Page:Sketches of some distinguished Indian women.djvu/13



much has been written and spoken, during the last twenty years, on the sad condition of the women of India that people in England may be supposed to be fairly well acquainted with the general facts, and there is perhaps some danger of their becoming wearied by a too frequent repetition of the story.

Missionaries, philanthropists, educational and social reformers, have all made the condition of Indian women their theme, and have painted in dark and forcible colours the picture of their degradation, their helplessness, their ignorance, the cruel treatment and dreadful sufferings to which millions of them are exposed, and the dull, empty, colourless lives of even the happiest among them. Happily there is now a brighter side to the picture. The appeal to English sympathy and interest has not been in vain, and thanks to the energy, the courage, and the perseverance of many noble-minded