In what year was the Women's Indian Association, among the first organizations run by and for women, founded?

1917. The Women's Indian Association, founded in 1917, was among the first organizations run by and for women themselves, campaigning for suffrage and reform. Read more: The Women's Movement in India: Origins and Growth.

What organization, founded in 1927, broadened women's organizing to education, health, and legal reform nationally?

The All India Women's Conference. The All India Women's Conference, founded in 1927, broadened this organizing to education, health, and legal reform nationally. Read more: The Women's Movement in India: Origins and Growth.

What characterized the women's movement of the 1970s and 1980s?

A more assertive, autonomous movement less tied to state or party structures. The 1970s and 1980s saw a more assertive, autonomous women's movement emerge, less tied to state or party structures than earlier organizing. Read more: The Women's Movement in India: Origins and Growth.

What did campaigns against dowry deaths and custodial rape in the 1970s-80s lead to?

Significant legal reforms. Campaigns against dowry deaths and custodial rape in this period led directly to significant legal reforms. Read more: The Women's Movement in India: Origins and Growth.

How did early women's organizing in India relate to 19th-century social reform movements?

It grew alongside these movements, often initially led by male reformers. Early women's organizing grew alongside 19th-century social reform movements, often led by male reformers addressing practices like Sati and child marriage. Read more: The Women's Movement in India: Origins and Growth.

The Women’s Movement in India: Origins and Growth

Women’s activism in India did not start in 1947. It grew over a full century, in distinct phases. Each phase answered the gaps of its own time.

At a Glance

Four facts to hold on to.

1917

Women’s Indian Association, Madras.

1927

All India Women’s Conference.

1970s–80s

Autonomous women’s movement.

Result

Dowry and custodial rape laws.

WIAWomen’s Indian Association, founded 1917.

AIWCAll India Women’s Conference, founded 1927.

Autonomous movementNot tied to the state or a party.

Margaret CousinsIrish suffragist; helped found both bodies.

In this lesson

From Reform to Freedom Struggle
After Independence
Why the Agenda Keeps Changing
Previous Year Questions

From Reform to Freedom Struggle

Must Know

Reform origins

Early women’s organising grew beside 19th-century social reform.
Male reformers often led it. They targeted Sati and child marriage.

Women-led groups

The Women’s Indian Association was founded in 1917 in Madras.
It was among the first groups run by and for women.
Margaret Cousins, an Irish suffragist, helped found it.
It campaigned for suffrage and reform.
Cousins also helped found the All India Women’s Conference in 1927.
The AIWC worked on education, health and legal reform across India.

The push for the vote

Annie Besant, Margaret Cousins and Dorothy Jinarajadasa started the WIA.
In December 1917, a WIA delegation led by Sarojini Naidu met Secretary of State Montagu.
It asked for votes for women.
Madras became the first province to give women a limited vote, in 1921.

Freedom struggle

From the 1920s, many women joined Gandhi’s mass movements.
Salt marches, picketing and jail-going drew women out of their homes in large numbers.
This gave women public confidence that later movements used.

Timeline of the women’s movement in India from 1917 to 2023 — Timeline: a century of women’s activism.

True or False: The Women’s Indian Association was founded in 1927.

After Independence

Good to Know

Changing focus

After 1947, the focus moved to constitutional equality, jobs and safety from violence.
The Constitution promised equality in Articles 14 and 15. Article 15(3) allows special laws for women.
The 1974 Committee on Status of Women reported its findings in “Towards Equality”.
The United Nations declared 1975 International Women’s Year.
The 1970s and 1980s brought a bolder, autonomous movement.
It was less tied to the state or to parties.

Campaigns and laws

The Mathura custodial rape case of 1972 sparked national protest.
The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 1983 then added custodial rape as a specific offence.
Section 498A, on cruelty by husband or in-laws, also came in 1983.
The Dowry Prohibition Act was tightened in 1984 and 1986.
Section 304B on dowry death came in 1986.

Later gains

The Vishaka guidelines of 1997 dealt with sexual harassment at work.
The POSH Act, 2013 turned them into law.
The 73rd and 74th Amendments of 1992 reserved one-third of local-body seats for women.
After the 2012 Delhi gang rape, the Justice Verma Committee led to the 2013 criminal law changes.
The 106th Amendment of 2023 reserves one-third of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats for women.

Today

Today the movement covers labour rights, environment, digital safety and political representation.

Phase	Focus	Leaders
19th century	Sati, child marriage	Mostly male reformers
1917–1947	Suffrage, education, freedom	Women’s groups
1970s–80s	Dowry, custodial rape	Autonomous groups
1990s–2023	Harassment, local bodies, reservation	Courts, Parliament, groups

True or False: The 1970s–80s women’s movement was largely autonomous of the state and parties.

Why the Agenda Keeps Changing

Great to Know

Pattern

Leadership moved from reformers to women themselves.
Each phase met its own era’s legal and social gaps.
So the agenda was never fixed.

Previous Year Questions

No past question has been found on this exact topic.

Likely angleFounders and years of the WIA and AIWC.
TrapDo not swap 1917 and 1927, or their focus.

Quick Q&A

WIA founded?

1917, Madras.

AIWC founded?

1927.

Cousins?

Helped found both.

1970s–80s?

Autonomous movement.

Result?

Legal reforms.

0 / 5 correct