Indira Gandhi: “What Educated Women Can Do”

Indira Gandhi was the first female prime minister of India. She was born in 1917, while India was still under British control. Gandhi’s father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was a member of the Indian National Congress, also known as the Congress Party. The Congress Party led the movement for Indian independence from Britain in the twentieth century and gained control when Nehru was elected the first prime minister in 1947. During the 1950s and 1960s, Gandhi helped organize women’s organizations within the Congress Party. Her first term of office began in 1966, when she was chosen after the death of the previous prime minister. Gandhi served three terms as prime minister before she was defeated in the 1977 election, but she was reelected to power in 1980. Gandhi’s terms of office were characterized by industrialization, a close relationship with the Soviet Union, continued work with women’s groups, and increasing attempts at independence by minority groups. After a government strike at a Sikh temple in 1984, Sikh members of Gandhi’s bodyguard assassinated her.