Women Contributors to the National Movement

The Indian National Movement was notable for the mass participation of women — particularly in the Gandhian phase, where women were explicitly recruited for satyagraha.

Annie Besant (1847–1933)

• Irish-British theosophist; founded Home Rule League (April 1916)
• INC President 1917 — first woman president

Sarojini Naidu (1879–1949)

• "Nightingale of India"; attended INC sessions from 1906
• INC President 1925 — first Indian woman president
• Led Salt Satyagraha at Dharasana
• Post-independence: Governor of United Provinces

Kamala Nehru (1899–1936)

• Jawaharlal Nehru's wife; active in civil disobedience
• Arrested multiple times; died of tuberculosis

Kasturba Gandhi (1869–1944)

• Mohandas Gandhi's wife; often led satyagrahas in Gandhi's absence
• Arrested multiple times; died in Aga Khan Palace detention, Pune, 22 February 1944

Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900–1990)

• Nehru's sister; arrested three times during independence movement
• First woman Cabinet Minister in India (provincial minister, 1937)
• Post-independence: India's Ambassador to USSR, USA, and UK
• First woman President of UN General Assembly (1953)

Aruna Asaf Ali (1909–1996)

• See Quit India section above
• Bharat Ratna (1997 — posthumous); first Mayor of Delhi (1958)

Lakshmi Sahgal (1914–2012)

• INA officer; commanded the "Rani Jhansi Regiment" (women's wing of INA)
• Tried by British for INA activities

Madam Bhikaiji Cama (1861–1936)

• Unfurled the Indian national flag at the International Socialist Congress, Stuttgart (1907)
• First public hoisting of an Indian national flag abroad

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