My Topic:Gandhi and Women Rights

MAHATMA GANDHI and

Human Rights : GANDHI

AND WOMAN RIGHTS

INTRODUCTION

Mahatma Gandhi :- An Inspiration And A Model For

Various Rights Struggle Around The World.

Fought For Human Rights Of Depressed Classes Including Women.

To Understand His Ideas On Women Rights, We Should Know The Background Human Rights.

BACKGROUND OF HUMAN RIGHTS.

Universal Notion: Human Rights:- Basic Rights Of All

Human Beings. They Are Inherent, Inalienable And

Universal. Gandhian Notion: A Moral Perspective:

Human Rights Are The Right Performance Of Duty At Right Time By Both Men And Women.

No Performance Of Duty There Is No Right.

SIMILARITY B/W UNIVERSAL & GANDHIAN NOTION.

To Ensure Protection Of Dignity, Self-respect, As Well As To Provide Opportunity And Livelihood To All.

HUMAN RIGHTS AND WOMEN

What Are The Human Rights Of Women?All The Basic Rights By Virtue Of Being

Human.Certain Rights Specifically Linked To

Their Status As Women, such as:The right to be treated with dignity

and the right to freedom from violence and exploitation,

Right to equal access to education and training and

The right to freedom from discrimination based on sex, in all aspects of life and work.

RELATION B/W H. RIGHTS,GANDHI AND HUMAN RIGHTS OF WOMEN Human Rights Include All The Basic

Rights Of Both The Sexes without Any Discrimintion.

Gandhi Has Been A Great Exponent And Activist Of Human Rights,

Human Rights Of Women Include All The Basic Rights To Which All Human Beings Are Entitled To, Including Certain Human Rights Specifically Linked To Their Status As Women.

Gandhi Worked For Securing The Human Rights Of Women.

GANDHI AND WOMEN RIGHTS Gandhi Worked For Ensuring Basic Rights

For Women He Laid Special Attention On Major

Problems Faced By Women Which Are Discussed under These Heads:

Gandhi on Women’s Right to Equality ; Gandhi On Marriage, Child Marriage,

Widow Remarriage and Divorce. Gandhi On “Pardah System”. Gandhi On Dowry System. Gandhi On Education And Co-Education. Gandhi On Birth Control And Sterlization.

MAHATMA GANDHI ON WOMEN’S RIGHT TO EQUALITY

GANDHI ON MARRIAGE, CHILD MARRIAGE AND WIDOW REMARRIAGE

MARRIAGE / CHILD MARRIAGE ;

Ideal Of Marriage Aims At Spiritual Union Through Physical.

Gandhi Advised to Marry Girls At An Age Of Atleast 16 And Boys At The Age Of 20-30.

Advised For Inter-Caste Marriages. Widow Remarriage: Child Widows Must Be Duly & Well Married & Not

Remarried. They Were Never Really Married. (Young India,5th August, 1926).

GANDHI ON PARDAH: Pardah is meant to protect the chastity

or purity of women. But in reality female or male purity cannot be superimposed from without. It is the matter of evolution from within and therefore of individual self effort. (Young India, 25th Nov. 1926).

Mahatma demanded male chastity also. The Hindu pardah or Muslim pardah

cannot protect chastity and that only self-controll and purityof mind can do that.

GANDHI ON DOWRY & DIVORCE DOWRY SYSTEM :- Gandhi said that dowry system is the

product of caste system. Suggested inter-caste marriages. Propounded that it is the right of women

to choose her life partner. DIVORCE :- Gandhi was against divorce, but said if it

was only alternatively, I should not hasitae to accept it.

GANDHI ON WOMEN EDUCATION & CO- EDUCATION.

Gandhi said that, “Education enables women to uphold their rights”.

(Harijan 27th january, 1937)

He suggested for co-education but said that you should start with the family first.

GANDHI ON BIRTH CONTROL & STERILIZATION. He was against the use of

contraceptives, and insisted that women should resist their husbands if they use it.

He suggested that we should devise new devices and means to check birth control problems, which are not harmful.

Gandhi considers it inhuman to impose sterilization laws on people.

CONCLUSION Regarding human rights he insisted that,

rights are the natural corollary of the right performance of the duty at right time by both men and women.

Gandhi believed and wanted to show it to the world that women are stronger than men not withstanding their physical morphology and biology.

May be for this reason, he at the end of Dandi March on 5th April, 1930 said that, “I want world’s sympathy in this battle for Right against Might”.

THANK YOU.