Unjust Discrimination Towards Women In Medieval India And China

All throughout the ages, women have been bombarded with inequalities due to their societies core beliefs. In the medieval ages women had very little rights, especially when it came to life before and after marriage. In medieval India and China, single women did not have any say in their future husband, and after marriage, whether divorced or widowed, a woman’s rights became even less prominent. However, the rules for each unwed woman varied in India and China. The following examples present an assortment of proof of the unjust discrimination towards women in medieval India and China.
Women in medieval India and China had no say in who they married. They were often forced into many unhealthy relationships. This shows how little respect was
In both India and China, a woman was expected to remain loyal to her dead husband. In India, there were only two options for widows, the most infamous being suttee. There were many forms of suttee including being buried alive or even drowning, but by far the most well-known form of suttee was jumping onto the corpse’s flaming funeral pyre. The social pressure to preform suttee was enormous. If a widow was reluctant at first, they would eventually be coerced into the ritual, or in some unfortunate cases, would be thrown into the flames by others. These facts are significant because they show just how devoted women were required to be to their spouse, even in death. This social pressure comes from the ideology behind suttee written in philosophy books of that time. Suttee was credited with the power to rescue the husband and wife from hell, taking them both to heaven immediately. The majority of these ancient texts portrayed suttee as the rightful behavior of a widow, but other texts such as The Laws of Manu allowed for women to have the choice between life or death. However, the alternative was not very pleasant. Widows that did not participate in suttee were sent to live secluded lives. They renounced social activities, were required to shave their heads, wear rags, only eat rice once a day, and never speak or think of a man that was not her deceased husband. To most death was preferable. While
Many of these examples have shown women as objects to be walked over, when this is simply not the case. A woman’s opinion was somehow of lesser value in medieval India and China. Society would push women around making widows or divorcees do unimaginable things that pleased others, but not the woman herself. The Baudhayana Dharma Sutra, was another famous philosophical text in medieval India that led people to believe things such as, “Women are able to lead astray in this world not only a fool, but even a learned man.” Sacred works like these based societies on the fact that “Women do not possess independence.” When belief systems are what shape a medieval society, these ancient texts gave places the notion that women were corrupt and destructive; making it effortless for others to treat women