Mumbai: During the interaction with nearly 2,000 Gen Z and Gen Alpha students at the India’s International Movement to Unite Nations (I.I.M.U.N.) 15th anniversary event on August 6, RSS Sarsanghchalak Dr Mohan Bhagwat also responded to questions on the role of women in society, women’s leadership, and why the RSS functions as a men-only organisation while maintaining a separate women’s organisation.
The moderator clarified that the questions were crowdsourced from students attending the event and from schools and colleges associated with I.I.M.U.N., reflecting issues that young people wanted addressed.
Question:
What is the role of Indian women in society today? If the RSS believes women are equal partners in nation-building, why does the RSS continue as a men-only organisation while the Rashtra Sevika Samiti functions separately? Why are women not part of the core organisational structure of the RSS?
Dr Mohan Bhagwat:
“The role of women is not only in Bharatiya society, but everywhere. We consider men and women to be equal and complementary to each other. Therefore, women should be trained in capabilities just as we train men in capabilities. Everything that men can do, women can also do, and they should be trained for everything.
That is our view. In all the organisations being run by Swayamsevaks, women are shouldering responsibilities along with men in equal capacities. Except in the RSS and there is a reason for that. When the RSS started, a separate organisation for women was also started. Those were the times. This question would not have been asked at that time because it was very natural to have separate organisations.
Secondly, the organisation formed by women for the same purpose—the Rashtra Sevika Samiti—had, has, and will continue to have the full support of the RSS, including in training. But they told us: “We will work here. You do not interfere. You work there and we will not interfere. We will help each other”. When they withdraw that mandate, we will begin working among women.
But in the apex body of the RSS, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha, all the women working in the public sphere are also invited into the decision-making process. They are present for all three days.
