Mallappa Chitti Ramam

A social reformer from India who championed women’s education and led grassroots movements for gender equality in the 1950s.

Mallappa Chitti Ramam (1908–1985) was an Indian activist who transformed societal attitudes toward women’s education in Karnataka. Despite her family’s opposition, she founded the Shikshana Sangha in 1948, a nonprofit that built over 150 schools for girls in rural areas. Her 1953 campaign, “Education for Every Girl”, pressured the government to allocate funds for girls’ scholarships. Ramam also co-authored the Women’s Rights Act of 1956, which granted women inheritance rights. Her memoir, My Journey for Equality, remains a cornerstone text in Indian feminist history. Explore her legacy via Indian Feminism Archive or Karnataka State Archives.