Women’s Movements

Women’s Movements

There were several streams of women’s movements and organisations established in the early twentieth century to address the question of women empowerment in Madras Presidency. Women’s India Association (WIA) and All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) are the important among them in Tamil Nadu. WIA was started in 1917 by Annie Besant, Dorothy Jinarajadasa and Margaret Cousins at Adyar, Madras. The Association published pamphlets and bulletins in different languages to detail the problems of personal hygiene, marriage laws, voting rights, child care and women’s role in the public. In the meantime, WIA formed the All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) in 1927 to address the problem of women’s education and recommended that the government implement various policies for the uplift of women.

Women’s liberation was one of the important objectives of the Self-Respect Movement. Self-respecters led by Periyar E.V.R. worked for gender equality and gender sensitisation of the society. The movement provided a space for women to share their ideas. There were several women activists in the movement. Muthulakshmi Ammaiyar, Nagammai, Kannamma, Nilavathi, Muvalur Ramamirtham, Rukmani Ammal, Alarmelmangai Thayammal, Nilambikai, and Sivakami Chidambaranar are prominent among them.

There was a custom of dedicating young girls to the Hindu temples as a servant of God, known as devadasi. Though intended as a service to god it soon got corrupted leading to extensive immorality and abuse of the women. Dr. Muthulakshmi Ammaiyar, was in the forefront of the campaign pressing for a legislation to abolish this devadasi system. The Madras Devadasis (Prevention of Dedication) Act 1947 was enacted by the government.

In 1930, Muthulakshmi Ammaiyar introduced in the Madras Legislative Council a Bill on the “prevention of the dedication of women to Hindu temples in the Presidency of Madras”. The Bill, which later became the Devadasi Abolition Act, declared the “pottukattu ceremony” in the precincts of Hindu temples or any other place of worship unlawful, gave legal sanction to devadasis to contract marriage, and prescribed a minimum punishment of five years’ imprisonment for those found guilty of aiding and abetting the devadasi system. The Bill had to wait for over 15 years to become an Act.