All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) is a women's organisation committed to achieving
democracy
Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
, equality and
women's emancipation. It has an organisational presence in 23 states in India, with a current membership of more than 11 million. About two-thirds of the organisation's strength is derived from poor rural and urban women. It was founded in 1981 as a national level mass organisation of women. Since its inception, the organisation has found for women's equal rights to food, work, health, a safe environment, and education
History
Pappa Umanath founded the Democratic Women's Association in
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
in 1973, working for women's rights and for their education, employment and status, along with issues like casteism,
communalism, child rights and disaster aid.
[ Several other affiliated State-based organisations developed, and the unified All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) was established in 1981.
AIDWA has an annual membership fee of one ]rupee
Rupee (, ) is the common name for the currency, currencies of
Indian rupee, India, Mauritian rupee, Mauritius, Nepalese rupee, Nepal, Pakistani rupee, Pakistan, Seychellois rupee, Seychelles, and Sri Lankan rupee, Sri Lanka, and of former cu ...
, which allows it policy-independence from donor agencies and government.[Women and Aid distribution AIDWA]
Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism, June 2006 In 2007, it had over 10 million members, spread across 23 states.
Activities
2002 campaign against Hindustan Lever advertising
Subtle cultural norms can be easily transgressed. In 2002, widespread protests forced Hindustan Unilever Limited (the Indian subsidiary of London-based Unilever) to cancel a television ad campaign for its fairness cream because of its portrayal of women. The campaign was built around the theme of a father lamenting "If only I had a son" while showing his problem: a dark-skinned, unattractive daughter. She uses the Fair & Lovely skin whitening
Skin whitening, also known as skin lightening and skin bleaching, is the practice of using chemical substances in an attempt to lighten the skin or provide an even skin color by reducing the melanin concentration in the skin. Several chemicals h ...
cream and becomes a light-skinned, successful, attractive woman. AIDWA lodged a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission in New Delhi. It argued endorsing the traditional preference for sons strengthens gender discrimination, which is a major problem in India. Furthermore, said AIDWA, the ad perpetuated a culture of discrimination in a society where "fair skin" is synonymous with "beautiful." The government's Ministry of Information and Broadcast sided with AIDWA and directed stations not to air the ads because they violated the Cable and Television Networks Act of 1995 which states that no advertisement shall be permitted which "derides any race, caste, color, creed and nationality" and furthermore states that, "Women must not be portrayed in a manner that emphasizes passive, submissive qualities and encourages them to play a subordinate secondary role in the family and society." The minister told Parliament that if broadcasters do not regulate ad content the government will be forced to do so. The Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...
-based Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), a body of advertisers and media agencies, insisted that it should do the regulating not the government. ASCI had already told Hindustan Lever that its ad campaign was offensive and it was ended.
"India's Daughter" Ban
BBC 4 produced a documentary titled "India's Daughter
''India's Daughter'' is a documentary film directed by Leslee Udwin and is part of the BBC's ongoing Storyville series. The film is based on the 2012 Delhi gang rape and murder of 22-year-old Jyoti Singh, aliased "Nirbhaya", who was a physiothe ...
" in 2015, focusing on the 2012 Delhi gang rape case, during which 22-year old Jyoti Singh, an Indian medical student was raped and murdered. India opted to ban the documentary. Activists from AIDWA strongly opposed the ban, releasing a press release that "this is a knee jerk reaction that constitutes an attack on the freedom of expression. Furthermore, the film reveals the reality of the brutality of rape without sensationalizing it." Contesting the ban, the Hyderabad
Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...
office of AIDWA held a screening of the film for its members in the city.
Women's Reservation Bill (2011)
Activists from AIDWA advocated for the passing of the Women's Reservation Bill near parliament house in 2011. As of 2021, India ranked 148th out of 193 based on the percentage of elected women representatives in their national parliaments. Studies have agreed that a lack of political participation by women has an impact on policy making. The Bill, in its final version, was introduced in 2023 during a special session of Parliament and signed by President Droupadi Murmu
Droupadi Murmu (born Durgi Biranchi Tudu; 20 June 1958) is an Indian politician who has been serving as the president of India since 2022. She won the 2022 Indian presidential election, 2022 presidential election as the Bharatiya Janata Party ...
.
BJP-RSS Rally (2023)
AIDWA organized a rally in October 2023 protesting the worsening socio-economic conditions under the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
. The event was held under the banner, "'' BJP-RSS
RSS ( RDF Site Summary or Really Simple Syndication) is a web feed that allows users and applications to access updates to websites in a standardized, computer-readable format. Subscribing to RSS feeds can allow a user to keep track of many ...
Hatao, Mahila Bachao, Desh Bachao''!” or, translated to English, “Remove BJP-RSS, Save women, Save the country!”. The slogan echoes Indira Gandhi
Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...
's 1971 slogan "Garibi Hatao
''Garibi Hatao Desh Bachao'' () was the theme and slogan of Indira Gandhi's 1971 election campaign. The slogan and the proposed anti-poverty programs that came with it were designed to give Gandhi an independent national support, based on ru ...
, Desh Bachao" or, translated to English, "Abolish Poverty, Rescue the Country".
Marital Rape Exception in India (2024)
India's government, in October 2024, formally opposed a call to criminalize marital rape
Marital rape or spousal rape is the act of sexual intercourse with one's spouse without the spouse's consent. The lack of consent is the essential element and doesn't always involve physical violence. Marital rape is considered a form of dome ...
. The government, under Prime Minister Modi, told its Supreme court that criminalizing marital rape would be "excessively harsh". Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) was the official criminal code of the Republic of India, inherited from British India after independence. It remained in force until it was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in December 2023 ...
, in existence since 1860, exempts men from charges of rape against their wives unless the woman in question is a minor. Rape within a marriage is a crime in over 100 countries; however India, along with Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia, is one of the nations where it is not illegal. Various human rights organisations, including AIDWA, had been petitioning the Supreme Court to make it a criminal offence.
Mariam Dhawale, generale secretary of AIDWA, called the legal system "exploitative and unjust" toward Indian woman, stating that "Women are just appendages - appendages of the father, then the husband, then the son." She further stated that sexual violence
Sexual violence is any harmful or unwanted Human sexual activity, sexual act, an attempt to obtain a sexual act through violence or coercion, or an act directed against a person's sexuality without their consent, by any individual regardless of ...
is normalized in India.
According to the National Crime Records Bureau
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) is an Indian government agency responsible for collecting and analyzing crime data, as defined by the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Special and Local Laws (SLL). NCRB is headquartered in New Delhi and is ...
in 2022, a rape is reported in India every 16 minutes. However, official data is scarce, and most activists estimate only a tiny fraction of women who experience sexual violence lodge an official complaint.
National Conference of AIDWA
The first National Conference of AIDWA was held at Chennai
Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...
in 1981, with delegates from 12 states representing 590,000 members. The eighth National Conference was held at Kolkata
Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
in 2007, with 951 delegates from 23 states, representing a membership of around 18,600,000. Former West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu
Jyoti Basu (born Jyotirindra Basu; 8 July 1914 – 17 January 2010) was an Indian Marxist theorist, communist activist, and politician. He was one of the most prominent leaders of Communist movement in India. He served as the 6th and longest ...
addressed the inaugural session. The 9th National Conference of AIDWA, held at Moti Jheel, Kanpur
Kanpur (Hindustani language, Hindustani: ), originally named Kanhapur and formerly anglicized as Cawnpore, is the second largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Uttar Pradesh after Lucknow. It was the primary ...
from 9 to 12 November 2010, was the first conference to be held in the Northern Hindi belt. 753 delegates from 22 states and 20 special invitees took part in the four-day conference. Amidst slogans pledging to carry forward the struggle for women's equality and emancipation, legendary freedom fighter Capt. Lakshmi Sehgal, living symbol of women's fight against imperialism and emancipation, unfurled the AIDWA flag. Floral tributes were paid to martyrs who have laid down their lives in the struggle for equality, democracy and emancipation.
10th National Conference
AIDWA's 10th National Conference was held in Bodh Gaya
Bodh Gayā is a religious site and place of pilgrimage associated with the Mahabodhi Temple complex, situated in the Gaya district in the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Bihar. It is famous for being the place where Gautam ...
, Bihar
Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...
, from 22 to 25 November 2013. It started with flag hoisting by AIDWA's national president Shyamali Gupta and homage to martyrs who sacrificed their lives for women's emancipation and social justice
Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...
. The inaugural session featured a special session titled "Women against Violence: Fighting for Justice, Resisting Violence, Claiming Rights", wherein women from across the country who have been fighting the battle against violence, discrimination and social injustice in various forms which includes domestic and political violence, sexual assault
Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...
, fight for land rights, fight against caste
A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
and communal discrimination and against terrorism spoke. The women who spoke included representative of the Vachathi tribal mass rape survivor from Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
, Parandhayi, who stood up against her sexual assault by forest and police officials for 19 years and finally succeeded in getting justice.
13th All India Conference
The 13th All India Conference of AIDWA was held in Thiruvananthapuram
Thiruvananthapuram ( ), also known as Trivandrum, is the Capital city, capital city of the Indian state of Kerala. As of 2011, the Thiruvananthapuram Municipal Corporation had a population of 957,730 over an area of 214.86 sq. km, making it the ...
, Kerala, from January 6–9, 2023. 850 delegates from 25 states and territories participated. Special invitees included Teesta Setalvad, a civil rights activist and journalist, and Madhura Swaminathan, Head of the Economic Analysis Unit at the Indian Statistical Institute
The Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) is a public research university headquartered in Kolkata, India with centers in New Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Tezpur. It was declared an Institute of National Importance by the Government of India und ...
in Bangalore, chair of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, and member of the Council of Advisors for the World Food Prize Foundation.
Office bearers
* President– P.K. Shreemathy
* General Secretary– Mariam Dhawale
* Treasurer- S. Punyawathi
See also
* Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangathan
* Mahila Atma Raksha Samiti
* National Federation of Indian Women
References
External links
*
Brinda Karat Interview on AIDWA issues
Further reading
*
* {{cite book , last1 = Karat , first1 = Brinda , title = Survival and emancipation: notes from Indian women's struggles , publisher = Three Essays Collective , location = Gurgaon, Haryana , year = 2005 , isbn = 9788188789368
Women's rights organisations based in India
Organizations established in 1981