Rights of Women (स्त्रीत्वाधिकारः)

Rights of Women (Samskrit: स्त्रीत्वाधिकारः)

परिचयः ॥ Introduction

The Bharatiya Parampara enumerates various virtues as fundamentals or characteristics of dharma that should to be practiced by all. Among them, 'respect for women' was one of the most cherished values of life. Women were considered as divine treasures for family life. For, they are entrusted with the responsibility of motherhood by nature. An understanding of the intense love and affection of a mother for her children, and her readiness to make tremendous sacrifices for the sake of her children led to the evolution of a cultural value of regarding mother as a devata (divinity). Furthermore, as every woman is a potential mother, even small girls came to be addressed with respect as Ma, Amma etc., that mean mother. Once the value that 'every woman is motherly' is ingrained in the heart of an individual, immoral thoughts of committing any offence against woman gets destroyed. In fact, despite the declining moral values in recent years, this value, cultivated and inculcated diligently in the hearts of individuals, is acting by and large, as the greatest protection for women against the immoralities prevalent in the society. Thus, creating and maintaining this value has been one of the most valuable contribution of our ancestors.

स्त्रीत्वमानः ॥ Respect for Womanhood

Manusmriti, in the following verse, mandates that highest respect and regard must be extended to women. It says,

यत्र नार्यस्तु पूज्यन्ते रमन्ते तत्र देवताः । यत्रैतास्तु न पूज्यन्ते सर्वास्तत्राफलाः क्रियाः । । ३.५६ । ।

yatra nāryastu pūjyante ramante tatra devatāḥ । yatraitāstu na pūjyante sarvāstatrāphalāḥ kriyāḥ । । 3.56 । ।

Meaning : Deities are pleased with the house in which women are respected. In that house in which women are insulted and are made to suffer, every thing done is sure to go waste. The importance given to this value of 'respect for womanhood' was ably exemplified by Shivaji Maharaj in his lifetime. It is said that having won the Kalyan province, Shivaji Maharaj acquired a lot of wealth. At that time, Abajipanth, who was the commander of the army that won the war, told him that a beautiful girl who was a member of the family of the Mughal Subhedar of Kalyan defeated in the war, had also been captured. And as he offered to present her to Maharaj, he said,

"You say she is so beautiful, she is equal to my mother. So, I love and respect her. Moreover, affording protection to women is Raja Dharma."

Having said so he got her decorated with jewels and rich dress, and she was restored to the defeated Subhedhar who was overwhelmed and realized the importance given to the value of 'respect for womanhood' in Bharata.

Furthermore, it is said that,

शोचन्ति जामयो यत्र विनश्यत्याशु तत्कुलम् । न शोचन्ति तु यत्रैता वर्धते तद्धि सर्वदा । । ३.५७ । ।

जामयो यानि गेहानि शपन्त्यप्रतिपूजिताः । तानि कृत्याहतानीव विनश्यन्ति समन्ततः । । ३.५८ । ।

śocanti jāmayo yatra vinaśyatyāśu tatkulam । na śocanti tu yatraitā vardhate taddhi sarvadā । । 3.57 । ।

jāmayo yāni gehāni śapantyapratipūjitāḥ । tāni kr̥tyāhatānīva vinaśyanti samantataḥ । । 3.58 । ।

Meaning: If, in a house, the daughter, daughter-in-law, sisters and other women suffer, then that house is sure to be destroyed. The house in which such women live happily is the one that secures wealth and happiness. The family in which the wife, daughter, sister, daughter-in-law, etc. are not respected and in which they suffer from insult, is sure to be destroyed.

Hence, it is said that, men who seek (their own) welfare should always honour women with gifts, good attire and dainty food.

स्त्रियां तु रोचमानायां सर्वं तद्रोचते कुलम् । तस्यां त्वरोचमानायां सर्वमेव न रोचते । । ३.६२ । ।

striyāṁ tu rocamānāyāṁ sarvaṁ tadrocate kulam । tasyāṁ tvarocamānāyāṁ sarvameva na rocate । । 3.62 । ।

Meaning : The house in which women folk are decorated with dress and jewellery shines. Otherwise, the house is sure to suffer. In fact, the Manusmrti goes ahead to say that,

सुवासिनीः कुमारीश्च रोगिणो गर्भिणीः स्त्रियः । अतिथिभ्योऽग्र एवैतान् भोजयेदविचारयन् । । ३.११४ । ।

suvāsinīḥ kumārīśca rogiṇo garbhiṇīḥ striyaḥ । atithibhyo'gra evaitān bhojayedavicārayan । । 3.114 । ।

Meaning: Recently married daughters, as well as daughters-in-law, young girls as also pregnant women should be served with meals even before the guests.

This indicates the utmost consideration given to women in Manusmrti. For, the normal duty of Grhasthashrami (Householder) is to feed guests first and only thereafter, the owner of the house, his wife and other members of the family have food. However, the above provision shows that a young daughter or daughter-in-law who has been recently married, as also young girls and pregnant women were given such an importance and priority that they were to be provided with meals even before the guests. This indicates the highest concern shown to women and the acknowledgement of their great importance to the happiness of the family. On the whole, the above verses impress that any person who wants happiness at home and who desires that his family should prosper and secure enjoyment of life, must respect women always.

Western Distortion of Dharma and its status of women in Vedic Bharat

However, there is a verse on the basis of which Manu Smriti is criticized and condemned as being against women. It reads:

"पिता रक्षति कौमारे भर्ता रक्षति यौवने |

रक्षन्ति स्थविरे पुत्रा न स्त्री स्वातन्त्र्यमर्हति || " (Manu -IX-3)

Meaning : The father protects the girl in her childhood, the husband protects her after marriage and her sons protect her in old age. At no stage should a woman be left free.

On the basis of the last part of the above verse, without reference to the earlier parts and other verses in Manu Smriti, referred to earlier, the criticism levelled against Manu Smriti is that it wanted women to live like slaves of man through out their life.

Nothing can be farther from the truth. It is a matter of common knowledge that in most of the families, except those of people who are uncultured and who fall into bad habits, particularly those who have become alcohol addicts, the women are not only respected most, their advice in every matter concerning the family prevails and even now it is so. They shape the fortunes of the family. Therefore, the true meaning and purpose of the above verse is that a woman requires and is entitled to protection in every stage of life. Correspondingly it is the duty of the father, .the husband and the sons to look after the daughter, the wife and the mother respectively. It is the duty of the father to look after his daughter with all care, educate her having due regard to her aptitude including in arts and crafts and music and celebrate her marriage. Thereafter the fundamental duty and responsibility to maintain and protect her stand shifted to her husband, and thereafter when her sons become aged, that duty gets shifted to the sons. In fact protection and care is essential to male children as well as aged fathers. However, special provision is made for women. Therefore, the real intention of the verse is to declare the obligation of the father, husband and sons to maintain and protect the daughter, the wife and the mother respectively. It is not a directive to subjugate or dominate them. Therefore to interpret the verse to the effect that a woman must be treated as a slave by her father during her childhood, and by her husband after her marriage and by her sons in old age, and that she should be deprived of freedom throughout her life is wholly erroneous and perverse.

Refuting the baseless allegations

A few illustrations will make the above aspect clear :

By nature womanhood is tender and requires protection. For instance, one can afford to send a boy to the house of a teacher or another person for education and ask him to stay with him for ten or twelve years, i.e., until he completes his education. Ordinarily this cannot be done in the case of a girl. Doing so would be a dereliction of duty. She requires special care, protection and arrangement for her education.

If the parents desire to send their son to a far off place for higher studies, it would be sufficient for them to give an introductory letter to a person known to them or to get a letter from a friend of theirs to a person known to him and ask the boy to go and get in touch with the said person and secure the necessary help from him and to continue his higher education at such a distinct place. But, can this be done in the case of a daughter? Certainly not. Even with the advancement of civilization, most of the parents will be unwilling to send their daughters alone to a distant place for higher education with an introductory letter to anyone and asking her to contact some one and make her own arrangements. In the nature of things, it is impossible, and improper as also dereliction of duty. Therefore, whenever, a girl is to be sent for higher education to a distant place, the parents also accompany her and only after making proper arrangements for her stay and ensuring full protection to her, they come back. This is the essential difference between man and woman.

Another illustration would be of great assistance. In a number of cases, in which poor boys go to distant places for study, in the absence of electric lights in the rooms in which they secure accommodation they go to public parks or to public buildings during night time and continue their studies late into the night at such places or till the small hours of the morning, and come back to their place of residence. Is it possible for a girl to do so? The answer obviously is in the negative.

The above illustrations are not exhaustive. There are many situations in which the women/girls require greater care, protection and security.

It is such a difference flowing from the nature of women, who are vulnerable to various kinds of onslaughts when left unprotected which is the basis for the above verse of Manu Smriti, It does not mean that woman must be kept without freedom. Such an

interpretation runs counter to the verse, which says that the house in which women are insulted and shed tears gets destroyed. The above true meaning of the verse becomes more clear when it is read with another provision in Manu in which the highest respect is required to be given to women.

"उपाध्यायान्दशाचार्य आचार्याणं शतं पिता |

सहस्त्रं तु पितृन्माता गौरवेणातिरिच्यते || " (Manu II-145)

Meaning : The acharya is more venerable than a Upadhyaya (teacher). father is more venerable than an acharya. But the mother is more venerable than the father.

A combined reading of the verses quoted above indicate that women were placed at a higher position. The above verse in Manu indicates that while the teacher is to be placed at a higher level, the father is to be respected more than the teacher and no place, no status which is higher than that of the mother is given to any one. These verses should be read with the earlier verse. So the real meaning is, the women should be honoured and protected. It is a humane and a duty-oriented provision, the mandate to provide security. This should not be misunderstood as making her life insecure. Any meaning given to the verse to the effect that women should be denied freedom at every stage is perverse as it would be totally inconsistent with the other verses. For, if women are denied freedom and they are kept under subjugation they are bound to be in grief and tears, and as a consequence the happiness of the family disappears. Hence, a meaning consistent with the above verses alone is appropriate.

An analysis of many other provisions concerning women in the Smritis indicate that except that, on account of the social system under which a daughter, after marriage, was to become a member of her husband's family, no share in the ancestral property of the father was provided for her by birth, in every other respect special provisions had been made in favour of women. They are:

Rights of women members of joint family

Though women were not admitted to the membership of coparcenary, they were members of the joint family and the law gave them the right to a share equal to one fourth of the share of the brothers at partition though they were not given the right to compel partition.

Misuse or dependence of the property of women prohibited

न कन्यायाः पिता विद्वान्गृह्णीयाच्छुल्कं अण्वपि । गृह्णञ् शुल्कं हि लोभेन स्यान्नरोऽपत्यविक्रयी । । ३.५१ । ।

स्त्रीधनानि तु ये मोहादुपजीवन्ति बान्धवाः । नारी यानानि वस्त्रं वा ते पापा यान्त्यधोगतिम् । । ३.५२ । ।

na kanyāyāḥ pitā vidvāngr̥hṇīyācchulkaṁ aṇvapi । gr̥hṇañ śulkaṁ hi lōbhēna syānnarō'patyavikrayī । । 3.51 । ।

strīdhanāni tu yē mōhādupajīvanti bāndhavāḥ । nārī yānāni vastraṁ vā tē pāpā yāntyadhōgatim । । 3.52 । ।

Meaning :

No father who knows (the law) must take even the smallest gratuity for his daughter; for a man who, through avarice, takes a gratuity, is a seller of his offspring.

But those (male) relations, who in their folly live on the separate property of women, (Ex: appropriate) the beasts of burden, carriages, and cloths of women, commit papa (पापम्) and suffer a downfall.

Even now when civilization has advanced greatly and women 's performance in every field of activity is excellent, - in many cases they have surpassed men, their responsibility to be mothers and to look after the interests of children and to make them good citizens has not decreased but has increased. Still on account of the evil propensities of man towards women, they require protection against onslaught.

Right of Wives

यदि कुर्यात्समानंशान्पत्न्यः कार्याः समांशिकाः । न दत्तं स्त्रीधनं यासां भर्त्रा वा श्वशुरेण वा । । २.११५ । ।

yadi kuryātsamānaṁśānpatnyaḥ kāryāḥ samāṁśikāḥ । na dattaṁ strīdhanaṁ yāsāṁ bhartrā vā śvaśurēṇa vā । । 2.115 । ।

Meaning : Wives are entitled to a share equal to that of sons at a partition. But the share is liable to be reduced by the amount of stridhana given by the husband or the father-in-law, if any, in their possession.

This rule recognized the right to share in favour of a wife and if there was more than one wife, all the wives were entitled to equal shares. The amount of Stridhana to be taken into account for the purpose of reducing the share was only that which was given by the husband or the father-in-law.

Right of mothers

समांशहारिणी माता | samāṁśahāriṇī mātā |

Meaning : Mother is an Equal Sharer.

समांशहारिणी मातेति वचनात् मातृपदस्य जननीपरत्वात् न | सपत्नीमातृपरत्वमपि सकृत् श्रुतस्य मुख्यगौनत्वानुपपत्तेः ||

samāṁśahāriṇī mātēti vacanāt mātr̥padasya jananīparatvāt na | sapatnīmātr̥paratvamapi sakr̥t śrutasya mukhyagaunatvānupapattēḥ ||

(Smriti Chandrika p.624)

Meaning: The expression 'mother' includes the step-mother, i.e., the other wives, if any, of the father. Their share was, however, liable to be reduced to the extent of stridhana in their possession. (Smrti Chandrika)

Because of this rule, the rights of paternal grandmother or step-grandmother were also similar.

Rights of daughters

Daughters, whose marriages had taken place before partition, were given no right in the coparcenary property of their parents' joint family. As regards unmarried daughters, a share in the coparcenary property was recognised.

स्वेभ्योऽंशेभ्यस्तु कन्याभ्यः प्रदद्युर्भ्रातरः पृथक् । स्वात्स्वादंशाच्चतुर्भागं पतिताः स्युरदित्सवः । । ९.११८ । ।

svēbhyō'ṁśēbhyastu kanyābhyaḥ pradadyurbhrātaraḥ pr̥thak । svātsvādaṁśāccaturbhāgaṁ patitāḥ syuraditsavaḥ । । 9.118 । ।

Meaning : To maiden sisters, each of the brothers shall give out of his share, one-fourth part. Those who fail to give shall become patita.

Kat.858, however, while repeating the rule, provides that in cases where the property is small, sons and unmarried daughters should share equally.

The Hindu law governing inheritance and partition of joint family property continues to be in force subject to the modifications brought about by legislations, the latest being the Hindu succession Act, 1955 under which a daughter is an equal sharer along with the son in the property of the father.

Stridhana

Every property movable or immoveable, given to a woman by anyone constitutes her own absolute property. The rule of succession to Stridhana was that it would go to daughters, to the exclusion of the sons and, to the sons only in the event of there being no daughters.

Exception to women's property from the law of adverse possession

The provision of the law regarding perfecting title to immoveable property by adverse possession was very strict. Only after three generations could adverse possessions be pleaded, but in respect of property belonging to women no adverse possession could be pleaded at all at any time.

Special provision in favor of women regarding quantum of penalty

In case of all offences only half of the punishment prescribed for man should be imposed on a woman (Katyayana-487)

Death sentence for rape of a woman under custody

Capital sentence for committing the offence of rape against a woman arrested, by an officer of the state, was prescribed (vide Kautilya Arthasastra p.256)

The requirement of such severe punishment was recognised and section 376 of the I.P.C. was amended by Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1980, by which penalty of rigorous imprisonment of ten years is prescribed for the offence of the rape of a woman.

The above provisions in the smritis are referred to in this book in order to dispel the doubts created by some critics who argue that, according to Manusmriti, women were not entitled to freedom, and to show that on the other hand greater protection was given to women in our laws. In fact, by placing the entire burden of maintaining the women on the father, the husband, and the son, the law totally freed her from earning and from contributing to the maintenance of the family, leaving her free to dedicate her entire time and energy to the upbringing of children, which was by itself an onerous responsibility.

This exposition can be completed best by quoting what Kerry Brown has stated in his book, "The Essential Teachings of Hinduism", having ascertained the real meaning of the controversial verse in Manu.

"In Hinduism a woman is looked after not because she is inferior or incapable but, on the contrary, because she is treasured. She is the pride and power of the society. Just as the crown jewels should not be left unguarded, neither should a woman be left unprotected. No extra burden of earning a living should be placed on women who already bear huge responsibilities in society; childbirth; child care, domestic well being and adhyatmik growth. She is 1he transmitter of culture to her children."

The important role assigned to women has been correctly identified. It is no doubt true that times have changed, we have women who are competent in various professions, avocations, competent in business, who are competent political rulers, bureaucrats, technocrats, advocates, judges and so on. But that is no reason to lose sight of the onerous responsibility of women of looking after the health and education of children or to forget the noble value of looking upon every woman as one's mother as that is the only powerful antidote for atrocities against women.

References

1. M. RAMA JOIS, DHARMA - The Global Ethic, Published by "Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan