Women in India have experienced both equal status and discrimination throughout history. While ancient India saw greater equality and women could choose their own husbands, the medieval period saw practices like sati, child marriage, and bans on widow remarriage deteriorate women's status. In modern India, women have achieved high political offices but still face issues like dowry deaths, child marriage, female feticide, domestic violence, and low social status imposed by practices like purdah and devadasis. Reported crimes against women are rising and India remains a dangerous place for women due to acid attacks, sexual harassment, and a culture where domestic violence is still widely accepted.
4. Women in India
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 and Leader of the Opposition.
6. History
Ancient India
• Scholars believe that in ancient India, the women
enjoyed equal status with men in all fields of life
• Rig vedic verses suggest that the women married
at a mature age and were probably free to select
their husband
• There are very few texts specifically dealing with
the role of women; an important exception is
the Stri Dharma Paddhati of Tryambakayajvan, an
official at Thanjavur around c.1730.
7. Although reformatory
movements such as
Jainism allowed women to
be admitted to the
religious order, by and
large, the women in India
faced confinement and
restrictions.
The practice of child
marriages is believed to
have started from around
sixth century.
8. Medieval period
• The Indian woman's position in
the society further deteriorated
during the medieval period
when sati among some
communities, child marriages
and a ban on widow
remarriages became part of
social life among some
communities in India.
• In spite of these conditions,
some women excelled in the
fields of politics, literature,
education and religion
9. Historical practices
• Traditions among some communities such as
sati, jauhar, and devadasi have been banned
and are largely defunct in modern India.
• However, some cases of these practices are
still found in remote parts of India.
• The purdah is still practised by Indian women
among some communities, and child marriage
remains prevalent despite it being an illegal
practice, especially under current Indian laws.
10. • Sati is an old, largely defunct custom, among
some communities in which the widow was
immolated alive on her husband's funeral pyre.
• Although the act was supposed to be a voluntary
on the widow's part, it is believed to have been
sometimes forced on the widow.
• It was abolished by the British in 1829. There
have been around forty reported cases of sati
since independence.
• In 1987, the Roop Kanwar case of Rajasthan led
to The Commission of Sati (Prevention) Act.
11. • Jauhar refers to the practice of the voluntary
immolation of all the wives and daughters of
defeated warriors, in order to avoid capture and
consequent by the enemy.
• The practice was followed by the wives of
defeated Rajput rulers, who are known to place
a high premium on honour.
Jauhar
12. Purdah
• Purdah is the practice among some communities
of requiring women to cover their bodies so as to
cover their skin and conceal their form.
• It imposes restrictions on the mobility of women,
it curtails their right to interact freely and it is a
symbol of the subordination of women.
• It does not reflect the religious teachings of
either Hinduism or Islam, contrary to common
belief, although misconception has occurred due
to the ignorance and prejudices of religious
leaders of both faiths
13. Devadasis
• Devadasi is a religious practice in some parts
of southern India, in which women are
"married" to a deity or temple.
• The ritual was well established by the 10th
century A.D.
• In the later period, the illegitimate sexual
exploitation of the devadasi's became a norm
in some parts of India.
14. Crimes against women
• Police records show high incidence of
crimes against women in India.
• The National Crime Records Bureau
reported in 1998 that the growth rate of
crimes against women would be higher
than the population growth rate by
2010.
• Earlier, many cases were not registered
with the police due to the social stigma
attached to rape and molestation cases.
• Official statistics show that there has
been a dramatic increase in the number
of reported crimes against women.
15. Some of the crimes against women
• Acid Throwing
• Sexual harassment
• Dowry
• Child marriage
• Female infanticides and sex selective
abortions
• Domestic violence
• Trafficking
17. Acid Throwing
• The Thomas Reuters Foundation survey says that India is
the fourth most dangerous place in the world for women to
live in as women belonging to any class, caste or creed and
religion can be victims of this cruel form of violence and
disfigurement, a premeditated crime intended to kill or
maim her permanently and act as a lesson to put her in her
place.
• In India, acid attacks on women who dared to refuse a
man's proposal of marriage or asked for a divorce are a
form of revenge.
• Acid is cheap and easily available and is the quickest way to
destroy a woman's life.
• The number of acid attacks have been rising.
18. Dowry
In 1961, the Government of India passed the Dowry
Prohibition Act,making the dowry demands in wedding
arrangements illegal. However, many cases of dowry-related
domestic violence, suicides and murders have been
reported. In the 1980s, numerous such cases were reported.
In 1985, the Dowry Prohibition (maintenance of lists of
presents to the bride and bridegroom) rules were framed.
According to these rules, a signed list of presents given at
the time of the marriage to the bride and the bridegroom
should be maintained.
20. Child marriage has been traditionally
prevalent in India and continues to
this day.
Historically, young girls would live
with their parents until they reached
puberty.
In the past, the child widows were
condemned to a life of great agony,
shaving heads, living in isolation, and
shunned by the society.
Although child marriage was
outlawed in 1860, it is still a common
practice.
21. According to
UNICEF’s “State of
the World’s Children-
2009” report, 47% of
India's women aged
20–24 were married
before the legal age
of 18, with 56% in
rural areas.
The report also
showed that 40% of
the world's child
marriages occur in
22. Domestic violence and abuse is not limited to
obvious physical violence.
Domestic violence can also mean
endangerment, criminal coercion, kidnapping,
unlawful imprisonment, trespassing,
harassment, and stalking
24. While in most developed countries domestic violence
is considered unacceptable by most people, in many
regions of the world the views are different:
according to a UNICEF survey, the percentage
of women aged 15-49 who think that a husband is
justified in hitting or beating his wife under certain
circumstances is,
for example: 90% in Jordan, 85.6% in Guinea, 85.4%
in Zambia, 85% in Sierra Leone, 81.2% in Laos, 81% in
Ethiopia.