Women Graduates Union in Colaba to Award Rs 25 Lakh Scholarships on 111th Year
The Women Graduates Union, based near Sassoon Dock in Colaba, is marking its 111th year by launching its annual scholarship distribution scheme on August 18, awarding Rs 25 lakh to more than 100 students alongside a series of cultural programmes.
Established in 1915, the organisation has been distributing educational aid since 1957. According to Gauri Chhabria, the Union's former president and Scholarship Committee chairperson, past recipients include Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) deputy municipal commissioner Chanda Jadhav, who received a scholarship in her youth and later donated Rs 1 lakh to the fund.
An initiative that began with the Association of British University Women in India, the organisation was originally founded as the Bombay Presidency Women Graduates Union by Dr Annette Benson, a medical officer at Cama Hospital. The Union is affiliated with the Indian Federation of University Women's Association (IFUWA)—where Cornelia Sorabji, Bombay Province's first female BA graduate, served as the first secretary in 1921—and Graduate Women International.
Over its history, the organisation has advocated for women's representation in male-dominated bodies, including the Bombay University senate and the BMC. In addition to educational aid, it runs a working women's hostel on its leafy Colaba premises. The hostel was inaugurated on October 27, 1974, by Pratibha Patil, who was then the minister for social welfare and cultural affairs.
Today, the hostel provides accommodation to over 100 working women and PhD scholars across 80 rooms. Kanta Tripathi, chairperson of the hostel committee, explained that applicants must earn a monthly salary between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000, with admission granted following job verification, local guardian identification, and an interview.
The organisation's Colaba centre also operates a counselling and guidance centre, a study centre for municipal school children, and a balwadi for toddlers. Honorary secretary Raka Ghosh noted that the study centre focuses on foundational learning, while psychologist Rielle Martin leads mental health and stress-management sessions.
