Women Now and Then

The worth of a civilization can be judged by the place given to women in the society. Of the several factors that justify the greatness of India's ancient culture, one of the greatest is the honoured place ascribed to women. Manu, the great lawgiver, said long ago, 'where women are honoured there reside the gods'. According to ancient Hindu scriptures, a man without the participation of his wife can perform no religious rite with perfection. A wife’s participation is important in some religions, such as in Hinduism. Married men along with their wives are allowed to perform sacred rites on various important festivals. Wives are, thus befittingly called 'Ardhangani' (better half). They are given not only important but also equal position with men.

The Muslim influence on India caused considerable deterioration in the status of women. They were deprived of their rights of equality with men. Raja Ram Mohan Roy started a movement against this inequality and subjugation. The contact of Indian culture with that of the British also brought improvement in the status of women. The third factor in the revival of women's position was the influence of Mahatma Gandhi who induced women to participate in the Freedom Movement. As a result of this retrieval of freedom, women in Indian have distinguished themselves as teachers, nurses, airhostesses, booking clerks, receptionists, and doctors. They are also participating in politics and administration. But in spite of this amelioration in the status of women, the evils of illiteracy, dowry, ignorance, and economic slavery would have to be fully removed in order to give them their rightful place in Indian society. This situation lead the investigator to work in this area and collect the views of post-graduate students of education regarding the status of women in past, present and according to them what will be the status of women in Indian society. To serve this purpose, the investigator had to formulate objectives such as, to