| Vina Mazumdar | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1927 (age 84–85) Kolkata |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Education | D. Phil. |
| Alma mater | Oxford University |
| Occupation | women studies academic and researcher |
| Organization | Centre for Women's Development Studies, Delhi |
Dr. Vina Mazumdar (born 1927) is an Indian academic, feminist, a pioneer in Women studies in India and a leading figure of the women’s movement in post-independence India. She was secretary of the first Committee on Status of Women in India that brought out the first report on condition of women in the country, Towards Equality (1974).[1][2][3] She was the founding Director of Centre for Women's Development Studies (CWDS), an autonomous organization established in 1980, under Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR). She is presently a National Research Professor at the Centre for Women's Development Studies, Delhi.[4]
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Vina Mazumdar was born in a middle-class Bengali household in Kolkata, she did her schooling from St. John's Diocesan Girls' Higher Secondary School, Kolkata, run by the British Protestant Mission. Later she did her graduation from the Banaras Hindu University. An Honours Graduate from Oxford in 1960s, she also did her D.Phil. also from Oxford University in the 1970s.[5]
She started her career as a teacher of Political Science in the University of Patna and later University of Berhampur. Subsequently, she joined the University Grants Commission Secretariat, New Delhi as an Education Officer and also remained a Fellow of the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies, Shimla, for the research project, 'University Education and Social Change in India' (April 1970 - Dec. 1970.[1][6]
She was Member Secretary, the first Committee on the Status of Women in India formed in 1975, where her report, 'Towards Equality', became turning point both for Women's Studies and women's movement in India. Later she became Director, Programme of Women's Studies, Indian Council of Social Science Research from 1975 to 80.[1][7]
She was founder-Director of the Centre for Women's Development Studies (CWDS), New Delhi from 1980 to 1991, and thereafter was Senior Fellow at CWDS and JP Naik National Fellow, ICSSR for two years. Since 1996 she has been the Chairperson, Centre for Women's Development Studies, New Delhi.
She published her memoir, Memories of a Rolling Stone in 2010.