‘One as the word and its meaning’ Abirami Andhadai
Women are regarded as Mother and The Taittriya says first respect is for Mother,
Matru Devo Bhava.Great Rishis like Kathyayani,Gargi were women.
“”What differentiates the Hindu brilliance in logic and rational thought from its Hellenistic parallel is that Hindus were very aware of the intellect’s limitations. They understood that only the feminine intuitive mind was capable of grasping the deepest spiritual truths in powerful flashes on intuition.”
Some of them are.
Gargi Vachaknavi – A female Rishi who challenged Yajnavalkya on questions relating to the human soul.
Maitreyi.
Lopamudra – Wife of Sage Agastya
Andal – A 8th century Tamil saint-poet and one of the twelve Alvars.
Karaikkal Ammeiyar – A 6th century Tamil saint-poet, one of the sixty three Nayanmars
Mangayarkkarasiyar – A Pandya Queen, wife of King Nedumaranan, one of the sixty three Nayanmars
Isaignaniyaar – A Tamil saint-poet, one of sixty three Nayanmars
Avvaiyar – A Sangam period Tamil saint-poet, ethicist, social reformer.
Akka Mahadevi – A prominent figure and Kannada poet of the 12th century Veerashaiva Bhakti movement.
Mirabai – Hindu mystical poet and a devotee of Krishna whose bhajans are sung all over India.
Lalleshwari – Hindu saint-poetess, and a mystic of the Kashmiri Shaivites.
“”A girl also should be brought up and educated with great effort and care.” (Mahanirvana Tantra); and “All forms of knowledge are aspects of Thee; and all women throughout the world are Thy forms.” (Devi Mahatmya)
Women, who so desired, could undergo the sacred thread ceremony or ‘Upanayana‘ (a sacrament to pursue Vedic studies), which is only meant for males even to this day. The mention of female scholars and sages of the Vedic age like Vac, Ambhrni, Romasa, Gargi, Khona in the Vedic lore corroborates this view. These highly intelligent and greatly learned women, who chose the path of Vedic studies, were called ‘brahmavadinis’, and women who opted out of education for married life were called ‘sadyovadhus’. Co-education seems to have existed in this period and both the sexes got equal attention from the teacher. Moreover, ladies from the Kshatriya caste received martial arts courses and arms training”
Wifehood in the Vedic Era
As in present, after marriage, the girl became a ‘grihini’ (wife) and was considered ‘ardhangini’ or one half of her husband’s being. Both of them constituted the ‘griha’ or home, and she was considered its ‘samrajni’ (queen or mistress) and had an equal share in the performance of religious rites.
Divorce, Remarriage & Widowhood
Divorce and remarriage of women were allowed under very special conditions. If a woman lost her husband, she was not forced to undergo the merciless practices that cropped up in later years. She was not compelled to tonsure her head, nor was she forced to wear red sari and commit ‘sahagamana’ or dying on the funeral pyre of the dead husband. If they chose to, they could live a life of a ‘sanyasin’ or hermit, after the husband passed away.
”
Polyandry
One can only grudgingly admit that there are few references of polyandry in the Vedas. In the
marriage hymn of Rigveda
xxxi
, Surya is married to Aswins. The marriage of Rudasi with Maruts
is also find place in it.
xxxii
There are some passages in which the wife is mentioned in connection
with husband in plural.
xxxiii
It is interesting to note that later Vedic literature do not approve
polyandry though legalize the polygamy.
xxxiv
Widow Marriage
As in the case of a widower, the widows are allowed to marry again. It may sound strange, but
the funeral hymn in Vedas exhorts widow to marry the one who holds her hand is willing to
marry.
xxxv
It also shows that the brother of the deceased took charge of the widow. Atharveda
too mentions of women marrying second time.
xxxvi
The passages do not suggest that the women
should marry only her brother-in-law.
xxxvii
Sati
Atharvaveda
xxxviii
, however, shows a strange funeral ritual of the Vedic age, which has preserved
some formalities similar to the custom of Sati. It depicts a widow lying by the side of her
husband’s corpse on the funeral pyre and being asked to come down. A prayer was offered that
she should lead a prosperous life, enjoying the bliss of children and wealth. The passage is open
for interpretation either way.
Niyog
/Levirate
Women’s right to have children was granted by the practice of
Niyoga
/Levirate.
xxxix
As there are
few instances of remarriage of widows, and in the absence of clear injunction of widow-
marriages, one can safely assume that this practice was more popular than remarriages.
Religious and Social life of Women
The Vedic society was quite free and did not pose much restriction upon the free movement of
their women. They were educated along with boys of their own age, free to move with them,
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approach them for marriages and took part in sports and extra curricular activities, of course
within the accepted norms and customs of the society. We do not come across the system of
purdah in the Vedic society. Even the life after marriage does not change much in their social
interaction. The marriage hymn itself requires th
e bride to be shown to all the assembled guests
at the end of the marriage rituals.
xl
The practice still continues in Hindu marriages. It is also
hoped that the bride will be able to speak with
composure in public assemblies down to her old
age.
xli
The presence of ladies in social and public gathering therefore, was a normal feature in
Vedic time.
xlii
They were quite free to associate them
selves with others on the occasion of
festivals and rejoicing.
xliii
The Vedic Aryans were
mostly occupied in military activities
as they were engaged in the task of
carving a homeland for themselves. They had, therefore, to rely upon a greater degree of
cooperation from their women folk. Women are depicted in Vedic literature as taking part in
agriculture and in manufacture of bows, arrows and other war materials. They were also engaged
in weaving cloth, dying, embroidery and basket-making. They were also engaged in teaching,
independent of their man-counterpart. The cultivation of fine arts like music, dancing and
painting was the domain of the women only. Musical reciting of the Sama-hymns was the special
function of ladies.
xliv
The Vedas regard women as untouchable during her monthly period. This temporary impurity is
assigned to their taking over from India one third of the sin of Brahmana murder, which he
incurred when he killed Vritra.
xlv
Child bearing is regarded as the special function of women,
and evil spirits are believed to be very of anxious to visit them during their periods to prevent
conception. They may also harm her husband. One stanza in Vedic hymn prays that the bride
should have no evil eye and hopes that she would not be the cause of the sudden death of her
husband.
xlvi
During the time of confinement, the women are regarded as impure as the
phenomenon of menstruation is considered to be repeated at the child birth.
Ammi Midithal Ammi Midithal The groom touches the feet of the bride and lifts her right foot gently and places it on the Ammi(grinding stone). This signifies her hope that their union may be as firm and steadfast as the grinding stone.
Women , not all of them but the self-styled feminists, would like one to believe that they are being discriminated by Men,want Equal Rights with Men.
They also say that they are not weak , can do what a Man could do.
In the same breath they expect Men to be chivalrous and give, as a courtesy(!?), to give priority to women in Public, say like allowing them the first right of passage,special seats for them in Trains buses, special timing and excuses for leave in the work place.
To me if you want to be equal to Men , you should expect to be treated like men.
The Cabinet has given the nod for the following proposals.
“A wife will have a share in her husband’s inherited or inheritable marital property on divorce, though the exact quantum of the compensation has been left to the discretion of the judge, according to a legislation that was cleared by the Union Cabinet on Wednesday.
The Cabinet also cleared the proposal that in cases where divorce has been sought on mutual consent of both parties the judiciary has been given the discretion to grant divorce to one party after a period of three years, even if the man and the wife are no longer on the same page. These were part of the recommendations of the GoM on Marriage Laws Amendment Bill which will now be amended suitably before being brought to Parliament during the monsoon session, beginning August 5.
By not quantifying the amount of compensation the government has moderated its earlier proposal to give a wife “equal” share in marital property. The ministers felt that a judge could decide on the quantum of compensation after taking into account an entire set of considerations such as the disposable income of both husband and wife, conditions like who will bear the primary responsibility of raising the children and claimants on the “inheritable property.”
If you do not want to live with a Man, why do you want his property?
Relationship is about understanding and compromising one with the other.
If you want to end it, it should be with lock, stock and barrel, not what is convenient,.
While cases about Men walking out of relationships, Marriages, is widely reported, women indulging in this, never gets reported for the man considers that it is an insult to divulge it and Dog bites Man is not News.
I know a case, where a woman deliberately pretended to love a Boy , got married, drugged him with the help of her mother for three years and tried to get his property worth one crore and finally settled for 30 lakhs!..
If in a relationship, if either wants any thing more than the Relationship, other than Love, Care and Affection, in my dictionary it is, sorry for using this, Prostitution.
(Desertion , if proved, is a different matter and has to be strictly dealt with by Punishment and Compensation, this applies to both sex).
The other proposal of granting divorce after three years, even if one party is not willing or has a change of mind, Divorce is to be granted.
Then why do you have family Courts for Divorces, simply follow ‘Talaq,talaq, talaq’ and be done with it.
However I am not against Divorces if either the husband or wife is unfaithful , neglectful of the other and embark on cruelty.
This point is common to bth sex.
There is a mistaken impression that there is no cruelty being practiced by Women.
It is erroneous.
It exists more than one thinks.
Men do not admit it.
One of my friend used say that many Men in India go through married Life, because they feel it is their duty to go through it,let me suffer silently.
In India if men were to go for Divorce for reasons like cruelty by wives,well, about 80% of Marriages would have broken long ago.
I expect comments like Male Chauvinist Pig‘ ‘Sucking Pig, a Muslim(!?), who brings dishonor to Islam!
These comments are real and were approved and published in my site.
* I am not a Divorcee, am happily married with Grand children..
To me family is the most important institution one has to respect and men have the responsibility of taking car of it, including wife.
Marriage is not a walkers Association to walk away when you feel like it.
Wife has to be respected, listened when it is worth not otherwise, to me no compromises just to please, what is in the best interests of the family, will be done.
There is a Sanskrit slaoka which says,
‘Listen to women and children int the Family, take decisions in the interest of the family’
‘Do not discuss economic difficulties with Children, Wife and Gussets, they can not understand, you carry the burden”
I find this to be practical.
The issue of accepting money from your wife,.
You take Financial assistance from your wife for the family.
You had it, you would be reminded and insulted to the end of your Life.
The report said all countries in South Asia, with the exception of Afghanistan, were a better place for women than India, with Sri Lanka (75) topping them all. Nepal ranked 102nd and Bangladesh 111th.
The annual U.N. report assesses how well countries world-wide are performing on human development indicators like health, education and income.
The gender inequality index measures the loss in a country’s progress and human development because of gender inequality in three sectors: reproductive health, women empowerment and labor market participation.
The report notes that “gender inequality is especially tragic not only because it excludes women from basic social opportunities, but also because it gravely imperils the life prospects of future generations.”
India ranks low partly because of its skewed sex ratio, with only 914 females every 1000 males, according to Indian government data. Indian families often prefer boys to girls, and female feticide is tragically common.”
Times of India , in collaboration with IMRB had conducted Survey on Women on the occasion of the Women’s Day and had published the results with its comments.
This survey is reported to have been done in Six Cities of India.
Let’s assume the Survey is scientific ,which I doubt ,because of the sample size area and interpretation.
1.64% of Women feel Unsafe in the City.
2.60 % of Women step out side with company.
When one looks at the figures, it is evident one feels safe if they go out with company
.Only 4% are do not seem to subscribe to this view.
(One never knows whether both the responses are from the same person).
So if you feel safe with company why not opt for it in the interest of your safety.
Complaint about Public Places.
45% say Toilets must be clean.
This applies to men as well.
Cleanliness is not Gender Specific unless if people are not clean.
Under sub clause in the same finding, 42% work for Financial Independence: 12% for Money
So it is all a question of being not committed for the family- “I would like to be independent of every one’-
Translate into common parlance ‘I am not sure of the relationship and I want to be independent’
If the spouse also thinks the same way, then Marriage and Family go out of the window.
Who takes the decision on Big Investments?
39% say Husband.
Wait till you hear this data under the heading.
Who decides on Savings?
Woman decide.
40%
Who decides on method of Contraception?
Women 21%
You decide on savings, contraception and yet say Husband decides on Big Investments.
It is like a man saying ‘I take all major decisions like obeying wife while she does all unimportant things like finance; raising kids!
Either the Survey is skewed, or did not ask the relevant questions ….
Or Women being Women?
What is Women’s Day ,r Mother’s Day, father’s Day?
As if they no longer remain one on the other days!
Times of India and IMRB Survey Report.
Women’s Freedom.
Bangalore is safe, but not safe enough. At least, that seems to be what the majority of women living in the city believe, based on a study commissioned by The Times of India. The study, which is based on a survey of 900 women conducted by IMRB in six cities across the country, looked at various issues faced by women, beginning with safety, services available, gender issues at home and the workplace, health and financial issues. It shows that while women feel relatively safer in Bangalore compared to other cities, in absolute terms, opinions are divided. An overwhelming 64% of the city’s women said they do not feel safe in the city after sunset, and only 17% said they felt safe “at any time of the day.”
Some parts of the city are perceived to be less safe than others. TheMarathahalli Ring Road area, for instance, is perceived to be either “unsafe for women” or “very unsafe for women” by more than a third of those surveyed. “The stretch of Outer Ring Road between Marathahalli and Bellandur, where I live, is definitely underlit and possibly unsafe. The few times I’ve had to wait alone at Marathahalli junction for a bus or auto haven’t been pleasant,” says Ankita Sharma, who works in an HR firm in Brookefield and travels by public transport. Sharma says there are no street lights in this area and the operators of private vehicles soliciting passengers can get rude and hostile. “After the Delhi rape incident, I became especially wary of these private vehicles. I don’t know if any of them have proper licenses and whether the police keeps an eye on them,” she adds.
Other areas where women felt “unsafe” or “very unsafe” included Kengeri Road and the stretch between BEL Road and Vidyaranyapura. Even the morning stroll, so long a part of the Bangalorean’s day, seems to have become fraught. More than half the women (53%) IMRB spoke to felt unsafe during their morning walks. An increasing number of women feel so insecure that they have begun contemplating carrying a weapon – 42% of the respondents said that they “felt the need to carry a weapon/article of self-defence”
Glad to note that Egyptians and Palestinians agree at least on one point.
I am intrigued by this-Why women bare themselves to show dissent whether it be equal rights or freedom of expression?
Is it because they feel it is the one thing that will catch attention?
Sad.
When an Egyptian activist posted a nude picture of herself online in protest at the lack of freedom of expression, it sparked outrage in her country.
Now, a group of women in Israel have also stripped off in a show of solidarity.
Inspired by 20-year-old Aliaa Elmahdy’s bold move, the 40 Israelis posed naked for a ‘copycat’ shot – holding a banner to cover their modesty.
The sign read ‘Homage to Aliaa El Mahdi. Sisters in Israel’ with the slogan ‘Love without Limits’, written in Arabic and Hebrew.
Led by 28-year-old Or Templar, who set up a group on a social networking website inviting women to join her, the girls put their political differences aside to express their support.
‘Regardless of whether they are Jewish, Arab, straight or lesbian – because here, as of now, it doesn’t matter.
‘Let us show the doubters that our international discourse doesn’t depend on governments.’
Templar’s plan came as a response to Elmahdy, who posted the image of herself wearing only stockings and red flat shoes on her blog last week.
The country is currently preparing for elections following the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak.
Elmahdy’s blog received millions of hits but thousands took to her site to make negative comments.
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