Womens Emancipation Movement

Historically women have participated in all spheres of life with courage and gusto. Indian Higher Education system is no exception. Indian mythology is rich with stories of highly educated and evolved women. So much so that our deity of learning is also a woman! One can trace the historical evidence of ancient Indian Education to the 3rd century BC. Those days education was imparted orally and many women scholars participated in this. When Buddhism spread to India, some world famous educational institutions such as Nalanda, Vikramshila and Takshila were established. Research shows that a number of women were enrolled in these temples of learning. These universities flourished from about 5th century to 13th century. In the 11th century the Muslim rulers helped establish universities at Delhi, Lucknow and Allahabad. Women participated in all fields of knowledge like theology, religion, philosophy, fine arts, astronomy etc.
However, education till this time was restricted to a certain strata of the society. It was not available to all and sundry.
Later when the British arrived in India, English education came into being. European missionaries came and established many schools. These missionaries promoted schooling for girls from the early part of 19th century. These schools were mostly attended by girls from poor families. By the end of the 19th century, women were graduating from colleges and universities in a sizeable number. (In 1882 there were 2,700 schools and colleges for girls with 127,000 students) The social reform movement of the 19th century (that originated within the Indian intelligentsia and later spread to sections of the middle classes) had a major role in this upsurge of education amongst women, but this movement was largely an urban phenomenon. This period coincided with several other reforms such as child marriage, Sati pratha, Purdah system etc.
In 1857, three universities were established in three presidencies- Bombay, Calcutta and Madras.