1) What examples suggest that the status of women in India declined after the Vedic Age? The exclusion of women performing Hindu rituals, the falling age of Indian women being married, and in the increase of Brahman control in Hinduism are all examples that suggest the status change of women in India. During the Vedic period, women were no longer allowed to participate in spiritual rituals. They weren’t not allowed to contribute to rituals because the Brahmans made property ownership a necessity of ritual completion, and women weren’t not allowed to own property at that time. Women also started marrying at a younger age during the Vedic period. They started getting married around pre-puberty; before finishing education. Since they were married minors, they couldn’t perform rituals and their legal rights as wives were not existent. Lastly, Hinduism increased the power Brahmans and women could not be Brahmans. Women started …show more content…
Women citizens possessed large estates and they had political power through networks of politicians’ wives. Some even made firsthand political decisions during the civils wars. Women citizens took advantage of the turmoil in the empire to even acquire businesses. Women citizens also started avoiding their family responsibilities and focusing on a party lifestyle. Non-Roman women were enslaved when Rome conquered countries. They became work slaves to elite Romans and other women became sex slaves. Most women were brutalized after being conquered by Roman armies and then immediately thrown into slavery. During the 3rd century, Roman women exceled and received glory, while non-Roman women were brutalized and enslaved. At the reign of emperor Augustus, he reduced women’s freedoms and they were criticized for their past life. Women become more suppressed by males and women lost almost all power they had
This was a very sharp contrast to the Europeans, whom had for centuries, been the top of their social hierarchy. In Europe, the women had a very relatively primitive, limited role in society. They were not allowed to attend or partake in political affairs, with very few exceptions. Now, on the other hand, in Indian society there was a council of chiefs, whom was all male, but they were appointed by an elder women. Also, during their deliberation over issues, the males made the final decision, but would be expelled from the council, if they didn't conclude to the same decision that the elder woman came to. The women's main job in Indian society, was being in charge of cultivation of, harvest of, and distribution of food. When the men left to go hunting, women were left to run society. The Europeans simply believed that the males were far superior to the family, which is why women could not have jobs, and were left to only clean, cook, and various other household chores.
In Envisioning Women in World History, by Catherine Clay, Chandrika Paul, and Christine Senecal many of the societies treated their women as in superior to men especially in religious cultures. These societies believed that men were superior intellectually and physically restraining women from many experiences. Although the laws that women had to endure became harsher when religion was involved most of the times. Some of the hardships that women before 1500 had to endure were, lack of citizenship in Greece and Rome, arranged marriages, and not being able to leave the house alone. Most women had to go through tougher times then men after the Paleolithic era, but the ones that had the least amount of power were the Muslims. Christian women
Women in Ancient Rome enjoyed a slightly better life than those in Ancient Greece. Roman men "placed a very high value on marriage, home and the family and this made quite a difference to society's treatment of women" (Thompson, 2005). Women still were passed from their father's supervision to their husbands, but enjoyed a more important role. While women could not hold
By the end, of the Republic this concept of only male slaves completely change and sex ratio became more equal. In the ancient Roman economy slave men were needed for agriculture, but women were less valuable since few could equal labor of male slaves. Under the peaceful condition of the Principate, warfare subside and incoming slave population diminish, owners were force to turn to female slaves and natural reproduction to maintain slavery in Rome. The Frisii capture Numidians and Thracians and turn over women and children into slavery when they were unable to pay Roman taxes. Under the Republic enslave female and male prisoners of war were both send to the urban and rural area of the empire. Roman generals did not always enslave defeated
In current times in America, the role of women and the role of men is about equal. When it comes to home life, it’s just as common for women to go out and work as it is for a man to do it. Women have even run for President. However, in the Harappan society in ancient India, and in Sumerian times in ancient Mesopotamia, the equality and respect of women weren’t as strong as it is today. Regardless, women were respected to a certain level. Overall, the respect of women in ancient India was similar to the respect of women in Mesopotamia because goddesses were seen as powerful, young women were admired, and women were highly regarded for being able to give birth.
Women had some control in their homes, but in public the male of the house had the last word. The gender distinctions in India were largely based on the caste system and the varna hierarchy India had.
The Roman woman had a very limited role and they could not attend, speak in, or vote at political meetings. Women were not allowed to hold any position of political responsibility. They were not allowed to voice their opinion in public but in the Greek society, the woman was considered just like an object.
An analysis of example can be derived from the aforementioned discriminatory sexist roles in India that prior to globalization highly favored the male population verses the female population. The female population in India has previously been less than second class citizens. Indian women's cultural roles have been previously defined by traditional customs that are centuries old and no longer apply in this day and age. Previous to globalization, Indian women were to take total domestic responsibility. They were not allowed formal education as the majority of teachers and pupils were male, and the chances of a female remaining chaste was slim in those settings, and related to tradition, females
During the time period of the early Roman Empire, and through the early times of Octavian, it is important to note the roles that each sex played. Unlike current western culture, men and women were not equal. Each sex was thought of differently, with women being less than men. According to Severy, the Romans thought of the Roman women as “weakness, instability, and irrationality” (Severy 23). These viewpoints of women lead to women being treated in way that was subservient to men. According to Severy, in contrast, the Romans thought of men as “strength, integrity, and self-control” (Severy 23). This thought process lead to men being in positions of power and control and ultimately the decision makers. This was so much the case that women had to have a male guardian to go out with them during major purchases to verify that was what was supposed to be bought at points (Severy 23). This thought process bled into the
The experiences of enslaved women differed from the experience of enslaved men in ancient Rome; slavery within ancient Rome can be traced back to the first century BCE and was based primarily on the chattel slave system. Slavery within the ancient roman society was highly normalised as it was considered a part of roman culture. Slavery within ancient Rome was so heavily normalised that it is considered to be described as a “slave society” Joshel (2010, p. 6) states that “For slaves living in the Roman world, there was no outside – no place without slavery and no movement that declared slavery wrong. Slavery was a normal part of life, and this was true not only for the Romans but for every neighbouring ancient culture”. Not only was
Upper caste women may undergo dramatically different experiences than lower caste women. For example, lower caste women do not practice sati, because it is mostly prevalent among upper caste women. Thus, they may not comprehend how sati may function as a tool of control of female sexuality. On the other hand, upper caste women may not comprehend the experiences of widow-remarriage as practiced by lower caste women. Granted that, Mohanty makes a great point by asserting that it is impossible to analyze and treat Indian women as an ahistorical and monolithic group of people. Indian women are heterogeneous, and significant attention must be given to the components of race, class, imperialism. Furthermore, given their background, many of Western feminists in India were supporters of the colonial government and saw themselves as agents of the civilizing mission. They believed that Indian women were incapable of speaking for themselves, and thus were also incapable of liberating themselves. They disregarded that Indian women were victims of both British imperialism and the patriarchal Indian society, and thus the oppression they faced greatly differed from that of Western women. If anything, western women participated in their
As a result of these reviews, the ongoing reconstruction of the social status and roles of Hindu women has brought about many new changes in Hinduism. Some of these changes include changes in education, health measures, problems of early marriages, the positions of widows, and the representation of women in governing bodies (Desai, et al., 1995). For example, within Hinduism now,
The status of women in India has been subject to many changes over the past millennia, from equal status with men in ancient times through the low points of the medieval period. As the Medieval period in history approached, the Indian women started declining in status for a variety of reasons. Important scriptures started promoting the idea that women were inferior to men, and could not be trusted to have their own freedom. Foreign invasions and wars also could have influenced the set back of women through danger, and the influx of new ideas about women 's status. Following
Lastly, the South Indian culture restrains the women as they are not allowed to divulge in community matters and are supposed to follow a set code of rules in order for them to seem respectable citizens who honour various caste systems and ways of discovering fate. With already existing castes, there are strict rules and expectations that each caste must uphold in the South Indian culture that exists as the caste system is a pre-historic dividing system that enables peace to flourish with the least amount of violence as possible. For instance, in Hindu culture, there is a traditional caste system comprised of 4 main castes (“India- Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette”) that creates hierarchical relationships (“India- Language,
Rig Vedic women in India enjoyed high status in society and their condition was good. They were provided opportunities to attain