The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c17.s3.4

c17.s3.4

In the case of non-Kshatriya girls, who were married at the age of 10 or 11, naturally no education worth the name could be imparted. Down to about 1200 a. d., daughters in rich families continued to receive some literary education through special teachers; a few of them used to distinguish themselves as poetesses and critics down to the 10th century a. d. But this tradition died down when the old aristocracy perished or declined in importance after the establishment of the Muslim rule. In ordinary families naturally girls now began to grow in ignorance; no education worth the name was possible before the age of 10 or 11, which had now become the usual marriageable age. At the advent of the British rule the literacy among women was confined only to the class of dancing girls; women in respectable families felt very uneasy if it was suspected that they were literate. Being generally illiterate and inexperienced, women naturally ceased to inspire respect, and the tendency to pass cynical observations about their weakness and worthlessness became more common.