Abstract
ABSTRACTIn January 1931, the All-Asian Women's Conference (AAWC) convened in Lahore. Forty-five female delegates met to discuss common social and political concerns of women in Asia, such as infant mortality, suffrage, education and rights of inheritance. Organised by Indian women, along with the Irish Theosophist Margaret Cousins, the AAWC spoke to visions of pan-Asianism that were reflected by male Indian nationalists at the time. Keen to counteract the Euro-American centrism of international women's organisations, Asian women discussed the ways they could organise together. This article analyses the rhetoric within the conference, through its reports, correspondence and international newspapers and periodicals. It discusses the ways pan-Asianism was conceived by Indian women in the 1930s and explains why there was only ever one meeting of the AAWC.
Highlights
Organised by Indian women, along with the Irish Theosophist Margaret Cousins, the Asian Women’s Conference (AAWC) spoke to visions of pan-Asianism that were reflected by male Indian nationalists at the time
This article analyses the rhetoric within the conference, through its reports, correspondence and international newspapers and periodicals. It discusses the ways pan-Asianism was conceived by Indian women in the 1930s and explains why there was only ever one meeting of the AAWC
In January 1931, a group of thirty-six Asian women met in the Indian city of Lahore to discuss common social and political concerns
Summary
International Council of Women.[1]. June Hannam, Mrinalini Sinha, Donna Guy and Angela Woollacott have all called for more analysis of the international links of feminism away from these western centres.[2]. As no other host country was forthcoming, inevitable when the committee had no members from other Asian countries, there was discussion about holding the second session in India, but this was not seen as suitable for expanding the international reach.[91] It should be noted that other Asian countries were tied down by other domestic and international concerns in this period too, including the Japanese invasion of Manchuria in 1931, the 1937 Sino-Japanese war, and the onset of the Second World War which involved most Asian countries It was in India, and organised by Indians again, that a pan-Asian conference was held in 1947 that brought many Asian women together once more.
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