Girls Begin Going To School
Education for girls was sought to be necessary by many reformers, in order to improve the conditions for women. Vidyasagar in Calcutta and others set up schools for girls. When the early 19th century, schools opened people were scared as they felt girls will be prevented from performing household duties and traveling through public places to reach school. Because of this, throughout the 19th century, most educated women came to be taught in homes by liberal fathers or husbands. For example, Rashsundari Debi secretly learned to read and write.
Later, schools for girls were established by Arya Samaj in Punjab and Jyotirao Phule in Maharashtra. In aristocratic Muslim homes, women were taught Koran in Arabic. Some reformers like Mumtaz Ali reinterpreted verses from Koran to argue for the education of women. Urdu novels were written that encouraged women to read about religion and domestic management in a familiar language.
CBSE Class 8 History Chapter 8 – Women, Caste and Reform
Even after independence from British rule, women still hadn’t achieved independence and are struggling for it. But reformers have tried to reform our society and have succeeded to a large extent.
Differences were not only in gendered context but people were also divided along caste lines and certain castes were considered “polluting” and “untouchables”. They weren’t allowed to enter temples, or draw water from wells and were seen as inferior humans. Over the years many of these norms and perceptions have changed slowly.