The Women Excluded from Parsi Life

The Women Excluded from Parsi Life

While growing up as a Parsi in Bombay, I was often told that we were the most progressive and egalitarian community in India. In 2001, the literacy rate among Parsis was 99.1 percent versus India’s average of 61 percent. This is not surprising, because the Parsis were one of the first groups to advocate and fund education—and particularly women’s education—in India. Founded in 1848, the Parsi-run Students’ Literary and Scientific Society built n…