STATUS OF WOMEN IN INDIA

1. STATUS OF WOMEN IN INDIA

Early Vedic Period
 In Early Vedic period, there was no discrimination between man and a woman.
 In Rig-Vedic society education was equally open for boys and girls. Girls
studied the Veda and fine arts. They were sent to Gurukulas to master various
subjects such as theology, philosophy, medicine, etc.
 Initiation ceremony or Upanayana ceremony was performed for girls as well. It
was believed that if a girl is initiated into vedic studies then she would have a
successful married life.
 There were two categories of students. Brahmavadinis and Satyavadinis.
Brahmavadinis were women who devoted their life in learning and chose not
to get married. They were lifelong students. They became prophets and have
contributed numerous hymns in Rig Veda. Prominent among them are Ghosa,
Apala, Visvara, etc. Along with these women, there are other women who have
contributed to Rig Veda such as Gargi, Pratitheyi, Maitreyi, Lopamudra.
 Satyavadinis were those women who studied with the purpose of getting
married. They studied till the age of 15-16 after which they would get married.
Their education would be based on the rituals and necessary subjects required
for life after marriage. They enjoyed freedom in selecting their mates. But
divorce was not permissible to them.
 Niyoga was common, where a woman was allowed to spend time with her
husband’s brother for off-spring.
 Remarriage of widows was also permitted.
 Vidatha was an assembly in which both men and women participated. Women
attended the sabha and vidatha in Rig Vedic times. She also took part in the
proceedings of the tribal assemblies called sabha and samiti.

Later Vedic Period

 In later Vedic period a gradual decline took place in the status of women
primarily due to importance given to sons as the carriers of family lineage and
inheritance of family property. Women began to be confined to the domestic
sphere.
 Manusmrithi and Yognovolkya Smriti- the two well known Dharmasastras laid
down the codes of conduct that placed heavy restrictions on women’s mobility
and freedom.
 Evil practices such as early marriages, denial of education, ban on widow
remarriage, and sati degraded the position of women to total subordination.
 6th Century BC

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INDIAN SOCIETY AND SCOIAL JUSTICE
SHIKARA ACADEMY
  During the period of Jainism and Buddhism women were far more respected
than during later Vedic period. Both these religions gave importance for
women to participate in religious activities.

Medieval Age
 The medieval age saw the rise of Islam in India.
 The practise of purdah associated with Islam was adopted in Hinduism which
led to physical and social isolation of women.
 The Muslim personal law that governed rights of divorce, inheritance and
maintenance, resulted in further decline of status of women.

Modern Period
 Introduction of English education led to development of independent thinking
and rationalisation of traditions.
 Women education improved her role as wife and mother within the family.
 Many educated men started agitating against social evils that were responsible
for decline in the status of women.
 This led to evolution of women movements in India

Present status of women in India

 Women today are to a large extent free from the Social evils like sati, ban on
widow re-marriage and on that dominated the pre-independence society.
 In the modern time, women in India are given freedom and rights such as
freedom of expression and equality as well as the right to be educated. Various
prestigious positions of this period are held by women. They are enjoying the
‘ladies first’ facility in different fields.
 Women are educated about the social benefits including awareness about the
existing social problems in the society, good recognition and image in the
family and community, role in making important decision in their family,
planning and promotion of better education for their children, taking care of
health of the aged and the children.
 Problems such as dowry killings, rape, acid throwing, domestic violence, sex
selective abortion, forced prostitution, female infanticide are still prevalent.
 The Government of India declared 2001 as the Year of Women’s
Empowerment (Swashakti). The National Policy for the Empowerment of
Women was passed in 2001. National Policy for Women 2016 (Draft) has been
proposed
 Most women are given a chance of finishing their education to the degree
level. They are discouraged from getting married and raising a family when
they are young. There are various scholarships that benefits women in India to

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INDIAN SOCIETY AND SCOIAL JUSTICE
SHIKARA ACADEMY
 achieve their career by going back to school or various training institutions
where they can continue their education.
 Women who have the desire to improve their lives are allowed to take these
grants from the government and NGO’s to empower themselves and have
special quota to be sanctioned in schemes such as MUDRA Yojana to empower
women and their entrepreneurship.
 The government of India set aside some reasonable amount of money which
women who have business ideas can borrow in order to start businesses.
Women are encouraged to start small business in order to have their own
source of income thus they become independent.
 In most Indian families, women do not own any property in their own names,
and do not get a share of parental property. Due to weak enforcement of laws
protecting them, women continue to have little access to land and property. In
fact, some of the laws discriminate against women, when it comes to land and
property rights. The Hindu personal laws of 1956 (applying to Hindus,
Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains) gave women right to inheritance.

However, sons had an independent share in the ancestral property, while the
daughter’s shares is based on the share received by their father. In 1986, the
Supreme Court of India ruled that Shah Bano, an elderly divorced Muslim woman,
was eligible for maintenance money. However, the decision was opposed by
fundamentalist Muslim leaders, who alleged that the court was interfering in their
personal law. The Union Government subsequently passed the Muslim Women’s
(Protection of Rights Upon Divorce) Act. Similarly, Christian women have struggled
over years for equal rights in divorce and succession. In 1994, all churches, jointly
with women’s organisations, drew up a draft law called the Christian Marriage and
Matrimonial Causes Bill. However, the government has still not amended the relevant
laws.

Statistics Related to Status of Women

Literacy Rate of India 2011
1. As per Census 2011, the population of India is 1210.19 million comprising 586.47
million (48.5%) females and 623.72 million (51.5%) males. Females have a share of
48.1% in the urban population and of 48.6% in the rural population.
2. Literacy rate has increased from 64.83% in 2001 to 74.04% in 2011.
Males : 444,203,762
Females : 334,250,358
Male literacy: 82.14%
Female literacy: 65.46%
1. The Female literacy is highest in Kerala 91.98% and Mizoram 89.40%
2. Lowest female literacy is in Rajasthan 52.66%.

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INDIAN SOCIETY AND SCOIAL JUSTICE
SHIKARA ACADEMY
3. In the age group 0 to 6 years, the share of female child population is 47.8% of the
total child population in that age group. Among the States, this share varies between
45.4% (Haryana) and 49.3% (Mizoram).
4. The sex ratio (number of women per 1000 men) is 940 in 2011 which shows
continued improvement over the sex ratios of 927 in 1991 and 933 in 2001. Among
the States, in Census 2011, Kerala has the highest sex ratio of 1084 and Haryana has
the lowest of 877.
5. The mean age at effective marriage for females stands at 21 years in 2010. Among
the major States, the highest mean age at effective marriage is 22.6 years for Kerala
and the lowest is 20.1 years for Rajasthan.
6. Of the 48.7% never married persons in 2010, women had a share of 43.8%
compared with 53.5% for men.
7. Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has come down from 3.2 in 1999 to 2.5 in 2010. The
General Fertility Rate (GFR) during the same period has decreased from 103.2 to 83.9.
8. Historically, the age specific mortality rate is the lowest for both males and females
in the age group 10 to 14 years. The mortality rate among females across all ages is
6.7 and that among males is 7.7 for the year 2010.
9. Out of 150.18 million households in the rural areas in 2004 05, 16.67 million
(11.1%) are Female Headed Households. In the urban sector, out of the total of 56.97
million households, 4.85 million (10.9%) are Female Headed.
10. Life Expectancy at Birth (LEB) has increased more among women compared to
men. It is observed that in 2002–06 LEB for males was 62.6 years compared to 64.2
years for females.

4 COMPILED BY: M.DEEPIKA REDDY

INDIAN SOCIETY AND SCOIAL JUSTICE
SHIKARA ACADEMY