TRACING THE ADVENTURES OF ‘GENDER’ IN HISTORY

Tracing the Adventures of Gender in History

- By Astha Yadav 

“The roots will, now, narrate the stories of some detrimental trees of truths.”  

The wider scope of history and its base being anonymous with the present provides us with  ample information on various aspects of modern life. Everything we see today is an imprint of  yesterday’s life. Likewise, every social issue we face today has its roots in the past. Where did it all  start from? What caused it? Why is it still respiring in the society? Nivedita Menon, introduces her  book, ‘Seeing Like a Feminist’ by drawing a parallel between ‘nude makeup’ and the ‘socialization of  girls and boys’. The way we apply nude makeup to look good but don’t necessarily want to reveal that  makeup has been done, likewise, the way our society assigns the roles to respective genders has been  accustomed to a ‘normal’ way of living where the changes made or alterations done are portrayed as  ‘natural(makeup)’. What caused this artificial allocation of gender roles? Do the reasons vary from  physiological to sociological aspects? Or are these confined to just one aspect? Let’s dive into it.  

Beginning with the world-known Indus Valley Civilization, archaeological evidence reveals women's  involvement in all spheres of life and indicates an egalitarian society in terms of gender roles. The  female figurines such as the ‘mother goddesses’ and the ‘bronze dancing girl’ show the matrilocal  dimension of society then. In the study of Gender Equality And Ancient Indian Culture, Atasi  Mahapatra mentions that women in the historical, early Vedic period enjoyed high status surpassing  those in Greece and Rome in those times.  

Fast forward to almost a millennium, the early Vedic period witnessed a patriarchal society but  women enjoyed a position of respect and reverence. A.S Altekar’s book, ‘Education in Ancient India’,  says that education was a basic right professed by all. From being the Vedic rishis to a significant part  of the household, women enjoyed a relatively higher status as compared to contemporary times.  Brihadaranyaka Upanishad mentions the genealogies of teachers that bear references to women seers  such as Gargi and Matreyi. Child marriage was banned and women had the privilege of ‘swayamvar’  to choose their husbands. But this situation slowly deteriorated. The age advocated for marriage of  girls became 12 which was strictly followed. This period came to be known as the later Vedic period  when public participation of women was restricted and women became silent observers than active  participants. According to Aitrreya Brahman, a daughter has been described as a source of misery.  Some sociological thinkers, according to Atasi Mahapatra, argue that the reasons for the decline of  women’s roles in the later Vedic period can be the imposition of Brahamanical austerities, rigid  restrictions imposed by the caste system and joint family system, lack of educational facilities for  women, etc. In the later periods of Dharmashastras and Puranas, pre-puberty marriages, polygamy,  sati, and such practices became prevalent. The Brahamanical law became hazardous for the  independence of women.  

Later in the Gupta period, evidence of female figures can be cited but these cannot be effectively used  to declare the existence of an egalitarian society, these are rather exceptional cases. The most famous  example is the Vakataka Queen- Prabhavati Gupta who had lands on her name which are said to be  later given in grants. Traces of matrilineal links can also be found in this period. The free  representation of females in art suggests that there was no purdah system in the society.  

Further, in the medieval period, no upliftment in the condition of women could be seen, rather it  worsened more than any other period as it marked the entry of Muslim invaders. Often described as  the ‘Dark Age for Women’, this period saw the practices of sati and child marriage at their peak. The 

major reason behind such practices is stated to be the protection of women from foreign invaders.  Scholars like Romila Thapar and Irfan Habib state that social hierarchies became more rigid and  women were seen as subordinates of men. Though we can trace examples such as Razia Sultan, Nur  Jahan, Jahanara, and Roshanhara among several others some influential women in those times but  again to be noted, that all of them belonged to the elite dominant families of that period. Hence,  nobody questioned their authority but what about the local folk?  

Bringing into light the modern period, women’s oppression was not a major issue in fact struggle for  independence sidelined this crucial aspect of life. But there were several notable examples such as  Henry Thomas Colebrook who focused on women’s questions in his first research, ‘One the Duties of  the Faithful Hindu Widow’, Raja Rammohan Roy who fought against sati and Pandita Ramabai  Saraswathi among several others. Additionally, this was also the period when ‘feminism’ as a concept  and a movement came into effect(not prevalent in India but made an entry into the global realm).  

While talking about this journey of women’s oppression, did you ever think of the other half  section(males)? When women are oppressed, do men face any problems? If you ask this from a man,  he’ll say nothing about it because when he is the dominant force, he may surely have zero problems  but for a second consider the examples of history again, we have the most famous revolts listed  against the most powerful ruling class. Psychologically, women are not subordinates to men, they are,  in fact, complementary to each other. Their mindsets when combined constitute a ‘progressive  society’. But addressing the questions posed in the begindark age for women,ning, what causes gender discrimination?  Let’s be honest. Is it the physiological weaker aspect for women, when we say Sati, child marriage, or  protection of women, it indicates their physical incapability to encounter a man and so, they rely on a  trustworthy man for their protection. But why do they need protection? Because they are held prey by  the stronger ones. Hence, the cerebral aspect that women are weaker and to be suppressed. This  mindset also probably highlights the ‘male ego’ of men. This ego, in turn, brings us to the emotional  aspect wherein men are made ‘artificially heartless’ due to their physical strength and women,  are considered as ‘emotionally weak’ or ‘vulnerable’. All these aspects shape the social structures of  society where these elements are made the most prevalent and entitled as ‘normal/natural’ but they  aren’t actually are and we know that. So, before engaging in our artificial gender roles, we can be just  to us being ‘humans’ before anything.  

“Let’s not deceive our true selves in the orthodoxical clutches of gender-biased roles.”  

REFERENCES:  

Mahapatra A., Gender Equality and Ancient Indian Culture: A study, Vol. 7, 2018, pp 22-26  Smriti, Education of Women in Early Vedic Period, Infogain Publications 2023, pp 116-122  Singh R., Status of women, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, pp 156-168  

Dr. M. Raziya Parvin, Historiography of Women’s History In India, International Journal of Novel  Research And Development 2023, pp a819-a827