• DOI:10.1177/097152150701400206
• Corpus ID: 197651677

Women's Education and the Nationalist Response in Western India

@article{Rao2007WomensEA,
  title={Women's Education and the Nationalist Response in Western India},
  author={P. Venkateshwar Rao},
  journal={Indian Journal of Gender Studies},
  year={2007},
  volume={14},
  pages={307 - 316}
}

• P. Rao
• Published 1 June 2007
• Sociology
• Indian Journal of Gender Studies

The question of women’s education received an uneven response in the nationalist discourse. The Brahmanical patriarchy had always denied women access to education. In Bengal long years of Muslim rule, which did not interfere in the internal affairs of the Hindu society, provided space for debates and social revolts, which in turn led to independent initiatives in women’s education and social reform. As a result, 19th-century Bengal witnessed a strong Brahmo movement and the efforts of Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar in educating women, which created a considerably favourable situation for women’s education. By 1881–82 there were 1,051 secondary schools for girls and Bethune had a college department with six girl students (Southard 1984: 57), while there was no secondary school for native girls in Maharashtra. In Maharashtra the pre-colonial Hindu society was administered by a strong Hindu state under the Peshwas whose aim was to enforce Brahmanical patriarchy and varnaashrama dharma or asymmetric caste–gender privileges. The state controlled social space even in remote villages through its efficient bureaucracy. The Peshwas passed orders to the local officials (mamlatdars) to take