The Scheme of Things

Evening Post, Volume CXIX, Issue 128, 1 June 1935, Page 19

The Scheme of Things

By M.H.C.

Almost incredibly strange stories1 come from India by means of reports in the Bulletin of the Indian Women's Movement. It is not to be wondered at that the women in general are call- ' ing out for the abolition of the purdah and all that it means, of the system of untouchability (they evidently accept the ideas of Gandhi in this matter), of the disabilities in the way of education, of child marriage, and of the refusal of a large section of the men to accept the modern western ideas of health. The knowledge of these things has spread a long way, in spite of difficulties of language and ' immense population with widespread areas where the new teachings have hardly reached at all. The prejudices against the removal of the disabilities to women in the various religions, and the efforts to keep the households free from any' sort of proper health rules, or inspection of any kind, however carefully arranged, make a story which it is difficult to credit in these times when women in so many countries have attained a status at least of semi-equality which has mitigated - a great many abuses. The report orf maternity and child welfare work states that a very terrible amount of suffering is going on in this vast country. Following is a "■ quotation: "In India 2,859,797, or 45 per cent, of all. deaths registered annually occur in children under five years of age. On a conservative basis it is estimated that some 400,000 children are still-born, and > 200,000 mothers die each year in child-bed. In spite of this state of affairs the Government of India has reduced its. grants to the Women's Medical Service of India and the National Association for Supplying aid to the Women of India (Countess of Dufferin's Fund)." The,report of the latter organisation points out that "therfr is still a' crying need for the work of medical women; even though in many places purdah is broken, and women call in the aid of medical men, yet there are millions living in strict purdah." The reductions in the grants naturally are causing those who work among these distressed people Very great regret and anxiety. One of the tragedies of life undoubtedly is the ' fact of the death of mothers at this time; whether the children survive or not, the sacrifice of the mother is one of the saddest things in the world. Whether anything will be done in response .to representations made is a question, but/.t is a great responsibil- ' ity for politicians to take upon themselves if thejr decline to restore the grants to their former sums, as even then they were not sufficient to meet anything like the number of cases which needed skilled attention.. One cheering paragraph shows that there is a real effort to deal with ,the .„ suppression of immoral traffic, and the

men who either abduct girls, or use persuasion and inducements to-> them to enter the-ranks of the streets, are being followed up, even when many difficulties are in the way, and brought to such justice as can be meted out to them by law. Legal assistance, is being provided for girls and women who,wish to bring their own cases or those ,of'relatives, forward into the courts. This is a great help, as pub-' licity follows,, and is a deterrent to men who'occupy good positions in the eyes of the world and whose sinister doings are strictly sub rosa. Mention is made of the fact that industrial standards of India fall seriously below international standards, and this leads to the endeavour to supplement the industrial earnings by undesirable means. Hunger, cold, illness of individuals and children, are all factors

that lead to the recruiting of the streets. The request is made by the conference that the "jobber system" shall be abolished from mills and factories, and that the powevs of recruitment and dismissal shall be in the hands of educated women inspectors instead of those of the "Naikens" whose rule is far from satisfactory.! The conference also asked that the minimum age for employees in these factories shall be 14 years instead ofj 12. Regarding child marriage a recent cable message stated that some. thousands of little children had been suddenly plunged into marriage, and this looks as il! the concentrated efforts of the women of India were going to have some effect, and that the Government is likely to make a move towards reform of this evil.- The committee expressed gratitude to Miss Eleanor Rathbone for her book "The Indian Minotaur," which was doubtless named after the classical story of the. loathsome monster called a minotaur, to whom a number of young maidens were thrown when demanded as tribute from the Athenians. It is a suggestive title, and dealt with the subject of child marriage. A special sum of money was allocated for propaganda on this matter; and it is more than likely that such good work is being'* done that the supporters of this barbarous custom are afraid that it is coming to an end—therefore the "sacrifice of the innocents" as mentioned in the cable message. A conference was held at Allahabad recently being attended by 300 women, and there the president declared that the unequal marriages produced unfit children, and had a number of other evils attached. She advocated courtship in marriage, which probably would be looked uponwith great disapproval by those who wish to preserve the ancient customs untouched. This Conference also declared against untouchability, and further urged women to discard the purdah. Considering that /this report is a very recent one, it causes a great deal of thought, for the usual idea of most women is that India is well on the way to emancipation of the women. Beautiful photographs of Indian aristocratic women in, English papers, showing these ladies at Court, on racecourses, at flower shows, and entertainments of all kind might lead people to believe that this freedom is fairly general, but it is evidently only the highly educated Princes of India, Often brought up in England, who have so completely, given up. the idea of the seclusion of women. The' report shows that in the country itself there is an immense amount to be done. The "let the people alone" critics, who- urge that the religions' of the country are older, than Christianity, and, therefore, should not be interfered with, should be made to think seriously of the misery of the little infantile brides, of the unhappy little widows, of the sacrifice of young motherhood and jnfants, before they give a verdict which is really full of cruelty and absolutely unjustified. But there always has been this kind of conservatism. It is possible to read of people in England who disapproved of railways, of new sanitary laws, of new ideas in the medical world, and in many othen directions, and .then it can be understood that there are some possessing that kind of mind who wduld leave the suffering. women and children. in India just as they are. It is fortunate indeed that such people are in a minority, in these enlightened days.