| Description | In this address written following her visit to India in January 1936, Elizabeth Taylor Cadbury provides an account of her visit and attendance at the World Congress of the International Council of Women. Throughout the paper Taylor Cadbury refers to films and photographs suggesting that her address was accompanied by images from her travels. It is possible that Taylor Cadbury delivered this address to the National or International Councils of Women, reporting her experiences in India, or perhaps to the Young Women's Christian Association (Y.W.C.A.).
Taylor Cadbury begins her address by remarking on the 'present-day problems' connected with British rule in India. She emphasises the important role which knowledge of India's history played in understanding these problems and provides an account of Indian history from 4000 B.C. to the nineteenth century. Taylor Cadbury then considers the structure of British government in India remarking on the different religious faiths in the country.
Much of Taylor Cadbury's address remarks on the involvement of Indian women in the country's affairs and the work of the National Council of Women in India. She refers particularly to the similarities between the subjects which interested British and Indian women, such as the medical inspection of school children, infant welfare, poverty and housing conditions.
Taylor Cadbury provides an overview of events at the World Congress, referring to the issues which were discussed such as women's role in professional and public work and family life. She remarks that she had been particularly impressed by the amount of travel undertaken by Indian women. Taylor Cadbury also refers to her visits to mission hospitals and schools in central India connected with the Society of Friends. She also describes some of the photographs taken whilst on her visit including images of Indian scenery.
Taylor Cadbury concludes her address by remarking on the broadcast which she had delivered in Calcutta concerning the International Council of Women's Peace Committee, in which she had emphasised the importance of 'fellowship, mutual understanding and goodwill' in work towards 'World Peace'. |