Social Progress and Women

A major conference on social progress and women was held in Vijayawada, India, at the Atheist Centre, on November 13/15, 1992. One of the congress chairs was Kari Vigeland, Professor of Psychology, Oslo University, and a co-chair of the IHEU.

The conference also marked the occasion of Saraswati Gora's 80th birthday. Together with her husband Gora she had founded the Atheist Centre. They were "champions of human equality and human liberation and worked vigorously for the development of women as equal partners in progress." 600 women and men representing a cross section from India and abroad attended the conference.

It was clear that "the problems of women cannot be viewed in isolation and they are part and parcel of the larger human society." It is a question of human liberation: "If a man is a slave to the system, woman is doubly enslaved as she is subordinated to man and the system." The conference established that, until the value system is changed and masculine superiority is disowned, the problems of women will be perpetuated in economic, educational and social development. There has been some progress in the twentieth century -- for instance the right to vote and improved health care especially in pre and post natal care. Family planning is a great achievement in the liberation of women from being "child-bearing machines". There was great concern about the misuse of information from pregnancy tests to have an abortion in the case of a female child.

In some parts of the world religion and superstition perpetuate the subjugation of women. Economic evolution is also important -- for instance in rural areas land reforms and equal distribution of wealth and property rights is much needed. However in India the ban on sutti, child marriages, infanticide and spectacular growth of education for women had brought about "a sea-change in human relations".

A report on the conference concluded: "It is time to build bridges of friendship, transcending the differences of different generations, gender, race or colour. What we need today is a new perspective, a new value system, a new outlook, as well as new action to make the world a better place to live in."

Gora Science Centre

The Gora Science Centre for the promotion of the scientific outlook was opened at the same time, as the Conference on Women. It has been built using money donated by Sir Hemann Bondi from his award from the G. D. Birla International Award. Sir Hermann Bondi is a wall-known astro-physicist and President of the British Humanist Association. The centre was inaugurated by Levi Fragell, editor of the Norwegian Humanist and former co-chair of the IHEU.