June

6th June 1902: Birth Anniversary of Annie Mascarene

Annie Mascarene was an Indian Freedom fighter, nation builder, stateswoman and Kerala’s first MP.

She led the movement to integrate Travancore into the newly independent India. As a part of the constituent assembly she advocated for partial provincial autonomy for the states as she felt that complete centralization could have long term repercussions on the strength of Indian democracy.

During her career she faced sexism and was constantly rebuked for being too opinionated. She was jailed by the British for being seditious, rebuked by Gandhiji for being too ‘indiscreet’ in her speech, etc. This, however, didn’t stop her from speaking her mind.

15th June 1991: Arab Women's Solidarity Association is shut down by the Government

The Arab Women's Solidarity Association was founded in Egypt in 1982 by Nawal El Saadawi in order to promote Arab women's active participation in social, economic, cultural, and political life.

When AWSA took a stance against the Gulf War in 1991, the Egyptian government closed its headquarters in Egypt and gave their funds to an organisation called Women in Islam.

AWSA took the government to court but no court decision was ever reached. AWSA's headquarters then shifted to Algeria and was shifted back to Cairo by 1996.

16th June 2020: Passing of Nadine Taub

Nadine Taub was an American academic and lawyer who made legal history in cases that successfully argued that equal rights for women were protected under the Constitution.

She litigated cases for rape victims, for women seeking access to abortion and for employees battling workplace discrimination and sexual harassment.

Ms. Taub was the founder and director of the Women’s Rights Litigation Clinic at Rutgers University. In the early 1970s, legal clinics like hers were both a new source of legal representation and an innovative educational tool, allowing students to work on real cases.

18th June 1941: Death Anniversary of Ayyankali

Ayyankali was a social reformer who worked for the upliftment of the Dalits in the princely state of Travancore, British India. He would dress in clothing traditionally associated with the dominate castes and travel roads that were out of bounds to the Dalits.

His courageous claim to public spaces previously inaccessible to the deprived classes lead to protests that eventually lead to all roads except those that lead to the Temples being opened to all people.

Ayyankali’s attempt to enrol a Dalit girl in a government school led to violent riots against the Dalits, he then organised the first ever strike by agricultural workers in the region. Resulting in the government acceding to the complete removal of restrictions of access to education.

20th June 1911: Birth Anniversary of Sufia Kamal

Begum Sufia Kamal was a Bangladeshi poet and political activist. She took part in the Bengali nationalist movement of the 1950s and was a civil society leader in independent Bangladesh. She was known to have publically stood up to Pakistani military general Ayub Khan.

Ms. Kamal was the first Bengali Muslim woman to be a part of the Indian Women's Federation in pre-independence India and later headed the Mahila Parishad, the largest women’s rights group in Bangladesh.

She died in 1999 and was the first woman to be given a state funeral in Bangladesh.

20th June 1996: Home Work Convention

South Asia has over 50 million home-based workers, most of whom are women who contribute immensely to national economies in addition to their families and local communities as working from home allows them to take on care responsibilities.

The Home Work Convention provides protection for home workers, giving them equal rights with regard to workplace health and safety, social security rights, access to training, remuneration, minimum age of employment, maternity protection, and other rights.

However, only 10 nations have ratified this Convention, none of whom are in South Asia.

20th June 1999: Founding of Sappho, Kolkata

Deriving its name after the legendary Greek poet of 6th century BC, Sappho is the first group of its kind in Eastern India with its base in Kolkata and members around the globe.

The initial goal of Sappho was to provide safe space and emotional support for sexually marginalized women and female to male transpersons but eventually entered into the rights/justice based framework to fight homophobia, discrimination and violence against LBT persons.

21st June 1947: Birthday of Shirin Ebadi

Shirin Ebadi is an Iranian political activist, lawyer, a former judge and human rights activist and founder of Defenders of Human Rights Center in Iran.

On 10 October 2003, Ebadi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her significant and pioneering efforts for democracy and human rights, especially women's, children's, and refugee rights.

Ms. Ebadi is the first female judge in Iran and is also the first female Peace Prize Laureate from the Islamic World.

23rd June 1879: Birth Anniversary of Huda Sha'arawi

Huda Sha'arawi was a pioneering Egyptian feminist leader, suffragette, nationalist, and founder of the Egyptian Feminist Union.

She denounced the practice of women staying confined in harems and opened schools for girls that taught academic subjects instead of the usual midwifery skills.

After returning from the International Woman Suffrage Alliance Congress in Rome, she removed her veil and trampled it by her feet in public for the first time, an important event in the history of Egyptian feminism.

24th June 1564: Martyrdom of Rani Gurgavati

Rani Gurgavati was a Gond queen who challenged gender specific norms of the 16th century to rule over her people with benevolence and grit. She was known to be a fierce administrator and warrior.

She is believed to have held her own against invading forces in as many as fifty-one battles during her reign.

She died fighting against the Mughals but her legacy lives on. In Jabalpur, a University and a train have been named after her.

25th June 2009: Death Anniversary of Neera Desai

Neera Desai was an Indian freedom-fighter, researcher, academician, political activist, and social worker.

She was an active part of the group that led the Women’s Studies movement in India and founded the Research Centre for Women’s Studies and the Centre for Rural Development in 1974.

She was the head of the Sociology department of SNDT University and also chaired various governing bodies.

26th June 2019: ‘Women’s Education and Empowerment in Rural India’ was published

The book tries to understand women’s empowerment and pathways as well as roadblocks to women’s economic empowerment in rural India.

The authors study the state-funded social sector programme located in the education department – Mahila Samakhya (MS) – in Bihar, one of the socially and educationally most underdeveloped Indian states.

The study uses the research findings and insights to raise certain critical issues pertaining to social policy planning and implementation, especially in the context of women’s education and empowerment.

References

https://feminisminindia.com/2018/03/07/annie-mascarene-constituent-assembly/

https://www.devex.com/organizations/arab-women-solidarity-association-awsa-47773

https://msmagazine.com/2020/07/31/rest-in-power-nadine-taub-unsung-architect-of-sexual-harassment-law/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sufia_Kamal

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Home_Work_Convention

http://www.sapphokolkata.in/about-us/

https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2003/ebadi/biographical/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirin_Ebadi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huda_Sha%27arawi

https://feminisminindia.com/2019/06/24/rani-durgavati-gond-queen/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neera_Desai

https://www.routledge.com/Womens-Education-and-Empowerment-in-Rural-India/Jha-Ghatak-Menon-Dutta-Mahendiran/p/book/9780367137434

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayyankali