Everyday we read about people who made an influence in our lives,in one way or the other. Often these would be celebrities and media figures who are larger than life. Their inspiration route would also be conventional and pretty much ordinary. Achieved money from a humble beginning, broke a record etc
But today I read about two relatively unknown but thought provoking women who in their quiet ways started a revolution.
Rukmabai, born in 1864, was a physician from a Marathi family. She was influential in bringing about the The Age of Consent Act,1891. Her own child marriage and the experiences of an orthodox tradition led to her silent protest against the institution of lack of consent for women in matters of marriage and sexual intercourse. ( that would be the movie PINK in a time machine right? ) It led to a case against her own husband.
Various factions of the society joined in too with their opinions, criticisms largely on ground of 'saving the sanctity of Hindu marriage'. She was ultimately faced with the option of going back to her husband or facing imprisonment. She chose the latter. Rukmabai even appealed her case to Queen Victoria, which led to the upturn of the court rule and dissolution of the marriage. In 2016, there was a Marathi movie on her.
This is more than a century before us. Do we see a change in our Indian society? Are there tougher laws for women and their protection? Do we respect 'consent'?
Anasuya Sarabhai is another extraordinary woman who started the women's labour movement in India. A graduate of London School of Economics , she observed the miserable working conditions of mill women workers where they had 36 hour timings. Various protests and hunger strikes later the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association was formed in 1920.
To say that I was inspired by the stories of these two remarkable women ,would be an understatement. I believe inspiration is everywhere. Our mothers, our friends or the woman on the rail who can give you a glimpse of her daily,hard life all have lessons for us. While I was reading about these two women I felt even with limitations we can achieve what we want. We need to start somewhere.
But today I read about two relatively unknown but thought provoking women who in their quiet ways started a revolution.
Rukmabai, born in 1864, was a physician from a Marathi family. She was influential in bringing about the The Age of Consent Act,1891. Her own child marriage and the experiences of an orthodox tradition led to her silent protest against the institution of lack of consent for women in matters of marriage and sexual intercourse. ( that would be the movie PINK in a time machine right? ) It led to a case against her own husband.
Various factions of the society joined in too with their opinions, criticisms largely on ground of 'saving the sanctity of Hindu marriage'. She was ultimately faced with the option of going back to her husband or facing imprisonment. She chose the latter. Rukmabai even appealed her case to Queen Victoria, which led to the upturn of the court rule and dissolution of the marriage. In 2016, there was a Marathi movie on her.
This is more than a century before us. Do we see a change in our Indian society? Are there tougher laws for women and their protection? Do we respect 'consent'?
Anasuya Sarabhai is another extraordinary woman who started the women's labour movement in India. A graduate of London School of Economics , she observed the miserable working conditions of mill women workers where they had 36 hour timings. Various protests and hunger strikes later the Ahmedabad Textile Labour Association was formed in 1920.
To say that I was inspired by the stories of these two remarkable women ,would be an understatement. I believe inspiration is everywhere. Our mothers, our friends or the woman on the rail who can give you a glimpse of her daily,hard life all have lessons for us. While I was reading about these two women I felt even with limitations we can achieve what we want. We need to start somewhere.
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