Today we see pan-India campaigns being run by the government to spread awareness about the welfare services for women and the declining sex ratio in the country. The catchy slogan of ‘Beti Bachao ‘ is seen all over the cities and town walls , on banners and posters , printed on auto rickshaws and buses , in the markets as well as government offices.
‘Beti Bachao’ clearly points at the cruel practices of female foeticide and in todays time , the deaths due to rape could be attributed to the need of this slogan. ‘Beti Padhao’ slogan is significant in the wake of poor state of women literacy in the country. As per 2011 census , the women literacy was merely 64.60 percent in India and that meant only that percentage of women of age 7 and above could ‘read and write with understanding’ as that is all being literate mean as per the definition . So congratulations if you can read my article , you are literate!
Has this always been the case with the women in our country? A little study from different sources point otherwise!
A study published in International journal of legal developments and allied issues states:
“During the Vedic period, there was no kind of gender discrimination in India. Women were extremely respected and revered by the male members of the family, they were considered goddesses. In those times, women took part in several professions, they were free to marry as per their choice, study and gain education until they get married, etc. They had a special place in the society. The gender discrimination in India started in the post-Vedic period and it reached its highest peak in the Mughal period. In this period, crimes against women became highly dominant and women were treated as objects. They went from the highest position in the society to the lowest position. They were subjected to constant suffering and they had no fundamental rights. Even minimum freedom was denied to the female members of the society. This continued even in the British period and it remains unchanged for a long period.”
Likewise, Will Durant (1885-1981) ,an American historian , states in his book Story of Civilization:
"Women enjoyed far greater freedom in the Vedic period than in later India. She had more to say in the choice of her mate than the forms of marriage might suggest. She appeared freely at feasts and dances, and joined with men in religious sacrifice. She could study, and like Gargi, engage in philosophical disputation. If she was left a widow there were no restrictions upon her remarriage.”
So have we really gone a long way on the path to women emancipation? A point to ponder upon !
The desire for male child !
Did the ancient Indians only pray for a male child ? May be, as where else these ideas of male child preference take their origin but from vedic texts!
But wait ! The texts from ancient epics give interesting insights into the perception on daughters vis-a-vis sons in those times.
According to verse 6.4.17 from the Brihadaranyaka Upanishad dated to between 900 to 600 BCE , the birth of a female child who would be a scholar is desired.
The quote prescribes the specific rituals for obtaining a learned daughter. The verse states:
"One who wishes that a daughter should be born who would be a scholar and attain a full term of life, should have rice cooked with sesamum, and both should eat it with clarified butter. Then the creators (would-be parents) would indeed be able to produce such a daughter."
This might appear strange to most modern thinkers , but the fact that there is a mention of the way out to parent a daughter in a text as old as Upanishad is an indication that daughters were not always unwanted in the history of India. It rather indicates that daughters were expected to be scholars as much as sons were and ‘Beti bachao’ would only be a redundant slogan then .
The text in Mahabharata, generally thought to have been composed in the 4th century BCE or earlier, gives an insight into the position of daughter in those times.
As Yudhishthira seeks guidance on Dharma from Bhishma, the Anushasana Parva compares the value of daughter to a son, as follows:
The daughter, O king, has been ordained in the scriptures to be equal to the son.
— Bhishma, Anushasana Parva, Mahabharata 13.47.26
Grandfather Bhishma further explains to Yuddhistira before his death :
“O ruler of the earth, the lineage in which daughters and the daughters-in-law are saddened by ill treatment, that lineage is destroyed. When out of their grief these women curse these households, such households lose their charm, prosperity and happiness.” (Mahabharata, Anushashanparva, 12.14)
Manusmriti that includes many contradictory statements on the status of women, at one point states :
“Yatra Nari Astu Pujyante, Ramante Tatra Devataa”
“Where women are honoured, there the gods rejoice; where, on the other hand, they are not honoured, there all rites are fruitless.”
I can only conclude that the need for ‘Beti Bachao’ didn’t stem from the ancient times. It was only in the course of history that the daughters were looked down upon as burdens and instances of female foeticide increased drastically.
Was dowry prevalent since time immemorial ?
Its well known that the evil practices like dowry are the major cause for females being undervalued in Indian society and a major cause of considering them as burden. Though there are other reasons too , as in the lineage of family is only carried forward by male child in India, but that alone cannot be the reason for the rampant female foeticides despite ban on pre-natal sex screening.
But what about those earlier times? Didn’t the parents have to pay to get their daughters married ? Lets check from some accounts of the historians and travellers to India.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that Scholars are of the view that ancient and early medieval Hindu society did not practice Dowry. The practice became widespread sometime in the 2nd millennium CE due to socio-political developments in those times.
Michael Witzel, the professor of sanskrit at Harvard university , states that -
Ancient Indian literature suggests dowry practices were not significant during the Vedic period.
Arrian , belonging to Alexander the Great's conquest era, in his first book, The Invasion of India by Alexander the Great, mentions a lack of dowry in India during those times :
“They (these ancient Indian people) make their marriages accordance with this principle, for in selecting a bride they care nothing whether she has a dowry and a handsome fortune, but look only to her beauty and other advantages of the outward person.
Arrian's second book, Indika , notes:
“They (Indians) marry without either giving or taking dowries, but the women as soon as they are marriageable are brought forward by their fathers in public, to be selected by the victor in wrestling or boxing or running or someone who excels in any other manly exercise.”
In fact there were practices of Swayamvara at ancient times when the girl was free to choose her groom from amongst the eligible men. Such was the freedom entrusted to the women of ancient times .
Even the cruel practise of Sati started in the later times to prevent kidnappings of young widows by foreign rulers.
David Brick, from Yale university ,in his 2010 review of ancient Indian literature, states
There is no mention of Sahagamana (Sati) whatsoever in either Vedic literature or any of the early Dharmasutras or Dharmasastras. “
So looks like our ancestors were more tolerant when it came to a girl child.
‘Beti Padhao’ - Relevance in ancient times?
Was there a need to propagate the ‘Beti Padhao’ slogan in ancient times. Was education of girls considered unnecessary?
A sloka from Rig Veda gives an interesting insight about the status of women education in vedic times . It states:
O women! These mantras are given to you equally (as to men). May your thoughts, too, be harmonious. May your assemblies be open to all without discrimination. Your mind and consciousness should be harmonious.I (the rishi) give you these mantras equally as to men and give you all and equal powers to absorb (the full powers) of these mantras.” Rigveda 10-191-3.
Its clear from above that ancient Shastras extended education right to women.There were also women rishis who revealed the Vedic knowledge to others. In fact there were female rishikas who contributed to the composition of vedas.
An early vedic phrase from Atharve Veda indicates that women were encouraged to study vedas even after marriage and use the knowledge henceforth for daily conducts. It states:
“O bride! May the knowledge of the Vedas be in front of you and behind you, in your centre and in your ends. May you conduct your life after attaining the knowledge of the Vedas. May you be benevolent, the harbinger of good fortune and health and live in great dignity and indeed be illumined in your husband’s home.” Atharva Veda 14-1-64.
Further , interestingly the sloka 9:12 of Manusmriti states:
‘A woman who is kept constrained in a home by noble men (husband, father, son) is still insecure. Thus it is futile to restrict women. Security of women would come only through her own capabilities and mindset.’
This indicates that women were not meant to be confined to household duties as is claimed by many orthodox individuals. There is a clear indication in various texts of ancient India that women were considered as deserving as men when it came to attaining knowledge from scriptures and were indeed meant to pursue knowledge and grow to the fullest of their potential.
From all of the above, it only means that we have not always moved in forward direction when it came to gender equality. Over the years , scriptures were misinterpreted to degrade the status of women in Indian society , be it for the influence of foreign invaders or the interests of few sections of society. Despite all this , its strange that we have not stopped worshipping the female Goddesses over the years , probably because we fear the wrath of Kali or the curse of Durga , but have failed to see that the Durga and the Kali in our homes are only the manifestations of that divine feminine power.
I only wonder what if there were a scheme named ‘Beta bachao, Beta padhao’ , if somehow the vedic scriptures were still followed where women were held in high regards , even higher than male section of the society many a times. Gender equality is highly discussed because there has been enough of gender inequality and hence the need of a scheme to protect the girl child.
Its high time that daughters of this country are protected and educated , for educating a girl is educating a generation, a fact that the vedic people understood the best!
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