New Beginnings

The freedom fighters of India , under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi, realised the need to awaken women and the vibrant women freedom fighters took it upon themselves to do this and establishment of AIWEFA in 1929 was their legacy.

A group of women of All India Women's Conference (AIWC) , a premier women's organisation,championed the cause of their unfortunate sisters by improving access to education and struggled hard to overcome the social disabilities.

In 1930, the Pachmari session of AIWEFA declared that the education of women had to be relevant to their needs, sometimes different from that of men. The importance of scientific outlook in women was acknowledged and the need was felt to give a thrust to develop women's inherent capacities to enable them to apply "The Science of Living" to the individual, home and the community. The efforts to bring women into the public sphere from their domestic confines, without neglecting their household responsibilities, gained currency. Domestic Science, thus for unknown in India as an educational discipline became the recommended concept for the progressive education of women. The curriculum envisaged in 1930 by AIWEFA was to consist of everything for a woman’s all-round development and for her many and varied roles; the physical, biological and social sciences, humanities and arts, the domestic sciences, housewifery, needlework and tailoring, laundry and textiles, dietetics and cookery and child development. There were to be extra curricular activities and sports and community out-reach programmes.

With Lady Dorothy Irwin as the Patroness, ‘AIWEFA will be a real benefactor to the women and girls of India and the dreams of its founders will come true.’ (Secretary’s Report, 1929) .