The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c11.s3.16

c11.s3.16

Let us now see what part ordinary women took in the administration of the country. There were democratic assemblies in the Vedic age. The marriage hymn expresses the hope that the bride would be able to speak with composure and success in these public assemblies down to her old age². It is thus probable that some ladies used to take an effective part in the public discussions of the democratic assemblies of the age. In the later Vedic period, the state of affairs changed; a text expressly informs us that women do no longer go to public assemblies¹. Later on popular representative bodies at the seats of central and provincial governments disappeared. Village, town and guild assemblies remained the only popular bodies known to the later period (*c.* 200 B. C. to 1200 A. D.). Rules about the administration of these bodies given in Smṛitis and south Indian inscriptions do not show that women were usually among their members. Female education was on the decline; marriage had become obligatory for women, and it was taking place very early in their life. Ordinary women of this period did not naturally feel much interest in the problems discussed in these bodies. Child marriages led to maternity at an early age, and most women were naturally too much engrossed in family duties and responsibilities to find leisure to take part in public affairs. During the last two thousand years, therefore, ordinary Hindu women have not been taking any part in public administration. It may be pointed out that the same was the case in the west till quite recent times.