Lady Of Equality 🌐

Many things blamed on “patriarchy” in India today, were shaped by two periods of foreign domination: the Islamic invasions, and then British colonization. Both brought violence, extraction, and insecurity. In the early Vedic period (1500–1000 BCE), women had a higher standing. The Rigveda records hymns composed by female seers (rishikas). Names such as Apala, Ghosha, Lopamudra, and Visvavara appear as authors of verses that became part of the text. Women underwent the Upanayana initiation that marked the start of formal Vedic study. Some pursued lifelong learning as Brahmavadinis; others studied until marriage. In the later Upanishadic period, Gargi Vachaknavi publicly debated the philosopher Yajnavalkya in the court of King Janaka on questions of ultimate reality. Maitreyi, wife of Yajnavalkya, chose knowledge over wealth when he offered to divide his property. Women participated in rituals as partners, not only as observers. They held personal property called stridhana (gifts and wealth under their own control that male relatives could not seize). There is no evidence of widespread purdah, institutionalized sati, or child marriage as the norm in the early Vedic texts. Society was still patriarchal in the sense of inheritance, but women were not reduced to permanent dependents or secluded from public and intellectual life. Clothing reflected this openness. Ancient Indic dress for both men and women centered on unstitched draped garments: the antariya (lower garment) and uttariya (upper cloth that could be worn over the shoulders, arms, or head as the wearer chose). A separate stitched upper garment (choli or stanapatta) was optional, not mandatory. Sculptures and paintings from the centuries before widespread Islamic rule - Sanchi, Mathura, Ajanta, and many temple sites, show women in public scenes, processions, and worship with faces uncovered and upper bodies often lightly draped or adorned mainly with jewelry and cloth rather than full covering. There is no record of compulsory face-veiling or total seclusion. The idea that a woman’s body or face had to be hidden from all non-related men as a permanent social requirement was not the standard. The decline began with Islamic invasions from the 8th century onward and the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate and Mughal rule. There were raids in which women were captured, enslaved, or taken into harems. Defeated populations faced the risk of sexual violence and sale in slave markets. In response, Rajput and other communities developed or intensified defensive practices. Jauhar (mass self-immolation) by women and girls when a fort was about to fall, is documented primarily during sieges, such as at Chittorgarh in 1303 under Alauddin Khalji and later in Mughal campaigns. It was not an everyday domestic custom; it was a wartime choice against capture. Strict purdah (full seclusion and veiling) became common among Hindu elites in northern India during the same centuries. Historians note that everyday confinement of women and the requirement to cover the face in public intensified under the invaders and their courtly practices. What started as protection against abduction hardened into rigid custom. British colonization worsened this. After the Britishers took control, India was governed as a source of revenue and raw materials. Textile industries were undermined, heavy land taxes were imposed, and grain was exported during periods of scarcity, contributing to repeated famines. Indians were subjects under racial hierarchy, not partners. Any social laws passed under British authority, including the 1829 regulation against sati, were exercises of colonial power. They were not proof that the British were selfless reformers. The overall record was one of economic extraction, institutional control, and the weakening of Indian society. ... continued in comments. Share your thoughts!