Variety of essays on status of women in India are given below to help students during essay writing competition in their school. It is a most common topic now-a-days which students may be assigned for to write some paragraphs or complete essay. All the essays are written using very simple and easy words so students may select any of them according to their need.
The status of women in ancient India was quite high esteemed however it got deteriorated with the passage of time and mentality of people towards women. Slowly the practice of polygamy, sati pratha, dowry system, female infanticide, etc became dominated and gave rise to the male dominated country. Great Indian leaders had worked a lot to again raise the status of women in the Indian society. Because of their hard work bad practices against women in the Indian society have been banned to a great extent. Government of India has implemented various effective laws regarding safety and empowerment of the women. In the Panchayati Raj system around 33% of the seats are reserved for women thus women are being more conscious and come forward to fight for their rights.
Earlier in the Vedic times, women were given lots of respect and honor in the Indian society. They were equally given opportunities like men to develop socially, intellectually and morally. They were completely free to choose their own path in the life and select life partner. They were getting complete education before marriage as well as military training for their own safety. However, women status in the Indian society got deteriorated in the middle ages because of various bad practices against women.
The position of women became inferior when they supposed to be plaything of man and decoration of drawing room. Women became almost slave of man passions and forced to live behind purdah. They were left their rights of education and property. However again in the independent India, women are enjoying perfect equality with the man. They are no longer a slave of man’s passion and not living at the mercy of man. They are raising their voice and help in shaping the destiny of country.
The status of women in the ancient Indian society was quite better however in the middle age it got deteriorated. Various ill practices came into existence against women which deteriorated the women status. Indian society became male dominated society and women were started to be treated as man’s slaves. Slowly they became the weaker sex in the society because men used to keep women under their thumb. They were forced to obey men blindly as a dumb cattle living under four walls of the house. At some place in the country, women are still ill treated by the men even after the fast changes in the society.
Women are treated as living things of the house following all the old cultures, traditions and restrictions of the society. Earlier the elders of the family were not be happy on the birth of a female child in the home however they became double happy if the child was male. They understood that male child will be source of money whereas female child will be consumer of money. Birth of daughter was supposed as curse to the family. The gradual positive changes in the Indian society has been proved to be beneficial for the women status. Positive thinking of people has taken a swift speed which has changed human mind politically, economically and socially towards women.
The condition of women in the Indian society especially in the middle age was so bad and inferior practically. Women were considered as slave of men even after given high position in the scriptures. Theoretically the condition of women was high however practically it was low. Women were prohibited to take part in many domestic, social as well as external matters. They were forced to live under the influence of parents before marriage whereas under the influence of husbands after marriage. The position of women became more worse in the Mughal time. Women were forced to follow the rules of sati pratha, parda pratha, and other bad practices against women.
Women status during British rule in India was not so changed even became worse. It was started changing after many years of struggle for India’s freedom when Mahatma Gandhi gave a call to women to come forward and take part in the independence movement. There is hand of many great women (Vijaya Laxmi Pandit, Sarojini Naidu, Mrs. Aruna Asaf Ali, etc) who helped in changing the women status in India. After the occurrence of Mrs. Indira Gandhi as a Prime Minister of India, the condition of women was changed positively a lot. She became a worldwide famous woman and thus great icon and inspiration for other Indian women. Later the prestigious positions of many women in India has proved that women are not inferior to men and can go together.
In the past few millennium, various great changes has occur in the status of women in India. There has been promotion of equal sex rights to a great extent in the recent decades. Earlier the women were responsible to the household activities and strictly restricted to the outside activities. Women in ancient India were responsible to care their husbands and kids as their primary duty. Women were not allowed to enjoy equally as men. In the early Vedic period, it is noted that women were well educated (in the work of ancient Indian grammarians like Patanjali, Katyayana etc).
According to the Rigvedic verses, women were getting married at their mature age and free to select their own life partner at that time. Gargi and Maitreyi are two great and notable women sages who have been mentioned in the Rig Veda and Upanishads scriptures. According to the history, women status was started declining with the Smritis (Manusmriti). Gradually the freedom and rights of women was curtailed due to the Islamic invasion and Christianity. Then women in India started facing confinement and restrictions due to the bad practices in the society like Sati pratha, child marriages, child labor, parda pratha, ban on widow remarriages, etc.
Purdah practice was brought in the Indian society by the Muslim conquest in Indian subcontinent. Jauhar was practiced by the Rajputs of Rajasthan whereas Devadasis in temples were sexually exploited by the rich people. However, now-a-days, women are participating in every areas of work (like politics, social work, IT field, driving, etc) without getting fear. Women are leading in many areas of work even they are showing much interest and performing better than men. We cannot say that status of women in the Indian society has been fully developed but it is continuously going up as women are being more conscious about their rights.
There has been a lot of improvement in the status of women in India after the independence. Gradually women started enjoying equality with men in the society. Women have all the rights and privileges in every areas as possessed by the men. The Constitution of India has given equal rights, privileges and freedom that are enjoyed by the men for years. Even after various exploitation against women, they are now feeling much emancipated and free. Almost half area and population in India is covered by the women so the development of the country depends upon the status of both sex equally. We can imagine that time when 50% of the population was not given equal opportunities and rights and even restricted to perform many activities in the society. Now-a-days, women are getting top positions in various fields of life such as some have been great political leaders, social reformers, entrepreneurs, business personalities, administrators, etc.
Improvement in the status of women changes the social and economic status of the country. Status of women in the Indian society is much better than the women in other developing countries. However, it is not enough to say that status of women have been completely improved in India. In such a competitive world, Indian women are being well conscious about their rights and privileges in various fields. They are being more conscious about their professional career (socially, politically, economically and educationally) by following their all the responsibilities towards family.
Women are actively participating in the democratic process and elections which is quite more impressive in enhancing their status. Women participation in any area of work is increasing day by day than men such as number of women voters is increasing than men voters on the days of polling. Some of the great Indian women leaders, social reformers, social workers, administrators, and literary personalities who have changed the women status a lot are Indira Gandhi, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, Annie Besant, Mahadevi Verma, Sachet Kripalani, P.T. Usha, Amrita Pritam, Padmaja Naidu, Kalpana Chawla, Raj Kumari Amrit Kaur, Mother Teresa, Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, etc. Women have been started participating as daughters, sisters, wives, mothers, grandmothers, etc in various fields like social, economical, political, educational, scientific and other nation- building activities. They are doing hard work in performing professional as well as household responsibilities very actively. Even after huge level improvement in the women status in India, they are still exploited and abused in many ways like rape, sex discrimination, etc.
Regarding women safety and reduce crime against women, government of India has passed another Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2015 replacing the earlier Indian juvenile delinquency law of 2000. This act is passed especially after the Nirbhaya case when a accused juvenile was released. According to this act, the juvenile age has been 16 years from 18 years in cases of heinous offenses.
Related Information:
Issues and Problems faced by Women in India Essay
Role of Women in Society Essay