani , Dr. Sunil Kumar

Pages: 40-44

Abstract:

Women hold an important position in society. They constitute about 52% of the overall population of the country. In present timesthey play prominent roles in political, cultural, social and religious sectors of the country. They are the first to educate children.Moreover, an educated woman plays a better role in society. Thus, educating women is important. Education that holds key to allthe development of one’s personality is bound to shape a better future of women.This explains the promotion of women’s education by the ‘Father of nation’. M.K.Gandhi or Mahatma Gandhi, himselfpromoted women’s education. The man who is famous for bringing revolution in India, the pillar who brought freedom to Indiaand the idol of peace and non-violence, believed in a better India where women played a greater role in building a better country.Gandhi is said to have had two influential women in his life, his mother Putlibai and wife Kasturba Gandhi. Gandhi believedwomen to be the greatest creation and gift by God to humanity. He believed that women have the power to create or destroy.In the pre-Independence era Women in India were treated with inferiority. They were expose to negative social norms and harshrituals and customs like child marriage, dowry, forceful widowhood, sati and others. These not only degraded women but alsoshowed their inferior position in society. The country in which devotion and worship of Goddesses are custom, the same countrydegrades its women.It was during the Colonial period and post-independence that women gained some value in society. The study of these changesand the Gandhian Ideologies is the aim of this paper.