T5 C & C Essay Women in India 600 B.C.E.

Status of Women in India during 600 B.C.E. – 600 C.E. In the period of 600 B.C.E. to 600 C.E., the status of women in India had changed from being viewed as a man’s possession to being acknowledged, respected, and have values and domestic authorities which had helped to increase India’s overall economy, while the unfair expectations and rituals that debase women stayed the same. At this time, in India their religion, Hinduism was reestablishing by adding more Gods and Goddesses which got the high superiority males to realize that women are important to their society which had allowed women to gain more authority and domestic affairs. The reason that the Indians had decided to add Goddesses to their religion was because there were a few things that Gods were not able to represent, for example, a woman giving birth to her child. A goddess is able to represent “birth” but a God does not have that ability to represent “birth” because they are not the ones that nurture and give birth to their children. This caused the people of India to realize that women are important and husbands started giving respect to their wives, the wives were able to gain a sense of dignity in their households and started being able to choose for themselves to make their lives easier in the household. Women had played an important part in helping India’s economy advance to a new level. Since new Goddesses and Gods were added, new temples were being built for people to go pray and worship, women were always the one that go to these temples to pray they spend their money to buy small gifts and treats to bring along with them and this helps improve the economy because more money was being spent to increase India’s wealth. Since, women were able to have social freedom they talk with their friends and peers about how well the economy is flourishing, they are able to get their friends and convince them to go pray at the temples with them, “word gets around and spreads out all over India” giving their people something to look forward to and celebrate about. Even though everything was advancing and society was changing in a short period of time, women still weren’t able to demonstrate authority outside of the house, for example, they weren’t able to own land, get a sufficient job to provide for themselves, and they must continue their duty as a housewife. When their husbands had died women weren’t allowed to have their husbands land but their sons, nephews or any male member of the family household gets to inherit that land, even though it was their husbands and they believed they should own it. The second thing women weren’t allowed to choose their occupations because their only important job was to handle the household chores and continue their duty as a housewife, they were still considered to be dependable on their husbands. Finally, women weren’t allowed to choose their own husband, their father had still own them and chooses their fiancée for them. Once a woman marries and all of a sudden their husband dies, the woman must die with their husband. In the end, women had flourished India’s economy and were finally recognized as important, but they still weren’t able to own land, get an occupation or choose their own husband to marry. Although, Hinduism was helping women gain a social status and domestic rights, everything had changed when India had decided to change into a new religion and all of a sudden everything had went back to the way it was and women were still believed to be dependable and loyal to their husbands, but that is another story to tell.