Freedom Enjoyed By Women:
The degree of freedom given to ladies to require join in activities indicates the character of the position enjoyed by ladies throughout vedic period. ladies never ascertained “purdah”. They enjoyed freedom. They enjoyed freedom in choosing their male partner. they might educate themselves Widows were allowable to remarry. Divorce was but not permissible to them.yet men did not have the right to divorce their wifes.
Equal Educational opportunities for women:
Daughters were never badly treated though male children were most popular to female kids. They additionally received education like boys and went through the “Brahmaachary” discipline as well as the “Upanayasa” ritual. women studied the sacred writing like men and a few of them like Lopamudra, Ghosa and Sikata-Nivavari figure among the authors of the sacred text hymns.
Position of Women in Matters about wedding and Family Affairs:
Marriage within the vedic period was thought-about a social and spiritual duty and united the couple on an equal looting. women had the correct to stay spinsters throughout their life. wedding wasn't forcibly imposed on them child marriages were unknown. ladies got in wedding solely when puberty that too after finishing their education girls had the right to choose their life-partners.
Often there have been also love marriages called “Gandharva vivaha”. Monogamy was the form of wedding throughout the vedic days. re-marriage of widows was allowed. These are variety of references to custom of “Niyoga” where a brother or the nearest relative of a deceased husband may marry the widow with the permission of the elders.
Niyoga was mainly practiced to get a child for continuing the family tradition. Rig-Veda accepted the right of a spinster to inherit her father’s property. The practice of “Sati” is no where stated in the Rig-Veda. The practice of taking dowry was there but it was only symbolic. It had not emerged as a social evil.
In family matters, though the custom and tradition invested the husband with greater powers in the management of the household, still in many respects they were regarded as equal of their husbands. Joint heads of the family considered as the both husband and wife. However the wife was likely to influence to the husband serving him within the performance of his duties as well as the spiritual ones.
Financial Production and occupational Freedom:
Vedic women had financial freedom. a few women were engaged in teaching work. Home was the place of production. Spinning and weaving of garments were done at home. Women also helped their husbands in agricultural purists.
Property Rights and Inheritance:
Women rights were very much limited in inheriting property. A married daughter had no share in her father’s property but each spinster was entitled to one-fourth share of patrimony received by her brothers. Women had control over gifts and property etc. received by a woman at the time of marriage but the bulk of the family property was under the control and management of the patriarch.
A woman as a wife had no direct share in her husband’s property. However, a ditched wife was allowed to 1/3rd of her husband’s wealth. A widow was relied upon to lead an ascetic life and had no part in her husband’s property. Thus it could be generalized that the social circumstance was not in favour of women having property and but assurance was given to them as daughters and wives.
Role within the spiritual Field:
In the spiritual field, married woman enjoyed full rights and frequently participated in spiritual ceremonies together with her husband. spiritual ceremonies and sacrifices were performed jointly by the husband and the wife. girls even participated actively in spiritual discourses. There was no bar for ladies to browse or study any of our sacred literature.
Women role in public Life:
Women could shine as debaters publically assemblies. they sometimes occupied a prominent place in social gatherings however they were denied entry, into the “Sabhas” as a result of these places besides being used for taking political selections were conjointly used for gambling, drinking and such others purposes. Women’s participation publically meetings and debates, however, became less and less common in later religious writing amount.
It may thus be concluded that in vedic india, girls didn't enjoy an inferior status rather they occupied an honourable place.
They had ample rights within the social and the spiritual fields and limited rights within the economic and the political fields. They weren't treated as inferior or subordinate however up to men.
Status of women throughout the Epic period:
The Epic India women enjoyed an admirable position at home. Both Ramayana and Mahabharata Epics had given a respectable place for women; women had been known as the foundation of Dharma, prosperity and enjoyment in each the epics.
We find vast references of the expression of courage, strong self-will and valour of women like Kaikeye, Sita, Rukmani, Satyabhama, Sabitri, Draupadi and others.
The wonderful illustration for the Hindu ideal woman Sanskrit literature could be a glorious, it glorifies the importance of “Pativrata” and idealises woman as one of the primary honoured aspects of our heritage. The Mahabharata also outlines the duties and therefore the attitude of the wife to the husband.
Women during the Period of Dharmashatras and Purans:
Throughout the Dharmashastras and puranas period the status of women progressively declined and underwent a significant modification. the girls were underprivileged of education daughters were regarded as second class citizens. women freedom was reduced.
Sons got a lot of weightage than daughters women were prevented from learning the Vedas, Manu, the law giver of Indian society gave the statement that women have to be underneath father during childhood, underneath her husband during youth and underneath her son during old age”. At no stage shall she deserve freedom.however he balanced this with the statement that a society within which the lady was not worthy.
Due to the various limit obligatory on the liberty of women some issues started creeping in. within the social fields, pre-puberty wedding came to be practiced, widow wedding was prohibited, husband was given the status of God for a woman, education was fully denied to woman, custom of ‘Sati’ became increasingly prevalent, purdah system came into vogue and practice of polygyny came to be tolerated.
In the economic field a woman was totally denied a share in her husband’s property by maintaining that a wife and a slave cannot own property. In the religious field, she was forbidden to offer sacrifices and prayers, practise penance and undertake pilgrimages.
Factors That Caused the Degradation of Women:
The renounced sociologist has identified some reasons for the low position of female in post Vedic period. Rigid limitations enforced by the caste system and the combined family system, lack of educational facilities for women, introduction of the non-Aryan wife into the Aryan house hold and foreign invasions.
Women in the Buddhist Period:
The women status improved a little during the Buddhist period though there was no tremendous change. some of the rigidities and restrictions imposed by the caste system were relaxed. Buddha preached equality and he tried to improve the cultural, educational and religious statuses of women.
During the benevolent rule of the well-known Buddhist rulers such as Chandragupta Maurya, Ashoka, Sri Harsha and others, women recovered a part of their lost liberty and position due to the relatively broadminded Buddhist viewpoint.
Women were not only limited to domestic work but also they could option to an educational profession if they so desired. In the spiritual field women came to occupy a distinctly greater place. Women were allowed to become “Sanyasis”. Many women took a important role in Buddhist monastic-life, women had their sangha known as the Bhikshuni Sangha, which was guided by the similar rules and regulations as those of the monks. The sangha opened to them avenues of cultural activities and social service and ample opportunities for public life. Their political and economic status, however, remained unchanged.
