CHAPTER- III

STATUS OF WOMEN FROM VEDIC PERIOD TO MODERN PERIOD

3.1 Introduction
3.2 Status of women in Vedic India
3.3 Status of women in Mohul rule
3.4 Status of women in Modern India
3.5 India’s constitutional dreams towards the gender equality
3.6 Suitability of women for different jobs
3.7 Summary
3.1 Introduction

Women constitute more or less half of the population in the world.

But the hegemonic masculine beliefs made them suffer a lot as they were

denied equal opportunities in different parts of the world. The rise of feminist

thoughts has, however, led to the tremendous improvement of women's

condition all through the world in modern times. Access to education has been

one of the most urgent demands of these women's rights movements. Women's

education in India has also been a major preoccupation of both the government

and the civil society as educated women can play a highly remarkable role in

the development of the country. The women education not only helps the

development of half of the human resources, but also improves the quality of

life at home and outside. Educated women can have the capability to promote

the education of their girl children and to give better guidance to all their

children. Moreover, educated women can help in the reduction of infant

mortality rate and the growth of population.

3.2 Status of women in Vedic India

Worldwide among many societies, India has seen some of the most

adulating regard for women in Vedic culture. Women held very important

positions in the ancient Indian society. It was a position superior to men. There

are literary evidences to suggest that woman power destroyed kingdoms and

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mighty rulers. The Vedic custom has held a high regard for the qualities of

women, and has retained the utmost respect within its tradition as seen in the

honor it gives for the Goddess, who is portrayed as the feminine embodiment

of important qualities and powers. These forms include those of Lakshmi (the

goddess of fortune and queen of Lord Vishnu), Sarasvati (the goddess of

learning), Subhadra (Krishnas sister and auspiciousness personified), Durga

(the goddess of strength and power), Kali (the power of time), and other Vedic

goddesses that exemplify inner strength and divine attributes. Even divine

power in the form of shakti is considered feminine.

In the pro-vedic culture, women have always been given the highest

level of respect and autonomy, but also protection and safety. Women were

allowed to have multiple husbands. Widows could remarry. They could leave

their husbands. In the Vedic society, women participated in religious

ceremonies and tribal assemblies (sabha and vidata).There is no evidence of

seclusion of women from domestic and social affairs but they were dependent

on their male relations throughout their lives. The system of Sati existed among

the Aryans in the earlier period .By the time they entered India it had however

gone out of vogue but it might have survived in the shape of a formal custom. it

is not referred to in the hymns of the Rig-Veda, but the Artharva Veda shows

that it was still customary for the widow to lay symbolically by the side of her

husband's corpse on the funeral pyre. Monogamy was very common. Polygamy

was not common. Child marriages were unknown. Women could choose their

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husbands through a type of marriage called Swayamvara. In this type of

marriage, potential grooms assembled at the bride's house and the bride

selected her spouse. Instances of Swayamvara ceremony can be found in epics,

the Ramayana and Mahabharata. This continued even in the later period in high

class families. There is a Vedic saying, where women are worshiped, there the

Gods dwell (Or) where the women are happy, there will be prosperity1. A

Woman must be honored and adorned by their fathers, brothers, husbands, and

brothers-in-law, who desire their own welfare. Where women are honored,

there the Gods are pleased; but where they are not honored, no sacred rite

yields rewards. Where the female relations live in grief, the family soon wholly

perishes; but that family where they are not unhappy ever prospers. The houses,

on which female relations, not being duly honored, pronounce a curse, perish

completely, as if destroyed by magic. Hence men who seek (their own)

welfare, should always honor women on holidays and festivals with (gifts of)

ornaments, clothes and (dainty) food2.

Furthermore, in the Vedas, when a woman is invited into the family

through marriage, she enters “as a river enters the sea” and “to rule there along

with her husband, as a queen, over the other members of the family”3. This

kind of equality is rarely found in any other religious scripture. Plus, a woman

who is devoted to God is more highly regarded than a man who has no such

devotion, as found in the Rig-Veda: “Yea, many a woman is more firm and

1
Manu-samhita
2
Manu Smriti III.55-59
3
Atharva-Veda 14.1.43-44

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better than the man who turns away from Gods, and offers not4.” Due to this

tradition, India’s history includes many women who have risen to great heights

in spirituality, government, writing, education, science, or even as warriors on

the battlefield.

In the matter of dharma, in the days of Vedic culture, women stood as

a decisive force in spirituality and the foundation of moral development. There

were also women rishis who revealed the Vedic knowledge to others. For

example, the 126th hymn of the first book of the Rig-Veda was revealed by a

Hindu woman whose name was Romasha; the 179 hymn of the same book was

by Lopamudra, another inspired Hindu woman. There are a dozen names of

woman revealers of the Vedic wisdom, such as Visvavara, Shashvati, Gargi,

Maitreyi, Apala, Ghosha, and Aditi who instructed Indra, one of the Devas, in

the higher knowledge of Brahman. Every one of them lived the ideal life of

spirituality, being untouched by the things of the world. They are called in

Sanskrit Brahmavadinis, the speakers and revealers of Brahman.

3.3 Status of women in Mohul rule

In India, unfortunately these standards have declined primarily due to

the outside influences that have crept in because of foreign invaders, either

militarily or culturally. These foreign invaders who dominated India mostly

looked at women as objects of sexual enjoyment and exploitation, and as the

4
Rig-Veda, 5.61.6

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spoils of war to be taken like a prize. The oppression of women increased in

India because of Mohul rule. As such foreigners gained influence and converts,

decay of the spiritual standards also crept into Indian and Vedic culture. The

educational criteria of Vedic culture also changed and the teaching of the

divinity of motherhood was almost lost. The teaching changed from emphasis

on the development of individual self-reliance to dependence on and service to

others. Thus, competition replaced the pursuit for truth, and selfishness and

possessiveness replaced the spirit of renunciation and detachment. And

gradually women were viewed as less divine and more as objects of

gratification or property to be possessed and controlled

3.4 Status of women in modern India

According India’s constitution, women are legal citizens of the

country and have equal rights with men (Indian Parliament). Because of the

lack of acceptance from the male dominant society, Indian women suffer

immensely. Women are responsible for bearing children, yet they are

malnourished and in poor health. Women overwork in the field and complete

all of the domestic work. Most Indian women are uneducated. Although the

country’s constitution says women have equal status to men, women are

powerless and are mistreated inside and outside the home.

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 India is a society where the male is greatly revered. Therefore

women, especially the young girls, get very little respect and standing in this

country. The women of the household are required to prepare the meal for the

men, who eat most of the food. Only after the males have finished eating, can

the females eat. Typically the leftover food is meager, considering the families

are poor and have little to begin with. This creates a major problem with

malnutrition, especially for pregnant or nursing women. Very few women seek

medical care while pregnant because it is thought of as a temporary condition.

This is one main reason why India’s maternal and infant mortality rates are so

high. Starting from birth, girls do not receive as much care and commitment

from their parents and society as a boy would. For example a new baby girl

would only be breast fed for a short period of time, barely supplying her with

the nutrients she needs. This is so that the mother can get pregnant as soon as

possible in hopes of a son the next time.

Even though the constitution guarantees free primary schooling to

everyone up to 14 years of age (Indian Parliament), very few girls attend

school. Only about 39 percent of all women in India actually attend primary

schools. There are several reasons why families choose not to educate their

daughters. One reason is that parents get nothing in return for educating their

daughters. Another reason is that all the females in a household have the

responsibility of the housework. So even though education does not financially

burden the family, it costs them the time she spends at school when she could

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be doing chores. In addition, even if a woman is educated, especially in the

poorer regions, there is no hope for a job. Most jobs women perform are

agricultural or domestic which do not require a formal education. Another

reason girls are not educated is because families are required to supply a chaste

daughter to the family of her future husband. With over two-thirds of teachers

in India being men and students predominately male, putting daughters in

school, where males surround them all day could pose a possible threat to their

virginity.

Because women are not educated and cannot hold a prestigious job,

they take on the most physically difficult and undesirable jobs. A typical day

for a woman in an agricultural position lasts from 4am to 8pm with only an

hour break in the middle, compared to a man’s day, which is from 5am to 10am

and then from 3pm to 5pm. Most women are overworked with no maternity

leave or special breaks for those who are pregnant. Plus women do the majority

of the manual labor that uses a lot of energy compared to the men who do

mostly machine operating. Even though women work twice as many hours as

men, the men say that “women eat food and do nothing.” This is mainly

because the work the women perform does not require a lot of skill and are

smaller tasks.

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3.5 India’s constitutional dreams towards gender equality

The reality of women’s lives remains invisible to men and women

alike and this invisibility persists at all levels beginning with the family to the

nation. Although geographically men and women share the same space, they

live in different worlds. The mere fact that “Women hold up half the sky”- does

not appear to give them a position of dignity and equality. But in modern India,

much effort has been taken to improve the status of women in the society.

Although efforts have been taken to improve the status of women,

the constitutional dream of gender equality is miles away from becoming a

reality. Even today, ‘the mainstream remains very much a male stream’. The

dominant tendency has always been to confine women and women’s issues in

the private domain. The traditional systems of control with its notion of ‘what

is right and proper for women’ still reigns supreme and reinforces the use of

violence as a means to punish its defiant female ‘offenders’ and their

supporters. Hence it is of no surprise when the National Crime Records Bureau

(NCRB) predicted that the growth rate of crimes against women would be

higher than the population growth rate by 2010. However it is important to

mention that, the data presented here is only a partial reflection of the extent of

crimes against women as most incidents of violence go unreported5.

5
NCRB( National Crime Record Bureau) 2002.

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3.6 Suitability of women for different jobs

The entry of women into publicly structured occupations during the

19th and early 20th century also brought them into contact with another major

social change that characterized the emerging postindustrial society — the

advent of professions. Perkin described this as “the rise of the professional

society”6. It is a fact that women are intelligent, hard-working and efficient in

work. There is no significant evidence that physiological differences between

men and women should prevent women flying combat aircraft7.

They put heart and soul together in whatever they undertake. As

typists and clerks, they are now competing successfully with men. There are

many women working in the Central Secretariat. They are striving very hard to

reach the highest efficiency and perfection in the administrative work. Their

integrity of character is probably better than men. Generally it is found that

women are less susceptible to corruption in form of bribery and favoritism.

They are not only sweet tongued but also honest, efficient and punctual in their

jobs as receptionists, air-hostesses and booking clerks at railway reservation

counters. As a matter of fact they are gradually monopolizing the jobs of

receptionists and air-hostesses.

6
Perkin H. The rise of the professional society: England since 1880. London:Routledge,
1989: xi-xii, 6-9.
7
Davidoff L, Hall C.1987. Family fortunes: men and women of the English middle class,
1780–1850. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1987:260.

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 Another job in which Indian women are doing so well is that of

teachers. In a country like India where millions are groping in the darkness of

illiteracy and ignorance, efficient teaching to the children is very urgently

needed. By virtue of their love and affection for the children, the women have

proved to be the best teachers in the primary and kindergarten schools. They

can understand the psychology of a child better than the male teachers. Small

children in the kindergarten schools get motherly affection from the lady

teachers. It is probably significant that the Montessori system of education is

being conducted mostly by the women in this country8

The status of women in India has been subject to many great changes

over the past few millennia. From equal status with men in ancient times

through the low points of the medieval period, to the promotion of equal rights

by many reformers, the history of women in India has been eventful. In modern

India, women have adorned high offices in India including that of the

President, Prime minister, Speaker of the Lok Sabha etc. These are the strong

evidences for development of women in India. Some examples given below

would illustrate the idea better.

8
Rekha Singh, 2007. Status of women in Indian society, Human rights, M.D.D.College

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Indira Gandhi

The ascension of a woman, Indira Gandhi, to the highest position in

the world's most populous democracy was especially significant for Indian

women, who had traditionally been subservient to men. In addition, she was

also an inspiration to people in many other Third World nations. Under

Gandhi's instructions, she worked in the riot-affected areas of Delhi in 1947.

Associated with numerous organizations, she was Chairman of the Central

Social Welfare Board (1953-7), member of the Working Committee and

Central Election Committee from 1955 and the Central Parliamentary Board

from 1956, and President of the All India Youth Congress from 1956 to 1960.

On Nehru's death in 1964, she was elected to Parliament in his place. After

acting as Minister of Information and Broadcasting (1964-6), Indira Gandhi

became Prime Minister on the death of Lal Shastri in 1966, having toured

India, drawing enormous crowds in her campaign. In 1971, she called for a

general election to seek public support and won by an enormous margin. Indira

will be remembered for her commendable efforts in the development and

progress of science, space exploration, irrigation, as well as policies like the

nationalization of banks and the 20-point program.

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Sarojini Naidu

Sarojini Naidu known by the sobriquet was a child prodigy, freedom

fighter, and poet. Naidu was the first Indian woman to become the President of

the Indian National Congress and the first woman to become the Governor of

Uttar Pradesh.She was active in the Indian Independence Movement, joining

Mahatma Gandhi in the Salt March to Dandi, and then leading the Dharasana

Satyagraha after the arrests of Gandhi, Abbas Tyabji, and Kasturba Gandhi.

Muthulaksmi

A multifaceted personality, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy (1886-1968)

was one of the outstanding Indian women of her time. Reddi was an eminent

medical practitioner, social reformer and Padma Bhushan awardee in India. She

was the first legislator in India. She had several firsts to her credit: she was the

one of the first woman doctors of the country (1912), the first woman member

of the Madras Legislative Council, the first woman to be elected as its Deputy

Chairperson, the first president of the Women’s India Association, and the first

woman to be elected as alderman of the Madras (now Chennai) Corporation.

Muthulakshmi Reddy was concerned about the plight of women and

deeply interested in liberating them. She fought for their upliftment in several

fields. When one of her cousins died of cancer, she took an interest in cancer

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studies and pursued it at the Royal Cancer Hospital in the United Kingdom.

She was instrumental in starting the Cancer Institute in Adyar, Chennai, and

founded the Avvai Home for the benefit of destitute women.

At the top of these achievements, she is known for her political activism

in respect of social issues. First she rose in revolt against child marriage and the

devadasi system. (Under this system, parents “married” off a daughter to a

deity or a temple before she attained puberty. These girls became dancers and

musicians and performed at temple festivals.) In 1930, Muthulakshmi Reddy

introduced in the Madras Legislative Council a Bill on the “prevention of the

dedication of women to Hindu temples in the Presidency of Madras”. The Bill,

which later became the Devadasi Abolition Act, declared the “pottukattu

ceremony” in the precincts of Hindu temples or any other place of worship

unlawful, gave legal sanction to devadasis to contract marriage, and prescribed

a minimum punishment of five years’ imprisonment for those found guilty of

aiding and abetting the devadasi system. The Bill had to wait for over 15 years

to become an Act.

Kumari Mayavathi

Kumari or Miss Mayawati Ji, a serene figure, is affectionately known

and called as Bahenji or Sister by one and all her workers, supporters, well-

wishers as well as officials. President Kumari Mayawati Ji, identified as Iron

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lady and a no-nonsense leader has emerged as a lady of new hope and

aspirations to varied and a wide section of the society, particularly in the state

of Uttar Pradesh, bordering national capital of New Delhi, which most often

guides the political destiny of the country. Committed and fully devoted to the

missionary cause and cherished goal of "Social Transformation & Economic

Emancipation" particularly to the people belonging to "Bahujan Samaj" (that

comprises Backwards, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and Other

backward classes and Sikhs, Muslims, Christians, Buddhists, Parsis of religious

minorities) and the poor from other sections of the society mainly the high

caste people. Kumari Mayawati Ji, a spinster by mission, is regarded in the

Indian politics with respect, reverence and awe as she is the only politician in

the India having a mass appeal and firm hold and command over her voters and

also the charishma to get mass vote bank transferred to any individual and to

any party, a rare thing, of course, in the contemporary Indian politics. She is

working assiduously with a missionary zeal to make them rulers of India, to

usher in here the golden era of Ashoka, the Great.

KR Gowri

K.R.Gowri - Popularly known as Gowri Amma, a prominent figure in

the Communist Movement in Kerala, has played a profound and significant

role in determining the destiny of the state. A relentless and staunch crusader

for the downtrodden, she has proved herself as an efficient administrator while

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remaining a perceptive politician. Starting her public life through trade union

and peasant movements, K.R. Gowri Amma was elected to the Travancore

Council Of Legislative assembly in the Year 1953 and 1954 with an

overwhelming majority. In 1957, when the first elected Communist

Government took office under the Chief Ministership of E.M.S.

Namboodiripad, V.S. Achuthananthan was overtaken by the Communist couple

from Alapuzha - T.V. Thomas and K.R. Gowri Amma, who went on to become

influential Ministers. She became the Revenue Minister in the first EMS

Ministry in 1957. As revenue minister in the first communist ministry, she

piloted the first land reforms bill.

Fatima Beevi

Justice M. Fathima Beevi was the first woman judge to be appointed to the

Supreme Court of India (1989) and the first Muslim woman to be appointed to

any higher judiciary. She is the first woman judge of a Supreme Court of a

nation in India and Asia. On her retirement from the court she served as a

member of the National Human Rights Commission and as Governor in Tamil

Nadu (1997–2001.

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Pratibha Devisingh Patil

Pratibha Devisingh Patil is the 12th and current President of the

Republic of India and first woman to hold the office. Patil represented Edlabad

constituency in Jalgaon District, Maharashtra as a member of the Maharashtra

Legislative Assembly (1962–1985), and was deputy chairwoman of the Rajya

Sabha (1986–1988), Member of Parliament from Amravati in the Lok Sabha

(1991–1996), and the 24th, and the first woman Governor of Rajasthan (2004–

2007)..Pratibha Patil, a member of the Indian National Congress (INC), was

nominated by the ruling United Progressive Alliance and Indian Left. She won

the presidential election held on 19 July 2007 defeating her nearest rival

Bhairon Singh Shekhawat. Smt. Patil assumed office as the 12th President of

India on July 25, 2007. She is the first woman to have been elected to this

august office.

Mamata Banerjee

Mamata Banerjee is an Indian politician from the state of West

Bengal and the current Railway Minister of India. She is the founder and chief

executive of the Trinamool Congress ("Grassroots Congress") political party.

Mamata Banerjee is widely regarded as "Didi" (Bengali word meaning "Elder

Sister") in West Bengal. She started her political career with Congress (I), and

as a young woman in the 1970s, she quickly rose in the ranks of the local

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Congress group, and remained the General Secretary of Mahila Congress, West

Bengal, from 1976 to 1980. In the 1984 general election, she became one of

India's youngest parliamentarians ever, beating veteran Communist politician

Somnath Chatterjee, from the Jadavpur parliamentary Constituency in West

Bengal. She also became the General-Secretary of the All India Youth

Congress. Losing her seat in 1989 in an anti-Congress wave, she was back in

1991 general elections, having settled into the Calcutta South constituency. In

the Rao government formed in 1991, Mamata Banerjee was made the Union

Minister of State for Human Resources Development, Youth Affairs and

Sports, and Women and Child Development. She retained the Kolkata South

seat in the 1996, 1998, 1999, 2004 and 2009 general elections.

Sushma Swaraj

Sushma Swaraj is an Indian politician of the Bharatiya Janata Party

(BJP). Sushma Swaraj began her political career as a student leader in the

1970s, organizing protests against Indira Gandhi's government. She was a

member of the Haryana Legislative Assembly from 1977–82 and then from

1987-90. As a Janata Party MLA in Devi Lal's government, she was the

Cabinet Minister of Labour and Employment (1977–1979). She joined the BJP

in 1980. Under a combined Lok Dal-BJP government led by Devi Lal, she was

the Cabinet Minister of Education, Food and Civil Supplies (1987–1990). She

was elected as a member of the Rajya Sabha in 1990. In 1996, she was elected

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to the 11th Lok Sabha from South Delhi. She was Union Cabinet Minister of

Information and Broadcasting in 1996, during the 13-day Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Government. She was re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha for a 2nd term in 1998.

Under the second Vajpayee government, she retained the Information and

Broadcasting ministry and had additional charge of the Ministry of

Telecommunications from 19 March to 12 October 1998.

She returned to Parliament in April 2000 as a Rajya Sabha member

from Uttarakhand. She was re-inducted into the cabinet as the Minister of

Information and Broadcasting, which she held from September 2000 until

January 2003. At that time, she was made the Minister of Health and Family

Welfare, and also held the post of Minister of Parliamentary Affairs. She held

these posts from January 2003 until May 2004, when the National Democratic

Alliance government lost elections. She was re-elected to the Rajya Sabha in

April 2006 from Madhya Pradesh. She served as the deputy leader of BJP in

Rajya Sabha. Speculation ran high that Sushma Swaraj was one of the top

contenders to be President of the BJP, following Advani's resignation from that

role in late 2005. She won the 2009 election to the 15th Lok Sabha from the

Vidisha constituency in Madhya Pradesh, on a BJP candidacy, by a record

margin of 3.89 lakh votes. She served as the chairperson of the BJP's 19

member campaign committee for the 2009 General Elections. This is her 10th

election. Sushma Swaraj is appointed as leader of the opposition party and

replaced Lal Krishna Advani in December 2009 in the 15th Lok Sabha.

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PT Usha

Pilavulakandi Thekkeparambil Usha, the first Indian woman (and the

fifth Indian) to reach the final of an Olympic event by winning her 400 m

hurdles semi final. In the 10th Asian Games held at Seoul in 1986, P.T.Usha

kept the flag of India flying high by winning 4 gold and 1 silver medal in the

track and field events. Here she created new Asian Games records in all the

events she participated. P.T.Usha also won the most medals at a single

championship -six at Jakartha in 1985. Her five gold at the Sixth Asian Track

and Field Championship is also a record for the most number of gold medals by

a single athlete in a single international meet. She was the first Indian woman

runner to have the honour of coming at the 4th place in the history of Olympics

missing a bronze medal by 1/100 of a second. She won 17 medals -13 gold , 3

silver and a bronze in four Asian Track and Field Championship during the

period from 1983-89.Usha has won 101 international medals so far. At present

she is employed as an officer in the Southern Railway.

Shakuntala Devi

Shakuntala Devi, is generally known as a 'Human Computer' because

of her extraordinary talents in solving complex mathematical problems without

any mechanical aid. She also found her place in the Guinness book of records

as a result of her extraordinary talents. Nowadays, apart from solving

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mathematical problems, she is utilising her amazing talent in the field of

astrology. On 18 June 1980, Shakuntala Devi gave the product of two thirteen

digit figures after multiplying them within 28 seconds. Many countries have

invited Shakuntala Devi to demonstrate her extraordinary talent. Today, she is

acclaimed as an accomplished mathematician.

Malleswari

Malleswari, is the Indian weightlifter from Andhra Pradesh. She

became the First Indian woman ever to win an Olympic medal. She won bronze

in 69kg category at Sydney Olympic 2000. She has also won gold in Istanbul

World Championship (1994) and Asian Championships (54-kg category) at

Pusan, Korea (1995). In World Weightlifting Championship at Guangzhou

(China) on November 19, 1995 Malleswari set a new world record by winning

three golds in 54-kg category. She was awarded 'Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna

Award' in 1994-95.

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3.7 Summary

In India, during the Vedic period there was no gender discrimination.

The women were respected by the male members in the family. The women

also took part in the teaching profession just like the male. The discrimination

against women started only in the Mohul period. The gender discrimination

was highly dominant in this period even the minimum freedom was also denied

to the female members in the family. This situation continued unchanged even

in the British ruling period. But after the independence, the leaders in India

thought of women and framed the constitution to eradicate this gender

discrimination. They strictly implement the various constitutional setups to

bring gender equality between male and female and try to improve the

condition of women through education and awareness to get them equal rights.

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