Position of Women in India

Table of Index

CHAPTER – 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................... 2

CHAPTER – 2 EARLY VEDIC AGE ................................................................................................. 3

CHAPTER – 3 MIDDLE AND LATER VEDIC AGE ...................................................................... 5

CHAPTER – 4 AFTER VEDIC AGE .................................................................................................. 8

CHAPTER – 5 OTHER THEORIS OF DETERIORATION IN LATER VEDIC ERA .............. 10

CHAPTER – 6 STATUS OF WOMEN IN EARLY MEDIVIEL INDIA ...................................... 11

CHAPTER – 7 PRACTICES PREVELENT IN MEDIVIEL INDIA ............................................ 14

CHAPTER – 8 CONCLUTION ............................................................................................................ 18

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CHAPTER – 1

INTRODUCTION

The worth of a civilization can be judged by the place given to women in the society. One of

several factors that justify the greatness of India's ancient culture is the honourable place

granted to women.1 Manu, the great law-giver, said long ago, 'where women are honoured

there reside the gods'.2

It is the common belief that Indian women have constantly had to fight for their identities as

separate individuals. They have had to struggle to break the image of a subservient soul. They

have been oppressed if they tried to challenge the widely held opine of a male dominated

community. But this is not a right view, the position of a woman in ancient India was almost

equivalent to that of a man and she was looked upon as one possessing a lot of power.3

Unfortunately, this position started to deteriorate over a period of time due to commonly held

superstitions, the upcoming Varna system 4 and prevalent Brahmin opinion, and a host of

other reasons. The position of women deteriorated over the ages and women came to be

looked upon as things and properties, they had to face several hardships and were expected to

treat their husbands as Gods. In medieval India serious practices and evils came to be forced

on women such as sati, jauhar, etc. After that the position of women could never completely

be redeemed and although today Indian women have learnt to stand independently of men,

make their own choices, enforce their rights, etc. one cannot say that women are treated with

the respect that they were treated with in the early Vedic period.

1 http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Huma/HumaSing.htm, last visited on 23/03/2010.2 Katherine K. Young, “Women and Hinduism,” Arvind Sharma (ed.), WOMEN IN INDIAN RELIGIONS, 1st

ed. 2002, p. 6.3 Ibid.4 Supra n.2.

SUBMITTED BY REEMA CHAND AND VISHU AGRAWAL

http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Huma/HumaSing.htm

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C HAPTER – 2 THE EARLY VEDIC AGE

During the Vedic Age the society was more or less a patrilineal society. But despite a degree

of male dominance, men and women complemented each other and the life during the Rig

Vedic period was seen positively.

The birth of daughters was not desired and people prayed for abundance of sons, but once

girls were born they were not treated with disrespect and were not looked upon with

contempt and disregard. They were treated with respect and kindness. Their education was

not neglected; some of the women became seers eg. Visvavara, Ghosha and Apala.5 Some

even composed Vedic hymns eg. Lopamidra6. This is important because it confirms the fact

that women were allowed to take part in various rituals.

If women could compose hymns then they must have also recited them. Family was the focal

point in the Rig Vedic period. There was complementarity between men and women in that

period of time. This is represented by the fact that young women met potential suitors at

festivals and gatherings and only later sought the permission of their parents to marry the

spouse of their choice. Women were never secluded and were allowed to attend such

gatherings and functions.7 They loved to display their skills in dancing and singing to the

accompaniment of lutes and cymbals.8 Dancing was never looked down upon as a degrading

means of entertainment at that time. Complementarity is also represented by the term

“Dampati” which signified the master of the house9 and the couple10. Women were given in

marriage when they attained puberty. Some kingdoms in ancient India had a tradition of

“Nagarvadhu.”11 Women competed to win the coveted title of Nagarvadhu. Amarpali is the

most famous example of Nagarvadhu.12

Kanyadaan was performed by the father and it was considered to be the greatest sacrifice that

a father could give.13 It is a probability that due to the concept of Kanyadaan, girl children

were not desired. The presence of the couple at home was a prerequisite for the deities to

receive offerings there. Even the God’s acknowledged this worldly orientation and the

importance of the woman’s role as a wife and a mother. The God’s infact would receive

5 R.C. Majumdar et.al. ,AN ADVANCED HISTORY OF INDIA , 4th ed. 1978, 20th imp. 2007, p.30.6 Supra n.2.7 Ibid.8 Supra n.6, p. 31.9 Supra n.6, p.30.10 Supra n.7, p. 5.11 Bride of the city.12 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_India, last accessed on 23/3/2010.13 Supra n.7, p. 7.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_India

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offerings only in those homes where a wife was present as she was considered ‘half the

ritual.’ But women were never looked at as independent persons in the eyes of the law and

they had to rely on the males for support, i.e., a woman was dependent on her father in her

childhood, on her husband as a wife and on her son in old age.14 Widow burning or sati does

not seem to have been prevalent.15

The position of women is also reflected in the religious beliefs of the society. The Pantheon

in the Rig-Veda was mostly male; there were only a few female Goddesses who represented

the female roles of mother, sister, daughter and wife. For example Prithvi, mother Earth,

etc.16 Overall the status of women in this period was very respectable even in the presence of

male dominance. Women had freedom, education, and a very high status making this period a

golden age for them. Never again would women enjoy this kind of respect in a male

dominated society.

14 Supra n.6, p. 30.15 Supra n.6, p.31.16 Supra n.7, p. 5.


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CHAPTER – 3THE MIDDLE, LATER VEDIC AGE AND BEYOND

TRANSITION FROM EARLY VEDIC AGE TO LATER VEDIC AGE:

The position of women in this period gradually started to deteriorate from one of respect to

one of insignificance. There were several reasons for this. The most important reasons were

that the varna17 system had come about, migrations were occurring towards the east, the

eventual state formation in the Ganga Valley, all had their effects on the status of elite

women, i.e., the women belonging to the three castes of the Brahmans, Kshatriyas and

Vaishyas as they were ruled by the Stridharma which meant duties of a woman. There was a

change in the rituals due to the complexities arising out of the division of rituals into

household (grahya) and public rituals, thus the women were restricted to performing the

household rituals. Ritual specialisation became the preserve of Brahmin male priests and

participation of women in rituals became more and more restricted.

Education was expanded and was taught at special forest schools which were less accessible

to the girls. Families had a tendency to keep them at home and they generally taught them

only what was essential for the performance of domestic mantras and rituals.

Women rarely officiated at the public rituals, although it was essential for them to be present

besides their husbands as patni. She was always seated by the householder’s fire and this

proved the link between her realm of home and the domestic fire. Yet women were viewed as

objects of great power when it came to rituals in spite of their minor role. This was because

the wife injected her power of sexuality and fertility into the ritual in order to provide energy

for progeny, cattle, crops and rain.

Some women did defy the general ideas of the society by becoming brahmavadinis 18 and

studied the Vedas. It is presumed that most of these brahmavadinis were the daughters of

teachers in forest schools. A few women were also known to be intellectually inquisitive.

The Upanishads provide various examples of such women. For example Gargi’s challenge to

Yajnavalkya in a philosophical debate is an indication of her learning.

The religious beliefs of the society also underwent change to the extent of the addition of

more goddesses to their deities. But the basic principle of non-independence of Goddesses

17 Varna system was a caste system which followed the following hierarchy, Brahman, Kshatriya, Vaishya, Shudra18 Brahmavadinis implies those who have the rite of initiation into Vedic learning.


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remained present. For example the concept of wife-deity emerged in the late Vedic period.

Names such as Varunni, Indrani, etc came from the names of prominent male gods.

Although, later Sri designated an independent female entity, which held the key to success for

the Kings and brought them fertility, riches, health, beauty and auspiciousness to the empire,

Sri was subsequently linked to Laksmi, the personification of wealth and prosperity. The

connection of women’s power of tapas19, royal power, rain and agriculture is found in many

subsequent texts such as the Tamil (Jain) epic Cilappatikaram.20

THE LATER VEDIC AGE:

The position of women during this time deteriorated completely. This is evident from the

texts written by men in that period eg. Sutras, early Puranas etc. Manusmrati says 'na stri

swatantryam arhati' and this means that all Indian women lack freedom to do anything.21

Their role changed in the Vedic rituals, their body was described to be a vessel for male

seeds, and they were married off even before they attained puberty. Whereas once sons and

daughters were seen in equal light, in this period sons were not only preferred, daughters

came to be seen as a source of liability due to dowry and was viewed as a poor investment in

her bridal house. Daughters were seen as a source of misery. Women could not go to the

tribal council or assembly; neither could they take an inheritance. Married women of the

upper class had to suffer the presence of rival wives.22

Women lacked education because the education system had become inaccessible for them.

They were thus considered as illiterate and avidya23. This led to their linking with the lower

castes, i.e., the Sudras. It was an irony that the Brahmins considered themselves superior to

others and the highest class but the Brahmin women were linked to Sudras and were inferior

in learning. To resolve this inherent contradiction the high status of the Brahman women was

defined by their chastity and purity. Whenever a woman’s husband died it was blamed on her

bad karma. She then had two options either to go through life as a Vaidhawa, a widow; or she

could commit sati by burning herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.24 A widow had to wear

white, to curb her impulses and emotions, to sleep on a mat of grass. A widow who slept on a

cot was actually charged with sending her husband to hell.25 The Smriti commentaries direct

19 Tapas implies chastity20 Kumkum Roy ,Women in early Indian Societies,1st ed. 1999, Manohar, New Delhi, page 7321 Ibid22 Ibid.23 Avidya impies one without knowledge.24 Neera desia and Usha Thakkar, Women in Indian society, 1st ed. 2003, and National book trust India, New Delhi, page num. 11825Vrinda Nabar ,CASTE AS WOMAN,1st ed. 1995, p. 144.


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that the wife should never be given independence and she should be secluded and her mind

should be applied only to the domestic rituals so that she does not have the time to think of

other men.26

Although the first half of the classical age was characterised by a decline in the status of

women the second half showed improvement. The Mahabharata and the Bhagavad Gita

contain passages with a more inclusive spirit of women and these were redacted during this

time.

Goddesses and epic heroines provided models for human wives. From the classical period

two of the divine models for the good wife have been Sita, Sati Parvati, Laksmi, Savitri,

Damayanti, Draupadi etc. Wife-Goddesses represented an ascetic sexuality, i.e., sexuality

controlled by their husbands.

The structure of a woman’s life cycle was visually marked by the presence or absence of a

tilak. The presence or absence of this dot signified auspiciousness or inauspiciousness

respectively. The same was applied for her other accessories, eg. Bangles, toe-rings, etc.

these ornaments symbolised the dynamics of the union and separation in the life of a

woman.27

The above mentioned superstitions and unscientific ideologies of society founded the basis

for determining the status of women in the times to come.

26 R.C. Majumdar, (ed.), THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE, Vol.1, 5th ed. 1988, p. 481.27 Supra n. 7, p. 10.


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CHAPTER – 4

POSITION OF WOMEN AFTER VEDIC AGE

INDIA IN EARLY MAGADHAN EPOCH

Women were treated differently in the South and the Northern region of India. Women in the

south were granted certain privileges not available to their contemporaries in the south. For

e.g. the wife in the south was allowed to eat in the company of her husband and restriction on

the marriages of cognates were not that strict in the south as they were in the north.

The picture of women as given in the Greek accounts, Buddhist discourses or epic tales does

not always agree with that portrayed in the formal codes of law. The women of the Dharma-

Sutras were helpless beings who were always dependent on their male relations and were

classed with properties of minors or sealed deposits. The women known to Alexander’s

contemporaries took the weapons of their relatives who had died in war and fought side by

side with the men against the enemy of their country. Education was not denied to women,

some of whom were widely known for their knowledge and learning. Buddhist texts refer to

the princesses who composed poetry, preserved in the Their-Gatha.28 In several epic stories

like the Mahabharata one finds references to the concept of Swayamwara or choice of a

husband by the bride herself. Seclusion of women was practiced in certain families whereas

there were instances where women laid aside their veils and came out of the seclusion of their

house.29

WOMEN IN THE MAURYA-SCYTHIAN ERA

Greek writers and epigraphs provide the details on the status of women in this period. Some

women pursued philosophy and lived a life of continence. Married women although, were

denied the privilege of sharing with their husbands, the knowledge of the sacred traditions.

Polygamy was practiced by King’s and noblemen. The care of the King’s person was

entrusted to women. Ashoka refers to women as particularly given to the performance of

many trivial and worthless ceremonies. The wife continued to take a prominent share in the

religious activities by the side of her husband is clear from the records of the benefactions of

Karuvaki, the second queen of Ashoka. 30

WOMEN IN THE GUPTA PERIOD28 Psalms of the Sisters.29 R.C. Majumdar, (ed.), THE HISTORY AND CULTURE OF THE INDIAN PEOPLE, Vol.1, 5th ed. 1988, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay. page 72.30Supra n.6, pp.125, 126.


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Women of the upper classes in certain areas took a prominent share in administration. The

queen-consort occupied an important position in this era. In certain provinces, e.g. Kanarese,

women acted as provincial governors and heads of villages. The seclusion of women was not

generally observed in these areas. Some of the royal ladies in Deccan were not only skilled at

dancing but also in the display of arts in public. Absolute seclusion of women was unknown

in certain families. Girls of the upper class families received a liberal education and took keen

interest in the cultural activities of the age. The practise of Swayamvara was still in use.

Unfortunately the picture was not all that rosy, polygamy was widely prevalent, and the

custom of burning widows at the funeral pyre of their husbands was coming into general

use.31

CHAPTER – 5 OTHER THEORIES FOR THE DETERIORATION OF THE

STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE LATER VEDIC PERIOD.

31 Supra n.6, pp. 90,189.


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1) The introduction of a non- Aryan wife into the Aryan household is the key to the general

deterioration of the position of women. The non- Aryan wife with her ignorance of

Sanskrit language and Hindu religion could not enjoy the same privileges as her Aryan

consort. Very often the non- Aryan wife was the favourite one of her husband, who may

have associated her with his religious sacrifices in preference to his better educated but

less loved Aryan co-wife. This must have naturally led to grave mistakes and anomalies

in the performance of the ritual which must have shocked orthodox priests. Their first

remedy may have been to declare the non- Aryan wife to be unfit for association with her

husband in religious rituals. But the Kings who were madly in love with these non-Aryan

wives would have disobeyed this order. Thus the situation could have been retrieved only

when all women were banned from the performance of rituals.32

2) The other factor was the growing complexity of the Vedic rituals.33Also the division of

the rituals into Srauta and Grahya restricting the women in their knowledge of the

Vedas.34

3) The Sahityas pointed out that the man came into the world with a three fold debt; the

most important one of these was the debt to the manes which could be liquidated only by

the birth of a son. Thus if the girl was to marry the boy early, then she would be able to

provide him with a son sooner. Hence the concept of child marriage started.35

4) As child marriage became accepted, the need to educate the girls was not felt as they were

getting married early any way. Thus when the girl got no education and was married early

she was unable to command respect from her husband.36

CHAPTER – 6STATUS OF WOMEN IN EARLY MEDEVAL INDIA

In early Medieval India women were accorded a high place in society. In a Hindu family she

was regarded as the mistress of the house and no religious ceremony could be performed

32 Kumkum Roy ,WOMEN IN EARLY INDIAN SOCIETIES,1st ed. 1999, p. 56.33 Ibid.34 Supra n.7, p.8.35 Supra n.32, p. 59.36 Supra n.32, p.61.


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without her association. There was provision for their education and the period has said to

have produced a number of highly learned women. The wife of Mandan Mishra is said to

have defeated Shankaracharya in a philosophical discussion. Awantisundari, the wife of

Rajshekhar had prepared a lexicon containing words of Prakrit and she had given her own

compositions to illustrate the usage of those words. Mirabai was a devotee of high order and

has left behind a collection of songs, vibrant with sentiments of personal devotion of Krishna.

Contemporary saints flocked around her to hear her talk.

However, inferiority of women to men is signified by a lot of things. In royal and Baronial

families, polygamy was the rule so that women came to be regarded as a means of sexual

satisfaction. After the coming of the Turks, the size of the harems began to increase and the

social status of women became lower still.37. As polygamy was a norm for these invaders they

picked up any woman they wanted and kept her in their "harems". In order to protect

themselves Indian women started using the 'Purdah', (a veil), which covered the entire body.

Especially in Northern India, the practice of keeping women in seclusion and asking them to

veil their faces in the presence of outsiders became widespread among the upper class

women. The practice of secluding women from the vulgar gaze was practiced among the

upper class Hindus, and was also in vogue in Iran, Greece, etc. The Arabs and the Turks

adopted this custom and brought it to India with them. Due to their example, it became

widespread in India, particularly in north India. The growth of purdah has been attributed to

the fear of the Hindu women being captured by invaders. In an age of violence, women were

liable to be treated as prizes of war. Perhaps, the most important factor for the growth of

purdah was social- it became a symbol of the higher classes in society, and all those who

wanted to be considered respectable tried to copy it. Also, religious justification was found

for it. Whatever the reason, it affected women adversely, and made them even more

dependent on men.38 Because of this their freedom was also affected. They were not allowed

to move freely and this lead to the further deterioration of their status. These problems related

with women resulted in a changed mindset of people.

The deterioration that had started in the later Vedic period became worse. Parents began to

consider a girl as a source of misery and a burden, which had to be shielded from the eyes of

intruders and needed extra care, whereas, a male child was treated with love and kindness.

Nonetheless women were accorded an honourable place in society. In a Hindu family she was

37 A.B. Pandey ,EARLY MEDIEVAL INDIA,2nd ed. 1960, 1st rep. 1993, p. 233.38 Satish Chandra, MEDIEVAL INDIA FROM SUTANAT TO THE MUGHALS,2nd ed. 1999, p.173.


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regarded as the mistress of the house and no religious ceremony was performed without her

association.

There was provision for their education and the period has produced a number of highly

learned women. In the Mughal period also Female education of some sort existed and the

daughters of the imperial household were given tuitions in their houses. Some of the ladies so

instructed distinguished themselves in the sphere of literature. For e.g. Babur’s daughter,

Gulbadan Begum was the authoress of the Humayunnamah. Nur Jahan, Mumtaz Mahal,

Jahanara Begum, etc were extremely educated ladies; they were well read in Persian and

Arabic. Zeb-un-Nisa was an expert in Calligraphy and had a rich library. 39 Roshanara set up a

literary atelier (bait-ul-ulam) at Delhi to which Aurangzeb had banished her. Some women

played an active part in politics as rulers themselves. For e.g. Rani Durgawati of Gondwana

and Chand Bibi of Ahmednagar, by exercising power from their husbands, Nur Jahan. Razia

Sultan became the only woman monarch who had ever ruled Delhi.40

Women played an important role as they provided moral and cultural tone to society from

behind the curtains. They influenced royal taste and patronage to artists, singers, etc.41 but, as

mentioned earlier, the position of women in this period had deteriorated to an extent. It

became the starting point of such practices that subjugated women. This can be seen from

various examples. In royal families, polygamy was the rule so that women were merely as a

means of sexual satisfaction. Then again the co-wives were often jealous of each other and

there were occasions when they had to compromise there self respect.42All this gave rise to

some new practices such as Child Marriage, Sati, and Jauhar.43 The ladies that had been

collected together merely to satisfy the lower appetites of man had to give evidence of their

chastity and devotion by burning themselves alive on the funeral pyre of their common dead

husband. Widows had no right to remarry and had to live like sanyasins. They lived in

seclusion and the purdah system became very elaborate, both for the Hindus and the

Muslims. This was due to the sense of insecurity of the period caused by the invasions of

foreigners such as the Mongols.

39 Supra n.6,p. 572.40 Supra n.13.41 Supra n.40, p.371.42 Supra n.40, p. 324.43 http://www.mapsofindia.com/culture/indian-women.html, last accessed on 23/05/2010.


http://www.mapsofindia.com/culture/indian-women.html

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CHAPTER – 7

THE PRACTICES PREVALENT IN MEDIEVAL INDIA

Jauhar: The voluntary death of the royal womenfolk of Rajputs and Rajput men in order

to avoid capture and dishonor at the hands of enemy. The term is extended to describe the

occasional practice of mass suicide carried out in medieval times by Rajput women and

men. Mass self-immolation by women was called Jauhar, and riding out and fighting till

their last breath by men was called saka. The practice is often described in terms of the

women and children alone, but should correctly be understood as including the death of

the men on the battlefield.

Child Marriage: It was a norm in medieval India. Girls were married off at the age of 8-

10. They were not allowed access to education and were treated as the material being.

The plight of women can be imagined by one of the Shloka of Tulsidas where he writes

"Dhol, gawar, shudra, pashu, nari, ye sab tadan ke adhikari". Meaning that animals,

illiterates, lower castes and women should be subjected to beating. Thus, women were

compared with animals and were married off at an early age. The child marriage along

with it brought some more problems such as increased birth rate, poor health of women

due to repeated child bearing and high mortality rate of women and children.

Restriction on Widow Remarriage: The condition of widows in medieval India was

very bad. They were not treated as human beings and were subjected to a lot of

restrictions. They were supposed to live pious life after their husband died and were not

allowed entry in any celebration. Their presence in any good work was considered to be a

bad omen. Sometimes heads of widows were also shaved down. They were not allowed to

remarry. Any woman remarrying was looked down by the society. This cruelty on

widows was one of the main reasons for the large number of women committing Sati. In

medieval India living as a Hindu widow was a sort of a curse.

Purdah System: The veil or the 'Purdah' system was widely prevalent in medieval Indian

society. It was used to protect the women folk from the eyes of foreign rulers who

invaded India in medieval period. But this system curtailed the freedom of women.


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Education for girls: The girls of medieval India and especially Hindu society were not

given formal education. They were given education related to household chores. But a

famous Indian philosopher 'Vatsyayana' wrote that women were supposed to be perfect in

sixty four arts which included cooking, spinning, grinding, knowledge of medicine,

recitation and many more.

As compared to Hindu society other societies such as Buddhism, Jainism and Christians

were a bit lenient. Women in those societies enjoyed far more freedom. They had easy

access to education and were more liberal in their approach. According to these religions

gender was not the issue in attaining salvation. Any person whether a man or a woman is

entitled to get the grace of god. During the time of king Ashoka women took part in

religious preaching. According to Hiuen Tsang, the famous traveller of that time,

Rajyashri, the sister of Harshavardhana was a distinguished scholar of her time. Another

such example is the daughter of king Ashoka, Sanghmitra. She along with her brother

Mahendra went to Sri Lanka to preach Buddhism.

The status of women in Southern India was better than the North India. While in Northern

India there were not many women administrators, in Southern India we can find some

names that made women of that time proud. Priyaketaladevi, queen of Chalukya

Vikramaditya ruled three villages. Another woman named Jakkiabbe used to rule seventy

villages. In South India women had representation in each and every field. Domingo

Paes, famous Portuguese traveller testifies to it. He has written in his account that in

Vijaynagar kingdom women were present in each and every field. He says that women

could wrestle, blow trumpet and handle sword with equal perfection. Nuniz, another

famous traveller to the South also agrees to it and says that women were employed in

writing accounts of expenses, recording the affairs of kingdom, which shows that they

were educated. There is no evidence of any public school in northern India but according

to famous historian Ibn Batuta there were 13 schools for girls and 24 for boys in

Honavar. There was one major evil present in South India of medieval time. It was the

custom of Devadasis.

Devadasis: It was a custom prevalent in Southern India. In this system girls were

dedicated to temples in the name of gods and goddesses. The girls were then onwards

known as 'Devadasis' meaning servant of god. These Devadasis were supposed to live the

life of celibacy. All the requirements of Devadasis were fulfilled by the grants given to


15

the temples. In temple they used to spend their time in worship of god and by singing and

dancing for the god. Some kings used to invite temple dancers to perform at their court

for the pleasure of courtiers and thus some Devadasis converted to Rajadasis (palace

dancers) prevalent in some tribes of South India like Yellamma cult44.

The culture of the women varied according to the classes to which they belonged. The

ordinary village women were confined to their domestic duties, whereas a few women

belonging to the upper caste cultivated arts and sciences. For eg. Rupamati and

Padmavati were very learned and educated women of this period. The concepts of child

marriage and sati were widely prevalent among certain classes. According to Ibn Batuta a

permit had to be sought from the Sultan of Delhi before the burning of a widow.45

Akbar tried to regulate social usages in such a way as to make the consent of both the

bride and the bridegroom, and the permission of the parents, necessary for a marriage

contract. He also sought to check marriage before puberty by either of the party,

marriages between near relatives, acceptance of high dowries, and polygamy. But his

attempts were in vain as they were never really practiced.46 Likewise, there was little

impact on Mughal attempt to regulate sati because all important Rajput rajas continued to

practise it. Thus when Maharaja Man Singh died, four ranis committed sati along with

him, and another five at another place.47 A sati came to be seen as possessing an

immeasurable degree of moral merit. She could absolve her husband of the most heinous

of sins, including the killing of a Brahmin. She was also equipped with the moral power

to purify three families: those of her mother, her father and her husband.48 The woman

who sacrifices herself suffers in proportion to the sins she has committed in her past lives,

sins that are the immediate cause of her widowhood in this life. According to the dharma

treatises, a faithful spouse ought to accompany her husband in his earthly existence and

precede him in death. She is assumed to have failed in her “wifely duty” or seriously

violated her “conjugal vow” because of which her husband had to suffer death. The

gravity of her fault is inversely proportional to her age: the younger the widow, the

greater the guilt. An additional yardstick is provided by the intensity of her suffering at

the time of her ordeal, and to be sure, her death.49

44 Supra n.45.45 Supra n.40, p. 371.46 Supra n.6, p. 561.47 Supra n.40, p. 372.48 Supra n.27,p. 154.49Catherine Weinberg-Thomas, WIDOW BURINING IN INDIA-ASHES OF IMMORTALITY,1st ed. 2000, p. 45.


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Dowry system and Kanyadaan had become a necessity by this time. The bride groom

considered the whole process of marriage as a sale. Earlier even the father of the bride

received money from the groom but that system stopped all together.50 Now the prestige

of the father of the bride was determined by the amount of dowry given by him to the

groom. In certain cases when Zamindars had to be paid rent and the poverty stricken

farmers had no money to pay the Zamindaar they would give up their daughter to be

married off to the Zamindaar or the Zamindaar’s son. The Maratha society however did

not encourage the acceptance of dowries. The Peshwas exercised an effective control

over the state of affairs in Maharashtra and they were opposed to forcible marriages, but

informal marriages were occasionally permitted by them if the motives of the contracting

parties were correct. Widow-remarriage was prevalent among the non-Brahmanas of

Maharashtra, Jats of the Punjab and the Jumna Valley. In the places mentioned above

polyandry was not known. 51For women belonging to the common fold, life was hard.

There are many paintings depicting women working in building activities along with

infants. Working women received wages that were lower than those given to men.52

The plight of women in medieval India and at the starting of modern India can be

summed up in the words of great poet Rabindranath Tagore:

"O Lord Why have you not given woman the right to conquer her destiny?

Why does she have to wait head bowed,

by the roadside, waiting with tired patience,

hoping for a miracle in the morrow?"53

50 Ranjana Sheel, THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF DOWRY, 1st ed. 1999, p. 41.51 Supra n.6, p. 561.52 Supra n.27, p. 154.53 Supra n.46.


17

CHAPTER – 8

CONCLUSION

Women were always the weaker sex and men are always thought to be better than women in

all regards. This was the belief in all ages including the Rig Vedic period. The analysis of the

researcher is that the gradual deterioration of the position of women in India occurred due to

the superstitions and other ill-founded beliefs of the societies which developed into norms

which the women had to follow. For e.g. in the Ramayana when Rama doubts the dignity of

Sita, she undertakes the test of fire, i.e., to prove her purity. She asks the Fire God to burn her

if she burn she is impure and if not then pure. Sita comes out of the fire unhurt thereby

successfully proving to Ram her purity. Similarly, it is the researcher’s opinion that, as a

husband’s death was attributed to the karma and faults of the wife, she had to take the Fire

test and if she burned then her husband’s death was her fault and if she came out unhurt then

she was free from the sin of killing her husband. This fire test was sati. Obviously the wife

died whenever she committed Sati and this strengthened the widely held belief that the wife

was responsible for the death of her husband. Such unscientific beliefs led to massive

deterioration in the status of women.

What is most ironic is the stance of Manu. According to him only where the woman was

respected that could be called the abode of God. But on the other hand he said that women

should not be allowed to become priests, etc. There only duty was to serve their husbands.

This made the woman a Goddess and a slave at once.

Soon more and more writers started taking the stance that women should be restricted, they

needed to be protected. These extra duties towards women, especially those of the father,

further led to the birth of a girl child to be a day of remorse and mourning.

Such circumstances finally led to women being confined in their houses beneath the purdah,

being subject to marriage when their contemporaries in other parts of the world were studying

and widening their knowledge. Being a woman became a sin, much like being a Shudra. And

in the medieval period, women belonged to no other place except in the feet of their

husbands. In modern India the situation continued to deteriorate but today women are in a

much better position. Although one cannot deny stray instances of dowry and child marriage,

especially in villages. The position of women has been redeemed to an extent and hopefully

women will be considered equal to men in all ways.


18

BIBLIOGRAPHY

LITERARY SOURCES:

A.B. Pandey ,Early medieval India ,2nd ed. 1960, rep. 1993, Central Book Depot, Allahbad.

Catherine Weinberg-Thomas, Widow burning in India – Ashes of Immortality,1st ed. 2000, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

Dorienne Rowan-Campbell, Development with Women, 1st ed., 2006, Rawat Publication, Jaipur.

George Duby and Michelle Perrot, A History of Women in the West, 1994 Harvard University press,

Katherine K. Young, “Women and Hinduism,” Arvind Sharma (ed.), Women in Indian Religion, 1st ed. 2002, Oxford University Press, New Delhi.

Kumkum Roy ,Women in the Early Indian Societies,1st ed. 1999, Manohar, New Delhi.

M. Bahati Kuumba, Gender and Social Movement, 1st ed., Rawat Publications, Jaipur. Neera Desia and Usha Thakkar, Women in Indian Society, 1st ed. 2003, and National

Book Trust India, New Delhi. R.C. Majumdar et.al. , An Advanced History of India, 4th ed. 1978, 20th imp.2007,

Macmillan India Ltd., New Delhi. R.C. Majumdar, (ed.), The History and Culture of the Indian People, Vol.1, 5th ed.

1988, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Bombay. Ranjana Sheel, The political Economy of the Dowry, 1st ed. 1999, Manohar, New

Delhi. Romila Thapar, Early India,1st. ed. 2003,Penguins India, New Delhi. Satish Chandra, Medieval India from Sultanate to the Mughals, 2nd ed. 1999, Har-

Anand Publishers Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi. Shagufta Parveen, Women and Society 1st ed.2007, Anmol Publications, Shandra Kemp Andjudith Squires, 1st ed. 1997,Oxford University Press, New York Vincent A Smith, the oxford history of India, 4th ed.2008, oxford university Press,

New Delhi. Vinita Singh, Women Domestics, 1st ed. 2007, Rawat Publications, Jaipur. Vrinda Nabar ,Caste as Woman, 1st ed. 1995, Penguin Books, New Delhi.

INTERNET SOURCES:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women_in_India , last accessed on 23/05/2010.http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Huma/HumaSing.htm, last accessed on 23/05/2010.http://www.mapsofindia.com/culture/indian-women.html, last accessed on 23/05/2010.


http://www.mapsofindia.com/culture/indian-women.html

http://www.bu.edu/wcp/Papers/Huma/HumaSing.htm

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Documents

Position of Women in India