Learning from Ms. Shihioka Urushi about empowering women

According to Atusushi Kodera in Japan Today newspaper of 6^th October, 2014, history was created when Evernote Corp. CEO Phil Libin, a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur visited Tokyo’s Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin in May and addressed around 100 students. The combined junior and senior high school for girls came under the media spotlight - not only because it was unusual for a successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur to visit a girls’ school, but also because of the progressive nature of the school. However, it was not the first time the school had drawn media attention. Earlier coverage focused on Urushi’s achievement of dramatically turning around the 89-year-old school, which at one point had come close to collapse.

Starting from the current school year, all of the roughly 200 second-year students in high school are provided with an iPad miniature tablet computer loaded with Evernote software, which the school introduced in October 2013. With the use of the Evernote “cloud” they are able to share text, graphics and videos from classes. A question posed by a student is answered by classmates or the teacher. Students even discuss social issues with their counterparts at cooperating schools in Australia and Singapore.

Principal Shihoko Urushi felt that she should had in mind about the world and the future of her students, who will as adults play important roles for Japan in 20-30 years from now. She admitted that she is not particularly technology minded thought. In the changing demographics and social environment in the future, her thoughts are on the kind of people required to carry out the information technology at that point that will be as basic as reading, writing and arithmetic.”

The great-grand daughter of Masako Urushi, founder of what is now Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin and a pioneer of women’s education, chose to teach Japanese in Tokyo in another school rather than managing Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin after graduating from college. Things took an unexpected turn when she learned that the girls’ school, which then operated separate junior and senior highs, was suffering a serious decline in enrollment that was so bad one year its junior high school had only five students. In the late 1980s, Urushi heard her mother had terminal cancer. That helped persuade her to jump ship and join the schools where her parents worked, with a new determination to save it. She launched sweeping reforms that turned the school around in seven years, raising applications 60-fold and the school’s “deviation value,” which indicates the degree of difficulty in entering the school, by 20 points.

The reforms included ditching the old-fashioned uniform, a middy blouse, in favor of a stylish plaid shirt. The junior high and senior high schools were then combined and renamed Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin. The premises were then rebuilt to give the school a more modern look. She feels the change was more philosophical than institutional.

Simply put, the success of the turnaround revolved on a return to their first principles and they were aimed at giving women an education that would enable them to play a significant role in society. It is best understood in the ethos introduced in 2003 known as ‘28 Project’ brought the school back is a restatement of this mission in a modern context: It declares that graduates should become significant players in society by the time they are 28 years old. Urushi said., “That founding spirit had kept the school alive even through the war, and this made us view it with respect. Another important factor may be that we didn't give up and kept trying.”

This is the age, says Urushi, when women typically become capable of putting what they have learned to more effective use at work, but it also represents the age at which women typically give birth for the first time — or become aware of their biological clock. In either case, it is the time when women start trying to balance work with their private lives.

“As many as 60 percent of working women quit work (after giving birth), and only 20 to 30 percent resume it at their former career level,” Urushi said. “I think women should aim for a specialist job or a job that needs a qualification, because that helps ensure they can go back to the same work.”

She mentioned a former student who became a certified public accountant upon graduation and started working for an accounting company. She gave birth in her first year on the job without worrying about her career because she was eminently qualified.

Today, a strong investment in Internet technology is just one thing that sets Shinagawa Joshi Gakuin apart from its rivals. For example, the school is also known for assigning projects where students work directly with business people.

In 2013, for example, groups of students worked with Itoham Foods Inc. to develop three ready-to-serve packaged products for the company, including Karatamacchi, a unique fried chicken stuffed with egg filling. The products went on sale nationwide in March.

In 2008, a group of 42 students from both schools learned about media promotion in a lecture from Kadokawa Pictures Inc. and took on the promotion and public relations activities for the film “Dive!” and the novel it was based on.

For Urushi, the knowledge and cooperation provided by businesses complements for teachers’ lack of experience outside the education world. It forms part of what she thinks is one of the school’s most important functions: connecting with society.

Despite the fact that students embark on various careers, teachers themselves typically remain confined to their jobs because they start teaching classes right after college. This, Urushi says, makes them ineffective at teaching business, which is where many of their students end up.

Nurturing women who can continue their careers after childbirth is just what is needed to achieve Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s goal of bringing more women into the shrinking workforce as the population grays. Urushi, however, thinks that goal won’t be achieved unless day care services are expanded.

Some women’s empowerment this! And with a new vision to compliment Prime Minster Shinzo Abe's vision of ‘Abenomics’ in Japan!  This is what is required in India too, to be taken up by all of us. Mahatma Gandhi had shown us the way with his experiments of Nai Taleem /Basic Education, that is skill oriented education, which India never adopted. It is high time to understand and Act according to Gandhiji  instructions.    

The Gandhian way of Communal Harmony

As a child of three, I remember my father carrying me on his back at 4 am to the Prathana bhoomi near Bapu kuti in Mahatma Gandhi’s Sewagram ashram. The morning star, bright in its glory in the clear blue sky, used to be the pathfinder; as was the waning and waxing moon and the vast coolness of the moonlight. On the way from our home, he used to chant from the  Bhagawad Gita in his booming melodious voice or  sing lilting songs from Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s  poetry or recite the couplets from the Telugu saint Vemana.

The morning and evening community prayers used to be held under the open sky and that included prayers from all religions. The all religious prayers used to start with the Buddhist chanting ‘’Namyo Ho Renge Kyo’’ taught by the most venerable Fujii Guruji of Japan, followed by two minutes of silence. Other prayers included shlokas from the Upanishads and other well-known sources.  This used to be followed by the Muslim prayer, Jain prayer, Zoroshtrian prayer, prayer from the Bible, Bhajans composed by our great saint poets in different languages and finally the Ramdhun.

At the prayer 

Gandhiji had started this practice in Phoenix Settlement when the evening community meeting at 5 pm was converted into all religious community prayer with Imam Saheb, Parsee Rustomji, Henry Polak and the ashram inhabitants; and that practice continued till Gandhiji’s last day. Over the years more such prayers were added till the Ashram Bhajanavali was compiled by Pandit Vishnu Narayana Khare in Sabarmati Ashram with inputs from stalwarts like Kaka Saheb Kalelkar, Vinoba Bhave, Kishore Mushroowala and many more.

Gandhiji had done a deep study of the religious texts of these all the religions and came to the conclusion that the essence of all the religions was the same as they point to the same truth; and therefore we must all study the essence of all the religions with humility and must have an attitude of respect and reverence towards the practitioners of different religions. There is no religion in the world that does not speak about love, compassion and service to society he had said. Till date these prayers are sung in our household, as we gather for the morning and evening prayers daily. Respecting and extending reverence to the practitioners of different religions blossomed as we welcomed Christian, Sikh, Muslim and Jain sons-in-law in our extended family.   

Gandhiji was seized with the need of communal unity since the South African years. His early associates in social work were Muslims. Many of them in South Africa were Christians who participated in the last Satyagraha. The principal question before him was harmony between Hindus and Muslims who inhabited this country. Gandhiji felt that if Hindu-Muslim unity was established, unity with other communities which were already there could easily be strengthened. He never found serious differences between the Hindus and Muslims and other minority communities like the Christians and the Sikhs, not to speak of the small community of Parsis. Naturally, therefore, he turned to the question of Hindu-Muslim unity. He insisted that the Hindus who are in a majority in the country should help the Muslims and should never entertain any idea of enforcing their rights but try to win the hearts of the minority community.

He had expressed, “I am striving to become the best cement between the two communities. My longing is to be able to cement the two with my blood, if necessary. There is nothing in either religion to keep the two communities apart. In nature there is a fundamental unity running through all the diversity. Religions are no exception to the natural law. They are given to mankind so as to accelerate the process of realization of fundamental unity. The need of the moment is not an establishment of a Universal religion but there is a greater need to develop mutual respect towards the different religions."

The public workers in South Africa were free of previous experiences and hence were free of prejudices. India had witnessed years of politics before he joined public work. On his return to India in 1915, Gandhiji had jumped into the Khilafat movement even while incurring the displeasure of many Hindu associates. He did so because he believed that the Khilafat movement was caused by a breach of promise. Never after the Khilafat movement did the country witness the extent of communal unity experienced during the movement. His relations with Ali brothers were strained after the Kohat incidence. His differences with Jinnah remained unresolved. Gandhiji asserted that despite differences, his affection for Ali brothers had not lessened in any way. The speech of Maulana Mohammad Ali in the second Round Table Conference was among his last public speeches. This speech shows that despite their differences, the Maulana and Gandhiji were in agreement on the question of a dialogue with the British. Perhaps the Maulana also had not lost all the faith in Gandhiji.  

Imam sahib and his family returned to India with him and stayed with him in the Sabarmati ashram and joined the Dandi Yatra. Abbas Tyabji was appointed to lead the Dandi march after Gandhij’s arrest. It was far more difficult for him to achieve communal unity in the political realm of India than in South Africa.

Gandhiji gave his life for communal unity. By participating in the Khilafat movement, Gandhiji made the first attempts to achieve communal harmony at the national level as he was able to reach out to the poorer sections of the Muslim community. In those days, national organisations like the Congress, the Home Rule League did not have a reach beyond the middle class.

Gandhiji’s perspective was that he believed that all human beings were capable of good. Gandhiji wanted to touch the trustworthy aspects of the community and appeal to the goodness of people and convert them towards non–violence. His clarity on the efficacy of the methods was unusual and novel for the country at that time.  He was clear on the programme for national building through constructive activities that was taking shape in his mind apart from obtaining swaraj. The programme was to espouse swadeshi, Hindu Muslim unity, and communal harmony with the minorities including the Parsis, the Christians, the Jews and the powerful Sikhs, acceptance of Hindustani, removal of untouchability, Khadi and village industries and so on.

In his constructive programme, he gave the first place to communal harmony among the people of different faiths. The result was the famous book, ‘The Way to Communal Harmony,’ written by Gandhiji himself.  In this collection of his writings and speeches, one is struck again and again by the passion and sincerity with which he pleaded for the cause of better understanding among individuals and communities. The book is a compilation of Gandhi's reflections on certain problems that divide mankind. Everywhere in the world, individuals and groups are divided because of fear, suspicion, and hatred towards each other, which further depends on whether the division expressed itself along religious, economic, political, caste, or colour lines. Whatever is the form, insecurity is perhaps the major cause of individual or social dissensions. A person, who is integrated and sure of himself, fears none and consequently provokes no fear. We have examples of such heroic individuals. But we do not have till now instances of societies or communities that are fully integrated and therefore fearless.

In Gandhiji’s words, ‘Unity does not mean political unity which may be imposed. It means an unbreakable heart unity. The first thing essential for achieving such a unity is for every person, whatever his religion may be, to represent in his own person Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Zoroastrian, Jew, etc,. In order to realise this, every person will cultivate personal friendship with persons representing faiths other than his own. He should have the same regard for the other faiths as he has for his own.’

Gandhiji liked to describe himself as a practical idealist and tried to adopt a pragmatic approach while dealing with national issues, and in doing so he earned praise and criticism, In the future he was to meet with many failures, popularity and displeasure. His involvement in the Khilafat movement gave him some lifelong friends, and at the same time some came to regard him as their lifelong enemy. Some would argue that by joining the movement Gandhiji invited the first major failure in his public life in India; some would even argue that the journey towards eventual success despite a series of failures also began with this movement.

With Khan Abdul Gaffar Khan ( Badshah Khan) 

Gandhiji had a quality that attracted the educated and illiterate alike. This quality was such that it did not require to be fathomed. It was open for all to see. Gandhiji’s words matched his actions. Hindustan required action, not merely eloquence. People understood this leader, who spoke in the language of the people. His Hindustani was uniquely his own. The people of Kashi did not think it was Hindi, in Lucknow it was not considered Urdu, though Gandhiji called it at time Hindi and at times Urdu. His language, which the people understood did not require approval from either grammarian or lexicographer. His language was earthy; it flowed through his veins, and was culturally rooted. It was the language of the Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Holy Koran. It was the language of Kabir, Tulsidas and Guru Nanak.

It was a unique coming together of people, and leader. Gandhiji believed that through the ordinary people of India the culture of renunciation, sacrifice and generosity would flourish again, and it would show a new path to the world to rid itself of injustice, tyranny, exploitation and oppression. The people of India went to Gandhiji with hope, expectations and desire. They understood that this man who understood their suffering will lead them to swaraj. 

The week between 6-13 April 1919, occupies a special place in the history of India. This week later came to be celebrated as the National week. For many years, people relived the events and memories of that week and felt the same excitement.  Another example of Hindu-Muslim unity was seen in the week between on 30^th March and 6 April 1919 in Mumbai during the one day nationwide hartal to oppose Rowlett Act. Gandhiji had publically declared its opposition and said the Act was unjust, subversive of the principles of liberty and justice and destructive of the elementary rights of individuals and no self-respecting people could submit to that.  During the meeting a satyagrahi pledge was taken, the first part laid down the object of the pledge, the vows formed the second part in which they pledged to bear any kind of suffering and to sacrifice, if necessary, both their life and property.  He was convinced that by taking a pledge he was introducing an aspect of spirituality in the political movements. The third pledge affirmed that the satyagrahi would fearlessly adhere to truth and non-violence, and would not misinterpret facts and hurt anybody. The most important task before Gandhiji was educating the people and mobilizing support, as he was aware that before launching the civil disobedience movement certain preparations were necessary.   

Gandhiji got an idea to call upon the country to observe a general hartal by suspending their business on that day and observe the day as one of fasting and prayers.  Musalmans joined in a large number in Bombay and there was a fair sprinkling of women and children.  The Hartal became a unique display of Hindu-Muslim unity. The procession went to a temple and a mosque where two Hindus, including women addressed the people. Two persons gave hundred rupees each for a copy of Hind Swaraj; one of them was a Muslim gentleman.  Gandhiji hoped that the Hindu-Muslim unity which appeared to have taken firm hold of people will become a reality. 

This also saw the beginning of the Shanti Sena in India. As both in Bombay and Ahmedabad there were incidences of large scale violence after a week or so after the hartal. All that Shanti Sena is expected to do in times of riots and violence was done first by the ashramites like Maganlal Gandhi, Imam Saheb, Abdul Bavazir, Vinoba Bhave and Narahari Parikh and later by Gandhiji and Mahadev Desai. The work of the Shanti Sena involved awakening both the people to their actions , stopping acts of violence and rioting by going to the area of conflict, assuaging the feelings of people by visiting their homes and localities , making public appeals, making those who were mere spectators aware of their duties and making attempts to prevent rumors from spreading. All these were done under the direct leadership of Gandhiji who had told them that, “I am your soldier, but in the struggle, I am your leader, so follow what I ask you to do.’

Gandhiji regarded Islam as a religion of peace in the same sense as Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism. No doubt, there are differences in degree. He says in this regard that he knew the passages that can be quoted form the Holy book Quran to the contrary. But it is possible to quote from the Vedas to the contrary.

Gandhiji had said, "My reading of the Quran has convinced me that the basis of Islam is not violence but is unadulterated Peace. It regards forbearance as superior to vengeance. The very word "Islam" means peace, which is nonviolence. My experience of India tells me that the Hindus and the Muslims know how to live at peace among themselves. I decline to believe that the people have said good-bye to their senses, so as to make it impossible to live at peace with each other, as they have done for generations. The enmity cannot last forever."