This document discusses the history of women's rights and education in India. It provides examples of several pioneering women who fought against stereotypes and social norms to promote women's education and empowerment. These women include Laxmi Lakra, the first female train driver in India; Pandita Ramabai, who advocated for women's education; and Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain, who wrote one of the first works of science fiction by a Muslim woman. The document also outlines how women's literacy and school enrollment rates have increased in recent decades but still lag behind men, with social and economic barriers preventing many girls from getting an education.

1. Women Change
the world Prepared by
Parna Banerjee

2. Stereotypes
• When we assume people belonging to the
particular groups are bound to have
certain fixed characteristics or are capable
of doing only a certain type of work, we
develop a stereotype.

3. Laxmi Lakra • Laxmi Lakra is a woman
from Jharkhand who is 27
years old. She has become
the first woman to join the
Indian Railways. She now
drives the train engine in
Northern Railways. The first
was Surekha Yadav from
Mumbai for joining Central
Railways. Laxmi, though, is
the second woman engine
driver with Northern
Railways.

4. Learning for change
• Going to school is an extremely important
part of our life
• In the past ,the skill of reading and writing
was known to only a few.
• In communities that taught sons to read
and write, daughters were not allowed to
learn the alphabet.
The contribution of daughters and women
was only seen as supportive .

5. 19th Century- new ideas
emerged
• School became more common and
communities started sending their children
to school.
• But there was a lot of opposition to
educating the girls even then.
• Many women and men made efforts to
open schools for girls.

6. Father of Indian Renaissance
A social and educational reformer, during the 18th century. He made every
possible effort to make his motherland a better place for the future
generations to come and crusaded against Hindu customs such as sati,
polygamy, child marriage and the caste system.

7. The beginning of the fight for
women’s rights in India.
One of the landmark moments in
the history of India was the
abolition of the practice of Sati –
the self-immolation of the widow
on the funeral of her husband. –
Raja Rammohan Roy, a 19th
century moderate leader from
Bengal advocated against the
cruel practice of the burning of the
widow as a way to guarantee that
both the widow and the deceased
husband would reside in heaven.

8. Abolition of Sati
• The Bengal Sati Regulation banned
the Sati practice in all jurisdictions of
British India was passed on December 4,
1829 by the then Governor-General Lord
William Bentinck.

9. The beginning of the fight for
women’s rights in India.
In 1860 the social reform
movement for the freedom of
women was set in motion
by Raja Rammohan Roy who
stood on the threshold of the
old and the new.
The Indian Penal Code
prohibited the consummation
of marriage if the girl was less
than ten years old.

10. Pandita Ramabai
• Ramabai Pandita is also
as Pandita because she
could read and write in
Sanskrit, during her time
females weren’t allowed
to study. She was a
rebel. Pandita studied
and proved everyone
that even women can
study. She also set up a
mission in Khedgaon for
widows and the poor,
who were encouraged to
be literate and
independent.

11. Rashsundari Devi
(1800–1890), she was born in
West Bengal, some 200 years
ago. At the age of 60, she wrote
her autobiography ‘Amar Jiban’.
Which is the first known
autobiography written by an
Indian woman.
Rashsundari Devi was a
housewife from a rich landlord’s
family. At that time, it was
believed that if a woman learnt
to read and write, she would
bring bad luck to her husband
and become a widow! Despite
this, she taught herself how to
read and write in secret, well
after her marriage.

12. Rokeya Sakhawat Hossain
• Rokeya Sakhawat
Hossain was born into a
Bengali Muslim upper-
class family in the small
village of Pairaband in the
district of Rangpur, north
of present day
Bangladesh, then a part
of the colonial British
province of Bengal
Presidency. She wrote
remarkable story titled ‘
Sultana’s dream’ in 1905

13. Census
• an official count or survey, especially of a
population.
• India has a census in every 10 years,
which counts the whole population of the
country.
• It also gathers detailed information about
the people living in India- their age,
schooling, what work they do, and so on.

14. Schooling and Education today
• According to 1961 census, about 40
percent of all boys and men were literate
compared to just 15 percent of all girls and
women.
• In the most recent census of 2001, these
figures have grown to 76 % for boys and
men, and 54 % for girls and women.
The percentage of the male group is still
higher than the female group. The gap has
not gone away.

15. Percentage of girls and boys
who leave schools from different
social schools

16. Reasons- Adivasi & Muslim communities
children leave school
• There are no proper school set up nor teachers
who teach on a regular basis.
• School is not close to the people’s homes, and
there is no transport like buses and vans.
• Parents may not be wiling to send their girls to
school.
• Many families are too poor and unable to bear
the cost of educating all their children.
• Boys may get preference in this situation.
• Discrimination by the teacher

17. Women’s Movement
Women individually ,and collectively have
struggled to bring about changes in the
society known as ‘Women’s Movement’

18. Campaigning
• Campaigns to fight
discrimination and
violence against
women.
• Like domestic
violence
• Sexual harassment
• Dowry deaths

19. Raising Awareness
• An important part of
the women’s
awareness on
women’s rights
issues.
• Through street plays,
songs, and public
meetings.

20. Protesting
The women’s
movement raises
its voice when
violations against
women take place
or when a law or
policy acts against
their interests.

21. Showing Solidarity
• The women’s
movement is also
about showing
solidarity with other
women and causes.

22. International Women’s Day

23. Cheers to Womanhood