All India Women's Conference

All India Women's Conference
The All India Women's Conference (AIWC) is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Delhi. It was founded in 1927 by Margaret Cousins in order to improve educational efforts for women and children and has expanded its scope to also tackle other women's rights issues. The organisation is the oldest nation-wide women's rights organization in India and has branches throughout the country. It is a member of the International Alliance of Women.
History
The All India Women's Conference (AIWC) was founded in 1927 in Pune in order to promote women and children's education and social welfare. Margaret Cousins had called for the creation of an organisation as early as late 1925 by writing to other women's groups and to friends to come together to discuss education for women. The first meeting held in Poona saw 2,000 attendees who met at the Fergusson College Hall on Poona University. Most of the attendees were observers, but others were women that Cousins had brought together to help create the AIWC. Amrit Kaur was one of the founding members of AIWC. One of the first secretaries of AIWC was Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay.
Beginning in 1928, AIWC began to raise money to open the Lady Irwin College of Domestic Science. Also in 1928, the AIWC recognized that women's education couldn't be addressed properly without dealing with "harmful social customs." Women of the AIWC set up a committee to "watch and report on the progress of the Child Marriage Bill," and to also lobby politicians relating to the practice of child marriage. Other issues that were tackled included giving women the right to divorce, to inherit and to vote.
AIWC was registered in 1930 under the section XXI of Societies Registration Act, 1860. (No. 558 of 1930). AIWC created a journal, Roshni, in 1941 which was published in both English and Hindi. The organisation was involved in lobbying Parliament to pass new laws to protect women in India and also to help expand voting rights. A central office for AIWC was set up in 1946. Also in 1946, a "Skippo Committee" was set up to help provide villages with medical treatment. When India was fighting for independence, many more radical members left the organisation in order to become "nationalist agitators." The organisation also expelled members who were associated with Communist groups in 1948.
Activities and programmes
One of the initial main objectives of the AIWC was education of women, and it remains a primary concern today. The organisation's literacy campaign was intensified in 1996 by initiating non-formal education programmes for school drop outs and literacy programmes for adult woman with craft training through its branches. AIWC also operates microcredit schemes and energy development for rural women. AIWC has trained women in the use of solar driers for hygienically storing food. They also help women find employment, are involved in health issues and the prevention of human trafficking.
Past presidents
This is a list of the past presidents of AIWC:
Maharani Chimnabai, 1927
Jahan Begum of Bhopal, 1928
Dowager Rani of Mandi, 1929
Sarojini Naidu, 1930
Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, 1931
Sarala Roy, 1932
Lady Vidyagauri Nilkanth, 1933
Lady Abdul Quadir, 1934
Hilla Rustomji Faridoonji 1935
Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi, 1936
Margaret E. Cousins, 1937
Amrit Kaur, 1938
Rani Lakshmibai Rajwade, 1939
Shareefa Hamid Ali, 1940–41
Rameshwari Nehru, 1942
Vijayalakshmi Pandit, 1943
Kamladevi Chattopadhyay, 1944–45
Hansa Mehta, 1946
Dhanvanthi Rama Rau, 1947
Anasuyabai Kale, 1948
Urmila Mehta, 1949–50
Hannah Sen, 1951–52
Renuka Ray, 1953–54
Lakshmi N. Menon, 1955–58
Raksha Saran, 1959–60
Mithan Jamshed Lam, 1961–62
Masuma Begum, 1963–64
M.S.H.Jhabwala 1965–68
B. Tarabai, 1969–70
Lakshmi Raguramaiah, 1971–79
Sarojini Varadappan, 1981–85
Ashoka Gupta, 1986–90
Shobhana Ranade, 1991–95
Kunti Paul, 1996–98
Kalavati Tripathi, 1999–2001
Aparna Basu, 2002–2004
Manorma Bawa, 2005–2007
Gomathi Nair, 2008–2010
Bina Jain, 2011–2013
Veena Kohli, 2014–2016
Rakesh Dhawan, 2017–2019
Sheela Kakde, 2020–2022
Other members
Kitty Shiva Rao
See also
List of women's rights organisations
National Council of Women in India
References
Citations
Sources
External links
AIWC Official Website
1927 establishments in India
Liberal feminist organizations
Women's organisations based in India
Organisations based in Delhi
Organizations established in 1927
Women's conferences
1927 in women's history