Status of women in modern times
Modern period in Indian history refers to the end of the Mughal rule and the beginning of the rule of the East India Company to the present time. The British established two types of government systems in the country by defeating the native rulers. In the first system, the British called the areas conquered by them as British India. The laws made by the British used to apply to this part of the country.
The other part was called princely India. There were small kingdoms in this part which were ruled by kings and nawabs. These states were brought under British power through subordinate treaties in which English laws were enforced through political agents.
The life of women was very difficult in the Indian society during the British rule. Dowry system was prevalent in the society. The life of widows was bleak. Polygamy was prevalent among men and in case of death of one wife he was allowed to remarry but women could not remarry.
The British practiced traditional practices in India, such as sati, child marriage, purdah system, girl-slaughter, mismatch-marriage, dowry system, devadasi system, disciple-making system, slavery, Make laws to stop many social evils like the practice of selling children etc.
Sati-practice
The mention of the practice of Sati in India starts from the Mahabharata period. In most of the smritis, sati was said to be the heavenly path for a virtuous woman. Probably at the beginning of the practice of sati, women used to voluntarily commit sati inspired by religious sentiments. A woman who had become sati was considered a goddess in the society. However, in ancient times, sati was not compulsory.
No queen was sati on the death of King Dasharatha. After the death of King Pandu, only the younger queen Madri was sati but the elder queen Kunti did not. By the time of the medieval period, this belief became prevalent in the society that women would not be able to remain true character if they were widowed. Therefore, in order to save the dignity of the clan, she was forced to commit sati.
She was tied to the pyre even when she did not wish to commit sati and when she tried to run away from the burning pyre, the family members beat her with bamboo and pushed her towards the pyre. Drums were played loudly so that no one could hear the cries of the woman. Some medieval rulers tried to end this evil practice, but this practice continued. In the latter half of the 18th century and the first half of the 19th century, a large number of women were engaged in sati in the states of Bengal, Rajasthan, Punjab etc.
Virgo-Slaughter
In India, the birth of a girl child was not considered good since ancient times. Patanjali has written in the commentary- 'Son is like light and daughter is the source of trouble.' The birth of a girl child was not considered good in Rajput families. On the marriage of the girl, the groom had to pay dowry. On the occasion of the marriage of the girl child, Charan, Dholi and Bhat, 'renunciation' from the girl's father and 'Neg' As used to demand large amount.
The girl's father had to be looked down upon in the society for not giving up the sacrifice and negativity. To avoid these unpleasant situations, most of the girls were killed at birth. This evil practice was in full swing at the beginning of the modern era. As soon as the girl was born, she was killed by giving her opium or by strangulation or by applying poison on the mother's breast. By the end of the 18th century this practice began to be banned voluntarily.
Postal Customs
In the Middle Ages, it was believed in many countries of the world that some women were witches or witches who ate children and newly married women. They eat after taking out the heart of the children buried in the crematorium. If the dead child is not found, Dakan eats the liver of a living child during the night, due to which the child dies. This superstition was further strengthened by the exorcists and tatriks.
When the exorcist, tantrik or bhopa who used to sweep a woman confirmed that she was a dakan, then that woman was burnt to death or beheaded or beaten to death. So that the postman cannot harm anyone. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, this belief was very strong among the people. This superstition was more prevalent among many castes living in rural areas, especially Bhil, Meena and some other tribal castes. Many times the woman was burnt alive with the consent of the family and her husband declared as Dakan. The villagers or the family members of that woman did not oppose this act.
Child marriage
In the Vedic period, the marriage of a girl was done only when she was eligible for marriage, but by the time of the Sutra period, the age of marriage of girls started decreasing and by the pre-medieval period, child marriage took the form of evil in the society. Due to repeated attacks by Muslims, child marriage was considered good to protect the chastity of girls but it blocked the path of physical, mental, educational and personality development of girls.
The problem of child widows arose due to child marriage. Many girls used to become widows at the age of playing. On Akshaya Tritiya, many daughters of the house were married together. Some girls were married by sitting on a plate. Due to child marriage, the girl became a mother at a young age. In modern times, this evil practice has been abolished on the strength of law, but this evil practice still exists secretly in the society.
purdah
Purdah system was not prevalent in Vedic culture. Before the start of the Muslim invasion of India, women could move freely without veils, but the attacking soldiers kidnapped beautiful girls and forced them to marry them. Because of this Hindu society resorted to child marriage and purdah system. Gradually this evil practice took the form of compulsory moral practice in Hindu society.
Even inside the house, the woman had to veil from the men of the house and even her mother-in-law etc. He also stopped leaving the house and taking education. It was compulsory for women to wear burqa and hijab among Muslims. In the second half of the 19th century, social reformers started raising their voice against the system of purdah, but in rural areas this practice remains an essential moral-tradition even today.
Slavery
In ancient and medieval Indian society, the practice of maid-servant was in full swing. For this, girls were bought and sold. Rajput people used to buy girls to give maids along with dowry in the marriage of their daughter. Some feudal or wealthy people used to buy girls to be their mistresses.
A maid who went for dowry with a girl usually had to live as a beggar of the men of that house. Thus, till the middle of the 19th century the condition of Indian women was very bad, but in the second half of the 19th century, with the efforts of many Indian and British social reformers, the government tried to stop these evil practices by making laws against them.
Contribution of social reformers in improving the condition of women
Western society is an individualistic society in which men and women have equal rights. There the woman has been taking her own decisions like marriage, procreation and divorce. During the British rule, when Indian people started going to England etc. for the purposes of travel, tourism, business and education etc., they got an opportunity to think about the poor condition of the women of their country. Many British officers also saw the plight of women in Indian society with compassion and tried to remove her plight.
Contribution of Christian Missionaries
Many Christian missionaries who came to India preached among Indians that purdah is not mandatory, women should get education by discarding veils. The spread of English education also led to the development of modern thinking and individualistic lifestyle among Indians. Many Christian social reformers drew the attention of Indians towards social evils by writing articles and poems in Indian newspapers and magazines. Christian priests strongly condemned the practice of Sati and child marriage.
Social Reform Program in Bengal
Raj Rammohan Roy started the program of women's reform through the Brahmo Samaj. The Prarthana Samaj of Bombay and the Dev Samaj of Lahore also launched movements to improve the condition of Indian women. As a result of which the Governor-General William Batick declared the practice of Sati unconstitutional in AD 1829. Raja Rammohan Roy also opposed polygamy.
He emphasized on the social, legal and property rights of women. He was a strong supporter of women's education. Bengal's social reformer Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar said that the abolition of the practice of Sati has not ended the torture of women. That's why he strongly supported widow remarriage. With the tireless efforts of Vidyasagar, the Widow-Remarriage Act was approved in AD 1856.
Vidyasagar established a girls school in Calcutta in AD 1849 which later became famous as Bethune Girls College. Vidyasagar donated all his property to this college.
Contribution of Arya Samaj
Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj, laid special emphasis on women's education for the purpose of restoring Vedic religion and culture and established guru-klas for the education of girls. Swamiji opposed child marriage and said that the age of 16 to 24 years is suitable for marriage for girls. On the basis of the social structure of the Vedic period, he tried to give women a high and prestigious position in the society.
Social Reforms in Maharashtra
Mahatma Jyotirao Phule played the first bugle of women's education in Maharashtra. She 'Women's Education Committee' and opened a school for Atishudra girls in AD 1848. He could not find a teacher for this school due to intense opposition from the Brahmins. So Jyotiba sent his wife Savitri Bai, whom Jyotiba had taught at home, to teach in the school. The conservatives threw mud and stones at Savitri Bai but they could not remove Savitri Bai from their path. Jyotiba was a strong supporter of widow remarriage. On his encouragement, a widow woman of Shainavi caste was married in Poona.
Jyotiba set up an orphanage where pregnant Hindu widows could secretly have their own deliveries and keep their children in the orphanage. Jyotiba's friend Vishnu Shastri also established an organization to encourage widow remarriage. This organization propagated widow-marriage and got many widows married.
In AD 1873, Jyotiba, with the support of some of his fans, 'Satya Shodhak Samaj' established. Jyotiba was the first person who tried to uplift the women of the Dalit caste. Mahadev Ranade also ran a women-reform program in Maharashtra. He mentioned the minimum age of marriage as 12 years, but he considered the minimum age of a woman to be 16 years suitable for sexual relations. Ranade supported widow remarriage and became an active worker of the Widow-Remarriage Society established in AD 1861. She supported women's education and established a girls' school in AD 1884.
Ranade founded the Indian National Social Conference in AD 1887, whose workers took oath to give up alcohol, oppose dowry, support widow-marriage, promote women's education, ban child marriage, etc.
Social Reform Program in Gujarat
The Gujarati social reformer Bahramji Malbari opposed child marriage and supported widow remarriage. He established 'Seva-Sadan' in Bombay in AD 1885. Established an organization called Women's Society which tried to solve the problems of women. Another social reformer from Gujarat, Durgadas Mehta, focused his attention on the widow-problem.
He did 'Manav Dharma Sabha' in AD 1844. established. In this assembly, speeches were organized on the issues of denial of caste discrimination, the need for remarriage of widows, opposition to idol-worship and refutation of superstitions. Narmada Shankar has a special place in the social-improvement activities of Gujarat. He was a strong supporter of women's education and widow-remarriage. He 'widow-marriage' Gave active support in an organization called.
Dalpatram of Gujarat also opposed child marriage and compulsory legal life. He is based in Ahmedabad's 'Gujarat Vernacular Society' He was a prominent activist of the reformist organization. He spread new ideas in the society through his literature. Karsandas Mulji was the first person from Gujarat who performed the first widow-marriage. Lalshankar Umiyashankar also opposed child marriage.
The ruler of Baroda, Sayajirao Gaikwad, took strict steps in the direction of women's reform. In the Baroda state, he introduced laws fixing the minimum age for marriage, pre-acceptance of divorce and declaring monogamy compulsory, long before the laws of British rule.