Women played a significant role in making the Indian Constitution more Inclusive. Celebrating their contribution, we bring to you a thread on the role of women in constitution-making. Save the tweet to be updated. #WomensDay #CelebratingWomen
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, elected to United Provinces Assembly, became minister of local self-govt & public health, the first Indian woman ever to become a cabinet minister. In Sept 1953, she was appointed as the first woman & the first Asian to be elected president of the UNGA.
Leela Roy, a freedom fighter & social worker who worked for the education of women in India was a hardcore feminist. She was the only elected woman member from Bengal to the assembly. She resigned from her post to stage a protest against the partition of India.
Annie Mascarene was one of the members of the Constituent Assembly. She was elected to the Lok Sabha as an independent candidate from Thiruvananthapuram in the 1st general elections. She was the first woman MP from Kerala & one of only 10 elected to Parliament in those elections.
Renuka Ray, a noted freedom fighter & social activist was a member of the Constituent Assembly of India. She joined the All India Women’s Conference & campaigned hard for women’s rights and inheritance rights in parental property. #WomensDay #CelebratingWomen #TheAnalysis
Begum Aizaz Rasul was the only Muslim woman member in the Constituent Assembly. She held the office of President of the Indian Women Hockey Federation for 20 years and was also President of the Asian Women’s Hockey Federation. In 2000, she was awarded a Padma Bhushan.
Popularly known as the ‘Nightingale of India’, Sarojini Naidu was an Indian independence activist and poet. She became the President of the Indian National Congress and later she was appointed as the Governor of the United Provinces. #SarojiniNaidu #WomensDay
Kamla Chaudhry was a Hindi story writer. She actively participated in the Civil Disobedience Movement of 1930. She was a member of the Constituent Assembly & after the constitution was adopted she served as a member of the Provincial Government of India till 1952.
Durgabai Deshmukh was a freedom fighter, lawyer & social worker. In 1936, she established the Andhra Mahila Sabha, which within a decade became a great institution of education & social welfare in Madras. She also served as a member of the Planning Commission. #WomensDay
Dakshayani Velayudhan was an Indian parliamentarian & leader of the Depressed Classes. She was amongst the first generation of people to be educated from her community. She holds several distinctions like becoming the first Scheduled Caste woman graduate in India. #WomensDay
Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was the 1st Health Minister of India. She was the founder of the AIIMS. She was a firm believer in women’s education, their participation in sports & their healthcare. When she died in 1964, The New York Times called her “a princess in her nation’s service”.
Hansa Mehta was a reformist, educator, feminist. She wrote many books for children in Gujarati & also translated many English stories. She became president of the All India Women’s Conference in 1945 and in her presidential address, she proposed a Charter of Women’s Rights.
Sucheta Kripalani is remembered for her role in the Quit India Movement of 1942. She established the women’s wing of the Congress party in 1940. She sang Vande Mataram in the Independence Session of the Constituent Assembly. She was India’s first woman Chief Minister.
Malati Choudhury, named as ‘toophani’ by Gandhi, was a freedom fighter who worked for the upliftment of Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes & underprivileged people. She set up several organizations such as the Bajiraut Chhatravas for the upliftment of vulnerable communities.
Ammu Swaminathan was a social worker & political activist. She was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1952 & Rajya Sabha in 1954. In 1959 she became the Vice President of the Federation of Film Societies with Satyajit Ray as President. She also presided over the Bharat Scouts & Guides.
Purnima Banerjee was one among a radical network of women from UP who stood at the forefront of the freedom movement in the late 1930-40s. She was the Secretary of the Indian National Congress committee in Allahabad. #WomensDay #CelebratingWomen