Introduction

You can tell the condition of a nation by looking at the status of its women. - Jawaharlal Nehru1
The status of women in any civilization shows the stage of evolution at which, the civilization has arrived. The term 'status' includes not only personal and proprietary rights but also duties, liabilities and disabilities. In the case of a Indian woman, it means her personal rights, proprietary rights, her duties, liabilities and disabilities vis--vis the society and her family members. In the year 1 !", the #onstitution of India came into e$istence. It not only declared that men and women are e%ual, but also prohibited any &ind of discrimination against women. 'hat message does this convey to us ( that men and women are e%ual) Is it not* Then we might start wondering why is it necessary to tal& about status of women, in particular .+es ,it is true that in our constitution provides that men and women should have e%ual opportunities. The movement for gaining e%ual opportunities has a history of more than two centuries. ,ue to efforts of social reformers, women-s movements and the #onstitution of India, hurdles to women-s liberation have been removed. .ut in reality, the obstacles to the emancipation of women have not all been eliminated. This is because, many of the problems , are not yet solved. 'ith the help of available sources of information we can try to construct a picture of the way the status of women saw ups and downs during different periods of history. In fact, tracing the status of women in India from a historical perspective is not an easy tas& because systematic documentation on the position of women in different social group at different points of time began only recently. /sing authentic sources of information an attempt is made to analyze the status of women during different periods of history .'e have divided this into three ma0or periods1 Ancient, Medieval and Modern.
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3tatus of 'omen 4age no.

Statement of problem
'ith the help of pro0ect we can try to construct a picture of the way the status of women saw ups and downs during different period of history.

Objectives
To identify the different period in history through which our society passed. To state the position of women during the 5edic and epic periods. To describe the position of women during the period of ,harmashastras. To visualize the situations of women during the medieval age. To analyse the position of women in India after independence.

Hypothesis
'omen constitute not only half the world population but also sway the growth of the reaming half .They produce half the world-s food supply and account for 6"7 of the wor&ing force but comprise only about 8"7 of the official labour force, receive benefits of only 1"7 of the world-s economy and surprisingly own less than 17 of the world-s real estate .They have little access to productive resources and negligible control over family income. This discrimination is the result of the gender bias which forms an inherent part of global society.

Methods of study
The data collection is mainly through secondary sources.
3tatus of 'omen 4age no. 9

Ancient period
3tatus of women during the ancient period is presented under three broad sub periods listed below. These, however, do not follow a chronological se%uence. :ncient Indians are changed with a lac& of historic sense. They did not write history as it is written today.9 The 5edic period The period of the ;pics The age of ,harmashastras

The Vedic period

. : widow was permitted to marry as is demonstrated by the prevalent practice of a widow marrying the younger brother of her deceased husband. In short, it can be said that to an e$tent women in the early 5edic 4eriod lived in a liberal social atmosphere. The earliest &nown source of information available about ancient India is the <ig 5eda. The period between 1!""-1""" ..#. is identified as the early 5edic or the <ig 5edic period. Though we may not clearly state that this age was characterized by total e%uality between men and women, it is evident from available data sources that many liberal attitudes and practices pertaining to women e$isted during this period. 'omen too&
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3tatus of 'omen 4age no.

part in religious and social activities and they had some freedom to choose their partner in marriage. @arriage was not compulsory for women. The daughter was not considered a liability or an unwelcome guest in her parental household. Cirls would also be initiated into 5edic studies. The <ig 5edic :ryans were patriarchal. The position of a husband was considered superior to that of his wife. 4olygamy was permissible

The Period of the

pics

,ated broadly to twelfth century ..#., the @ahabharata is older than the <amayana, believed to be dated to fifth century ..#. The two great epics, <amayana and @ahabharata have played &ey roles in moulding DshapingE the ideology DbeliefsE of Bindus as well as their attitudes toward women. It thus becomes important to discuss the portrayal of women in the two epics when we are discussing the status of women. The two great epics <amayana and @ahabharata have a strong influence on Indian society. ;ven today girls are being brought up to follow in the footsteps of 3ita, the wife of <ama. 3ita is considered the ideal Bindu women because she surrendered all her personal desires and followed <ama to the forest. =n the other hand, ,raupadi, the central female character of @ahabharata is a woman who e$hibits a greater sense of independence and courage. 3ita of <amayana and ,raupadi of @ahabharata are well &nown today. In spite of their sub0ugated status vis--vis their husbands, they are universally respected and have become role-models. The self imposed blindness of Candhari as a mar& of respect of her blind husband did not lower her status as a %ueen, In fact, she gives out the message that a respectable wife is one who humbles herself vis--vis husband. :ncient India-s march to civilization was accompanied by the growth of social discriminations
.The

A!e of "harmashastras

3tatus of 'omen 4age no.

,uring the age of ,harmashastras codes of conduct, which served as the base for prescribing behaviour norms also for women were evolved. These belongs to a large body of secular literature, compiled in !""-9"" ..#. This period saw the e$clusion Dleaving outE of women from both economic and religious sphere. 3ince education was virtually denied to women they had to be dependent on men for their survivals and maintenance. The concept that women were inferior to men gained ground and women were pushed to a state of utter despair and ignorance. This period was also characterized by consolidation of religious customs and caste system assuming rigid proportions. The ,harmashastras prescribed codes of conduct, which regulated not only family life but also life in society at large. They also prescribed punishments for violation of these codes of conduct. The two most important authoritative law codes of this period were @anu 3mriti and +agnaval&ya 3mriti. @anu 3mriti upheld the view that a women did not deserve freedom at any point of time in her life D>a 3tree 3watantramarhatiE. @anu-s view was that Ga women in her childhood is dependent on her father, in her youth on her husband, and in her old age on her son-. This view of @anu was not 0ust a theoretical idea but also a practice followed by the society of that period. The same @anu also said that Gwhere women are respected, there the Cods delight-. This is a statement, which is in clear contradiction of his pronouncement about women not deserving any freedom. +agnaval&ya laid down that parents who did not get their daughters married before they attained the age of puberty would be committing an unpardonable sin. The ,harmashastras planted the impression that an unmarried woman could never attain salvation from these worldly obligations if she remarried single. :s a result, marriage same to be considered an unavoidable ritual for a woman. 'hile girls had to be married at a very tender age no such
3tatus of 'omen 4age no. !

restrictions were imposed on men. The husband was given the right to enforce the obedience of his wife by resorting to physical punishment. ,uring the period of ,harmashastra, child marriage was encouraged and widow marriage loo&ed down upon. The birth of a girl came to be considered an ill omen and many parents went to the e$treme e$tent of &illing their female infants. The practice of 3ati became %uite wide spread because of the ill treatment meted out to widows. It was during the period of the ,harmashastras that the status of women completely deteriorated. 'omen led a life of total sub0ugation DsubordinationE and had virtually lost all hopes of emancipation DfreedomE.This situation more or less continued until the 1 th century when the social reform movements launched a struggle to improve the condition of women.

The Medieval period

The 11th century saw the emergence of Islam, which created hopes of promoting the interests of the oppressed groups, but it also introduced certain values and practices, which did not help to enhance the status of women or emancipate them from their bondage. The system of 4urdah Dusing a veil to cover the head2face2entire body2mostly remaining indoorsE, which was generally prevalent among royal families, nobles and merchant prince classes prior to the advent of @uslims spread to other classes also. These customary practices of the upper castes, particularly the twice born castes were considered as the practices of all Bindus. The lower castes gradually adopted upper castes customs. The strict observance of purdaah resulted in the seclusion of women from men who did not belong to their family and also the world outside. @arriage was a contract among the @uslims and it was a man-s prerogative to divorce his wife. In a system, where there was no
3tatus of 'omen 4age no. 6

provision for payments of alimony Dmaintenance after divorceE, the wife was to fend for herself. :mong the @uslim marriage, divorce or inheritance %uestions are decided as per the provisions contained in the @uslim 4ersonal ?aw D3hariatE. ;ven today, in the absence of a uniform civil code, 3hariat governs @uslim family life. The fact that a large number of @uslim women have still not been able to access opportunities for education leaves them at the mercy of rigid patriarchal values and practices. ,uring the medieval period, practices such as polygamy Dthe marriage in which a man has more than one wifeE, sati, child marriage, ill-treatment of widows already prevalent during the ,haramashastra age gained further momentum. The priestly class misinterpreted the sacred te$ts to their advantage and created an impression that all these evil practices had religious sanction. 3ince women are denied the right to education and &ept away from participation in life outside the home, they could neither &now the reality nor %uestion the e$isting practices.

Modern Period
The modern period began with the onset of the 1 th century The .ritish came to India in 16"" :.,. Aor nearly 9"" years in their ;ast India #ompany incarnation there was no real effort made to address %uestions of social ine%uality or social oppression. 3uch evils such as sati, suppression of widows, denial of the right to education for women, and child marriage flourished unchec&ed. 'ith the dawn of the 1 th century an era of change began and it was during this period that many efforts were made both by .ritish rulers and progressive sections of Indian society to put an end to social evils. The @odern :ge can be classified into two1 The .ritish period D1H""-1 FIE
I

3tatus of 'omen 4age no.

 The 4eriod after Independence D1 FI- till date E ?et us begin with .ritish 4eriod first.

The #ritish Period

The .ritish set in motion an era of social reform when they imposed a ban on the inhuman practice of 3ati in the year 1H9 . The famous social reformer <a0a <am mohan <oy-s fight against sati received a positive response from the then Covernor Ceneral ?ord 'illiam .entic& who too& the lead on enacting the 3ati prohibition :ct. <eligious fundamentalists and traditionalists put up a stiff resistance to this act by claiming that the .ritish government had meddled with a custom sanction by religion. .ut the voices of reason and the .ritish government refused to withdraw the :ct. Bowever, a distinction was made between voluntary sati and forced sati. :lso, the passage did not put an end to the practice of sati because of ban on widow marriage and lac& of opportunities for education, women who were rescued form the practice of 3ati had to undergo a great deal of suffering. @any widows preferred to die, because life held no meaning for them. It was this plight of the young and tortured widows that moved 'est .engal-s great reformer Ishwar #handra 5idyasagar, who led the movement for lifting the ban on widow marriage. ,ue to these efforts the 'idow <emarriage :ct of 1H86 was passed. Though there was no significant increase in the number of widow marriages, the passage of this act paved the way for ending a longstanding oppressive custom. 3ocial approval of widow marriage was also not forthcoming immediately. 5idyasagar had to often bear the wrath DangerE of hostile fundamentalists, who did not even hesitate to hurl physical assaults on him for his role in lifting the ban on widow marriage. .ut the great scholar and truly progressive human beings, that he was, 5idyasagar went ahead with his progressive reforms. The role of 5idyasagar in prompting the cause of women's education also deserves special mention.
3tatus of 'omen 4age no. H

The social reform movement, which started in 'est .engal, spread to other parts of India too. Jyoti ba 4hule the great reformer from @aharashtra dedicated his life for the cause of women. Be started a school for girls in 1HFH and in 1H!9 established the first school for ,alit girls. Be also supported widow marriage and started a home for protecting the children of widows. 'omen's education got a fillip DboostE in @aharashtra from @aharshi Karve who was a pioneer in establishing educational institutions for girls and women. This period saw immense philanthropic activity by any Indians in different parts of the country. There were also a number of other progressive pieces of legislation during the .ritish period, prominent among these being the #hild @arriage <estraint :ct of 1 9 . @any of the woes of women were rooted in child marriage. The pre-independence era of the twentieth century was also remar&able for one more reason. The large-scale participation of women in the freedom movement both as visible and invisible freedom fighters was a standing testimony not only their courage but also to their capacities. Candhi0i, under whose leadership women participated in the nationalist movement opposed such practices as child marriage and dowry. '3wara0 without social reform was not a meaningful proposition' was Candhi0i's view. The .ritish period saw the rise of social reform movements which too& up the issue of gender ine%uality, primarily by passing laws that reformed barriers to women's emancipation. Though wide spread changes did not ta&e place, the stage was definitely set for launching a struggle for creation of a gender 0ust society. Independence brought new hopes and led to the creation of departments and launching of scheme, meant e$clusively for improvement in the status of women

The period after independence

3tatus of 'omen 4age no.

:fter India got her Independence the #onstitution of India laid the foundation for creating a social order where men and women are treated as e%uals. 'hile :rticle 1F of the #onstitution conferred e%ual rights and opportunities on men and women, :rticle 1! D1E prohibited discrimination against any citizen on grounds of se$. The #onstitution, though :rticle 1! D8E also laid down that the state can ma&e special provision for women. :ccording to :rticle 16 D9E no citizen shall be discriminated against in respect of any employment in office under the state. The ,irective 4rinciples of 3tate 4olicy prescribed that i. @en and women e%ually have the right to ade%uate means of livelihood. ii. There is e%ual pay for e%ual wor& for both men and women. iii. The health and strength of women wor&ers cannot be abused. iv. 4rovision should be made for securing 0ust and humane conditions of wor& and for maternity. : number of laws were also implemented for liberating women from oppressive social customs and protecting their rights. 4rominent of these laws are as follows 1 i. The Bindu @arriage :ct, 1 !

ii. The Bindu 3uccession :ct, 1 !6 iii. The ,owry 4rohibition :ct, 1 61 iv. The @aternity .enefit :ct, 1 61 v. The ;%ual <emuneration :ct, 1 I6 vi. The Indecent <epresentation of 'omen D4rohibitionE :ct, 1 H6

3tatus of 'omen 4age no.

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$han!es in the recent millennia%

#onstitutional provision and a series of laws have actually paved the way for bringing out ma0or changes in the lives of women. Though women have been enfranchised, their age-long social subordination continues to prevail in any forms. In the 6! years following India's independence, the position of women on different indicators of development such as education of life e$pectancy has improved considerably, but there are still gaps in such areas of access to health care or wor& participation. There are yet several causes of worry. ?et us start by ta&ing a loo& at se$ ratio. 3e$ ratio refers to the number of females per 1,""" males. Table 1 will give you information on how many women there were2are per 1,""" men during the different census periods. Table 1 : Sex ratio in India
#ensus +ear @ale Aemale

1 "1 1 11 1 91 1 81

1""" 1""" 1""" 1"""

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3tatus of 'omen 4age no.

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1 F1 1 !1 1 61 1 I1 1 H1 1 1

1""" 1""" 1""" 1""" 1""" 1""" 1""" 1"""

F! F6 F1 8" 8F 9I 88 F"

9""1 9"11

India's se$ ratio, which stood at I9 women per 1""" men in 1 "1 had declined to 9I per 1""" by 1 1. Bowever, in the 9"11, census there has been almost same increase in the se$ ratio ,i.e., F" women per 1""" men whereas in the year 9""1 it was 88 women per 1""" men. There are also wide variations between different states. Kerala and 4ondicherry are the only states where there are more women then men. The sharp decline in the number of female infants D"-19 monthsE and girl children D1-6 yearsE in almost all the states of the country is a cause for concern. ?ife e$pectancy at birth for females increased from 98.8 in 1 "1 to 61.H years by 1 I to 68.6 years in 9""6 and this indeed is a heartening development.F Aemale literacy increased from 8 .F9 per cent in 1 in 9""1 and to 6!.F6 per cent in the year 9"11. 1 to !F.16 per cent

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The data in Table 9 will show you that in 6F years after the country became independent female literacy increased only at marginal pace.

#ensus +ears

4erson

@ale

Aemale

1 !1 1 61 1 I1 1 H1 1 1

1H.88 9H.81 8F.F! F8.!6 !9.11 6!.8H IF."F

9I.66 F".F" F!. ! !6.8I 68.H6 I!.H! H9.1F

H.H6 1!.8F 91. I 9 .I! 8 .F9 !F.16 6!.F6

9""1 9"11

Improved access to education has helped many women overcome the obstacles to their illiteracy. :n increasing number of women are now getting opportunities for not only ac%uiring s&ills but also enhancing their income earning capacities. In spite of the increase in the percentage of literacy, there are differences among states in ma&ing use of educational opportunities. 'hile states li&e Kerala, @aharashtra, Coa, @izoram, Tamil >adu and many of the north eastern states and the /nion Territories have recorded a significant rise in literacy, states li&e <a0asthan, Jhar&hand, are still on the lower side. It is also true that school drop out rates rise sharply in higher primary and high school levels. This is primarily due to the emphasis being given for preparing girls for shouldering family responsibilities. In spite of the programme of free compulsory primary education being in e$istence for nearly fifty
3tatus of 'omen 4age no. 18

years, a large number of girls are not able to ma&e use of these opportunities on account of domestic burden and economic constraints.! 'hile the law tightens its hold on offenders responsible for incidence of violence against women, in actual practice cases of violence against women are also on the increase. This is indeed a disturbing trend, which cannot be ta&en lightly, however, it is also true that there is growing awareness among women of their rights and there is strong women-s movement, which has been addressing %uestions of gender ine%uality and gender in0ustice. .ut, the movement for women-s emancipation has to touch the lives of larger section of India-s population if there has to be real change in position of women.

$onclusion
The problem is not only e$ternal but intrinsic too. The sociopsychological ma&eup of most rural and many urban women has been shaped and moulded by more than a century of patriarchal beliefs and a family system where the man Din form of father or husbandE is the e%uivalent of Cod. The feeling of inferiority has been embedded in their psyche so much so that far from condemning acts of violence against them they are more li&ely to throttle the voices in favour of them. This is part of the clichMd vicious circle of illiteracy and social bac&wardness that accounts for all the resultant bac&wardness of the gender. /nless social activism groups ta&e these factors into consideration and delve deeper into the social realm of this problem, there is little that can be done. The government, police and the related authorities need to understand the poignancy of their role. @ost of all, men and women need to be aware of the much hyped e%uality of se$es and need to respect the same. 3ince ours is not a gender-stratified society in the literal sense, both se$es need to learn how to live in co-operation and harmony. The patriarchal heads of society need to answer what the poet 4. 3helley as&ed centuries ago in one of his very famous writings -

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N#an

man

be

free

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woman

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