– Dr. Ramji Lal
(Samaj Weekly)- Since time immemorial, there has been an unprecedented growth in various aspects-social, cultural and religious in women’s life in India. In four Vedas-Rigveda, Ayurveda, Samaveda and Atharvaveda, one finds the description of culture and civilization of ancient India. In the Vedic Age (2000B.C. to 1000B.C), and the Post Vedic Age (1000 B.C.to 200 B.C.) women enjoyed a very privileged position. The intellectual and spiritual level of women was very high. They enjoyed equal right in the field of education as men did. The basic reason for giving education to women was to develop their self-esteem and self-reliance.
According to the famous scholar Altekar, women were academically strong as they got higher education. Their intellectual and academic status was very high. According to him, the verses of Rigveda were composed by 378 Rishis (Sages) and 29 women Sages (women scholars).The Rigveda is the most important text of ancient India. It deals with the social, educational, spiritual and intellectual issues of the then contemporary society. In the Rig Vedic period, women had status of a sage. Women sages were called as Rishikas (sages or poets.)
The female sages were allowed to participate openly in the debate with the male sages on various subjects-cultural, academics and educational. Among these sage women, Viswara, Lopamudra, Apala, Urvashi, Ghosha, Sulabha, Lilavati, Maitreyi, Sasvati, Kashana, Gargi, Sikta, Vaak are worthy of detailed consideration. Maitreyi used to participate in debates on philosophical topics with her husband, Yajnavalaka; Gargi also used to indulge in philosophical arguments with Yajnavalaka, and Lilavati was a famous mathematician. These women were called brahmavadis because they attained the highest level of intellectual and spiritual knowledge.
The women of the general category were called Sadyovadhas, who used to get education to groom them. The age of marriage for ordinary girls in the Vedic age was 15 or 16 years.
The prime duty assigned to the girls was to work for the welfare of their family. Altekar, the historian, says in this connection, it is quite clear that there was no custom of child marriage in Vedic society. Sadyovadhas used to study only for the welfare of marriage and family. In short, in the Vedic age, women were educated and Brahmavadinis. As a result, these women came under the category of sages, preachers, philosophers, poets and sannyasis. Their respect in the society was equal to that of male sages as they were highly educated and intellectuals.
According to Panini, there was also a hostel arrangement for girl students during Vedic period. The management of these hostels was under the control of women teachers. The co-education was also prevalent in the Vedic era.
We come across many evidences during Vedic literature where women have been highly appreciated on the basis of their merits. It is also described in the Vedic literature that the husband is incomplete without the wife, and, that is why, the wife is called Ardhangini.
According to one reference in the Vedic literature, a daughter named Apala served her ailing father. Another example is of a great female warrior named, Vasaliya, whose leg was amputated in the war.
According to Altekar, the Vedic era was the “golden age” from the Indian women’s point of view as they got education and knowledge of different fields. But, many historians do not agree with this hypothesis as they believe that the golden age may have been for high level women, and not for the women of the general class.
Historians believe that the Rigvedic society was patriarchal and patrilinear. A great change had taken place regarding the status of women in the Later Vedic Age. The monogamy was among the common people, whereas the polygamy was prevalent among the higher status class. It is a fact that Sage Maitreyi was a famous woman of the Later Vedic period, and one of the wives of Yagnavalakya. Aitareya Brahmana also describes polygamy for men and monogamy for women. It, further, states that one husband is sufficient for a woman.
The women were under the complete control and command of men. According to Shatapath Brahmin, it is the duty of a woman to keep her husband happy and give birth to a son. It is described in many verses in the Shatapath Brahmin that the desire to have a son is more pertinent, according to Atharva Veda, The girl’s fetus can be changed into the boy’s foetus.
The history concerning the right of property for women in India is thousands of years old. In ancient Vedic literature, the term ‘Dayad’ has been used in relation to property rights. It is described in Vedic literature that daughter and son have equal rights in ancestral property. Similarly, according to Yajnavalkya, son, daughter and widowed wife should have the right to property. Vishnu and Narada have advocated the right of unmarried daughter to the ancestral property. It has been described in Manusmriti that widows, daughters and mothers will get the right to property as the heir and, at the same time, that there will be no male heir.
The ideas propounded in Manusmriti have proved to be very harmful in the distortion of rights of women. Even today, the mentality of the society is shaped according to the same principle. Due to patriarchal power, women were completely deprived of property rights about 2400 years ago, and they had only female wealth. The amount received in the form of gifts or cash received at the wedding in women’s wealth was only the property of the woman.
In the due course of time, the status of women underwent a complete transformation during the Medieval period. It was witnessed that during this period some social evils like the purdah system and caste system were gaining currency. Slowly and gradually, it became a widespread phenomenon in the Indian society. In the Rajput caste in Rajasthan, Jauhar system was getting popular with the passage of time.
Following this system, the women were destined to jump into the fire alive in order to protect their honour. Following the tradition of Muslim rulers, the Hindu rulers, too, started keeping more than one wife. In nutshell, there was a steep decline in the position of woman during the medieval era. It was really pathetic and deplorable as the right to property was no longer enjoyed by the females. Among the chief traditions imposed upon women during this period were purdah system, child marriage, devdasi sytem and Juhar pratha which were very common in Indian society.
Due to these practices, the life of women was confined to the four walls of their house only. Some evils- sexual harassment against women, domestic violence and female murders in some castes increased. The role of women has been important in the freedom movement, whether it is revolutionaries, revolutionary movements or Gandhians, both types of women participated enthusiastically.
Apart from these movements, women of the depressed Classes have also contributed significantly in the movements launched by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar.
This was the time when India needed a man who could eradicate all these evils. Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar was the figure with the advent of whom, there started a movement for females’ reformation. He is generally known as a crusader of women’s causes. He is generally hailed as a great feminist as he was a harbinger of women’s rights. He strongly advocated the idea of females’ emancipation and women empowerment.
As a social reformer, he continued to struggle throughout his life for liberation of women. Therefore, he was not only a messiah for the dalits, but also the champion of women’s liberation and their emancipation from oppression and suppression. He believed that the measurement of development and progress of a community depends on degree of progress, status and the development of women in a society.
Following the three ideals of French Revolution-equality, freedom and fraternity, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar also wanted that all these three ideals should also be enjoyed by the females in the society. During his stay in England and America, he practically observed and studied the equality between men and women. Besides, he also made a comparative study of the conditions and status of European and Indian women.
Apart from these, the impact of the women’s liberation movement which was going on in Europe was one of the reasons that encouraged him to preach the idea of equality. It was also the force behind raising the issues of women in the Legislative Council of Mumbai, Executive Council of Governor -General of India, Indian Constituent Assembly and Parliament of India.
He protested against the evil practices in the society-Jogins and Devadasi. In the year 1927, while addressing a gathering of more than 3000 women, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar said that “I consider women’s development as the measure of development of any community.” In 1936, while addressing the gathering of the Joginis and devadasis(Dalit women), Dr. Ambedkar gave a clarion call to fight the regressive religious practice of offering young girls to gods in the temples and to make the devadasis “sexually available for community members “.
Thus, Devadasis were for sexual exploitation and to satisfy the sexual lust of community members. He inspired the Devadasis to challenge and fight this so-called religious narrative system related to gods. Dr. Bhimrao was a supporter of the wider role of women. He advocated equal participation of women in all walks of life-social, religious, economic, and culyural. He strongly believed that women should have equal rights in the political field also.
Regarding the issues related to women, Dr. Bhimrao kept publishing articles in-Mooknayak, Bahishkrit Bharat and other newspapers. He advocated that women should have full right to property and the right to divorce. He propounded that women have absolute rights over their bodies and have the right to reproduction. He was against polygamy, but at the same time, he favored widow or widower remarriage. Setting example in this direction, he also re-married after the death of his first wife.
In the year 1927, Mahad Satyagraha was organized and led by him for the entry of Dalits in the temple and copies of Manusmriti were burnt by him publically because derogatory references have been written against the downtrodden class and women in The Manu Smriti. From this, we can conclude that Dr.Ambekar was great feminist.
The Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950. The Constitution enshrines that women should be treated at par with men. In 1950, the right to vote was given to all citizens including the women on the basis of formula advocated by Dr. Ambedkar, “one person, one vote, one value.” The Preamble to the Constitution of India lays emphasis on liberty, equality, justice- social, economic and political for men or women. The preamble also attaches importance to the ‘diginity’ of all including men and women.
In addition to the Preamble to the Constitution of India, women’s rights have been described in the Fundamental Rights (Chapter 3), Directive Principles of State Policy (Chapter 4) and other articles. The main articles related to the empowerment of women in the Indian constitutionare:14,15,15(A)15(2),15(3),15(4),16(1),16(2),17,23and24,29,and30,36(D),39,39(A),42,51(a)(c),243D(3),243T(3)and243T(4).
In the nineteenth century, Dicey gave the concept of rule of law. According to this law, there is equality before the law and equal protection of the law. This concept has been embodied in Indian constitution. The Indian constitution also provides equal opportunities to all irrespective religion, caste, gender and place of birth. In the articles 23 and 24 of the Indian Constitution has prohibited the exploitation of individuals.
There is a clear description in the Indian Constitution that the state will make its policies and proper arrangements for the means of employment and livelihood of all women and men. Equal pay for equal work will also be arranged by the state so that there is no exploitation on the basis of gender and sex also.
In the chapter on Fundamental Rights, article 23 and 24 the exploitation of individuals has been strictly prohibited .The purchase and sale of human beings is forbidden and the sale and purchase of women is immoral and prohibited by the constitution. According to law, the sale and purchase of women is a punishable offense. He fought a relentless battle to end the evils of child labour and women labour. Women and children cannot be employed in hazardous jobs and forced labor has been banned.
According to Article 39, all citizens, including men and women have the equal rights to an adequate means to livelihood. Article 42 of the Constitution directs the state to provide just and humane conditions of work and maternity facilities for women. It is the fundamental duty of an Indian citizen to protect the dignity of women (Article 51)
According to articles 243D,243D(3),243T(3) and 243T(4), of the constitution there is reservation of seat for women in the Panchayati Raj Institutions-Gram Panchayats, Block Panchayats and Zilla Parishads and urban local self institutions-Nagar Palika, Nagar Parishad and Nagar Nigam. It can be highlighted that 50 % seats have been reserved for women in Panchayati Raj Institutions of 20 states and in urban local self institutions in 10 states only.
In addition to these provisions, there are some provisions in the constitution regarding the dalits and the deprived sections of society made by Dr. B.R. Amedkar. These provisions will help the Dalits and the deprived sections to get education and employment. These are: 1.Article 15(A) deals with special provisions for SC/STs or other communities who are educationally and socially backward. Article 17 has abolished untouchably and ensures equal status to everybody. The untouchably is a criminal offence under act. Article 29 is regarding admission of weaker sections of the society in government educational institutions. Article 30 allows the minorities to establish minority educational institutions and, Article 30(ii) ensures financial aid(Grant) to minority educational institutions ( schools and colleges) also.
To improve the condition of women and to empower women, Dr. Bhim Rao introduced the Hindu Code Bill in the Parliament of India. It is generally known as the ‘Magna Carta’ of the time. The main highlights of the code bill were: women have the same right to divorce as men; daughters have rights in ancestral property; widows have equal rights in their husband’s property. The Hindu Code Bill was opposed by the reactionary leaders of the congress party and the opposition parties except the Communist Party of India in the Parliament as well as outside Parliament in public and the press.
Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar tried to convince the members of the Parliament and outside the Parliament. With the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, Ambedkar had an absolute majority after 1951 election, but Jawaharlal Nehru withdrew the Hindu Code Bill after his party members opposed him. It was a great setback for Bhimrao Ambedkar as he had been struggling for a long time with the issue of women’s emancipation. For this, he never ever compromised with his principles. On the other hand, Jawaharlal Nehru’s move was reactionary as far as the issue of women empowerment of Indian women was concerned.
Consequently, Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar, who was really struggling for principles and was adamant to pass the Hindu Code Bill said that the leadership of the Congress party lacked will power and strong determination. This is a failure of the Congress. Bhimrao Ambedkar was a principled leader and immediately resigned as the law minister on September 27, September 1951.
In this way, after making an incisive and in depth study of various aspects related to women in India, one can find how females’ image has gone through radical and drastic changes. The impact of various movements and revolutions can be felt to decide the hardships and problems females are exposed with in their lives. Dr. Ambedkar was India’s first male feminist who worked tirelessly for the upliftment and improvement of females in India. In other words, he was a true intersectional feminist.
Works Cited:
Ambedkar, B. R., & Moon, V. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar: Writings and Speeches. New Delhi: Dr. Ambedkar Foundation, 2014.
Sinha, C. Debating Patriarchy: The Hindu Code Bill Controversy in India (1941–1956). New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2012.
Ahir, D.C. “The Legacy of Dr. Ambedkar.” New Delhi: B.R. Publishing Corporation , 1990.
Ahir, D.C. Women Gender Equality and the State. New Delhi: Deep and Deep Publications, 2001
D, Keer. Dr. Ambedkar: Life and Mission, Bombay, 1987.
Kuber, W. N. Ambedkar: A Critical Study. New Delhi: People’s Publishing House, 1991.
