Abala Bose
Indian educationalist (1865–1951)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Abala Bose (8 August 1864 – 26 April 1951) was an Indian social worker and feminist. She was known for her efforts in women's education and her contribution towards helping widows.[1]
August 8, 1864
Lady Abala Bose | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | Abala Das August 8, 1864 Barisal, Bengal Presidency, British India |
| Died | April 26, 1951 (aged 86) Calcutta, West Bengal, India |
| Occupation | Social worker |
| Known for | Feminist movement |
| Spouse | Jagadish Chandra Bose (m. 1887) |
Early life and education
Bose was a student of the Brahma Balika Vidyalay in Kolkata[2] (then Calcutta) and subsequently enrolled at Bethune School, from where she passed the Entrance Examination in 1881.[1]
In the 1880s, Abala was denied admission to Calcutta Medical College as female students were not yet accepted in the college.[citation needed] She went to Madras (now Chennai) in 1882 on a Bengal government scholarship to study medicine[1] but had to give up because of ill health. However, the Madras Medical College awarded her with a Certificate of Honour.[citation needed]
In 1887, she married scientist Jagadish Chandra Bose. She accompanied her husband on several travels abroad in later years.[1]
Work
Apart from working as an educator, Bose was an early feminist. Writing in the English magazine Modern Review, she argued that women should get a better education, "not because we may make better matches for our girls ... not even that the services of the daughter-in-law may be more valuable in the home of her adoption, but because a woman like a man is first of all a mind, and only in the second place physical and a body."[3]
Upon her husband's knighthood in 1916, she became Lady Bose.
She founded the Vidyasagar Bani Bhawan Primary Teachers’ Training Institute in 1925, which, according to its website, provides "vocational training to distressed women and widows so that they may earn their living in honorable means and get established as respected citizens of the society."[4]
Bose also established a widow's home in Calcutta, as well as the Nari Siksha Samity.[5][6]
Lady Bose served as secretary of Brahmo Balika Shikshalaya from 1910 to 1936.[citation needed] She died on 26 April 1951, aged 86.[1]
