The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c17.s1.6

c17.s1.6

It would appear that the general freedom and better status which women enjoyed in the Vedic age were largely due to men being engrossed in the work of conquest and consolidation. Women used to take an active part in agriculture, and the manufacture of cloth, bows, arrows and other war material. They were thus useful members of society, and could not be therefore treated with an air of patronage or contempt. The cheap or forced labour of the enslaved population was not yet available to the Aryans for the tasks mentioned above.