Women and the Nation’ is the saga of Indian women through the ages. Once oppressed, the freedom struggle provided an opportunity for change. Mahatma Gandhi said that unless women actively participate in the struggle, there would be no meaning for the movement. This episode shows the changes in the status of women, from mere commodities and vehicles for bearing children to independent lives of dignity. Economic independence has been at the core of the change. Abolition of child marriage and reservation of 33% seats for women in Panchayats and Municipality have been major steps to aid the process. Sarojini Naidu, Aruna Asaf Ali, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, Indira Gandhi, Kiran Bedi, Shovana Narayan, Aparna Sen, among many others, are women who evoked respect, awe and admiration. They are the true symbols of emancipation of the Indian women.
