[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Studies](https://indike.org/pramana/ins) › [Polity, law and society](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity) › [The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.altekar-1938) › c9.78 # The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c9.78 The Position of Women in Hindu Civilisation, from Prehistoric Times to the Present Day c9.78 - **Language:** English ### [c9.78](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.altekar-1938.c9.78) That it is a religious duty for a woman of sufficient courage and resolution to accompany her husband was so deep-rooted a conviction in medieval times, that we sometimes come across cases of betrothed but unmarried women insisting to mount the funeral pyres of their would-be husbands. Mustaqui has recorded one such case; the betrothed husband died in trying to save his sweetheart from a serpent, which eventually bit him with fatal effects. Though not yet married, the girl insisted on becoming a Satī and burnt herself on the funeral pyre of her lover (\*J. A. S. B.\*, 1935, p. 259). - [Previous: c9.77](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.altekar-1938.c9.77) - [Next: c9.79](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.altekar-1938.c9.79) - [Up: c9](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.altekar-1938.c9) --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.altekar-1938.c9.78](https://indike.org/pramana/ins.polity.altekar-1938.c9.78) · Pramāṇa