The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c16.94

c16.94

The original idea of those who were responsible for the above theory was not so much to deny freedom to women,—they undoubtedly were for its curtailment,—as to afford them additional protection. The disability that was imposed was primarily intended for the benefit of women. As a woman herself has observed in the Mahābhārata, to be without a proper protector is a great calamity for the fair sex in this world, which is full of wickedness¹. Manu therefore ordains that the father ought to *protect* a woman while she is a maiden, the husband when she has married, and the sons when the husband is no more; a woman ought not to remain independent. In the immediately next verse Manu points out that the father would be to blame if he does not marry his daughter in proper time, the husband, if he does not look after his wife properly, and the son, if he does not *protect* his mother during her old age¹. It is thus clear that Manu's aim was not so much to deny all freedom to women as to ensure for them an adequate and continuous protection throughout the life. It cannot be gainsaid that the world being what it is, society cannot take too much care in the matter. Yājñavalkya also enunciates the doctrine of the dependence of women, but with him also it is a natural corollary of the continuous protection that has to be afforded to them throughout their life².