Gandhian Vision for Women and it’s Constitutional Legacy

Gandhi presented a new way of progress and named it Sarvodaya, i.e. development of all, irrespective of class, caste, creed and gender.For him, Sarvodaya is the way towards a harmonious society.In his harmonious society there would be no superiority or inferiority of status of either men or women.Both would be equal to each other.Gandhi tried to arouse women to the realization of her true position in society.In a letter to Rajkumari Amrit Kaur he wrote, "My special function from childhood has been to make woman to realize her dignity". 1The first part of this paper relocates Gandhian vision about women and in the second part an attempt is being made to highlight the impact of his vision on the Indian Constitution.Gandhian vision about women is based on two fundamental concepts of equality between the sexes and differentiation of their social roles.He believed that men should not consider themselves as lords or masters of women but as friends and co-workers.To quote him, "Man has delighted in enslaving you and you have proved willing slaves till the slaves and the slave -holders have become one , in the crime of degrading humanity" 2 .He maintained the view that men and women are complimentary to each other.One is incomplete without the other.To a married couple he advised:You are being united in marriage as friends and equals.If the husband is called Swamin, the wife is Swaminieach master of the other, each helpmate of the other, each cooperating with the other in the performance of the life's task and duties. 3hus Gandhi believed in the equality of the sexes.In a speech given on 20 Feburary, 1918 on the theme of 'Regeneration of Women' he stated, "Woman is the companion of man gifted with equal mental capacities". 4He based his ideal of gender equality upon the classical Hindu metaphysical doctrine that the individual soul either of a man or woman (Atma) is identical with the universal soul (Brahaman). 5So every individual soul (Atma) ,either of man or woman ,has an equal right to achieve the ultimate goal of life, which he named, self realization.Although Gandhi believed in the equality of the sexes; he at the same time also felt that there are important physical and emotional differences between men and women.The crucial biological differences, the fact that the women bear children and nurse them, requires a different social role.According to him, "Both are fundamentally one but occupy different vocations in life.He is the bread winner.She is the keeper and distributor of the bread". 6He explained the special role of women, "It is a woman's right to rule home... Woman looks after the feeding of child.She shapes his future.She is responsible for building his character.She is her children's educator and hence mother of the Nation". 7Thus in views of Gandhi men and women, though equal in status, are quite different from each other due to physical and emotional differences.Gandhi stressed the need of education among women but he recommended separate methods of education for boys and girls.With regards to the type of education girls should receive, Gandhi felt that the education curriculum should be adapted to the special needs of girls in order to prepare them to be mothers and homemakers.He emphasized that the women education should prepare them for the real challenges of their daily lives.He held the view that it was not possible to develop the personality of men and women to their maximum unless the scheme of education was framed keeping in view the cardinal truth that the activities of men and women were different; while the men are to be prepared for the outward activities, the women have to be trained for the home life. 8hough Gandhi did not advocate that women in general should work outside the home to earn a livelihood, but at the same time he did not like that the household chores should take away entire time of women.In an article published in Harijan he called it domestic slavery and wanted to free the womankind from this incubus. 9He supported a large role for women in public life.He spread the message of Charkha and Khadi through woman.He believed that by doing this productive work she can be self sufficient.Gandhi accorded a high value to ahimsa or non-violence.Non violence means infinite love, which means infinite capacity for suffering.As woman is enriched with the quality of suffering so Gandhi considered woman as an embodiment of ahimsa.In a speech published in Young India he wrote, "If non-violence is the law of our Gandhian Vision for Women and it's Constitutional Legacy