Journal of Interdisciplinary Cycle Research ISSN NO: 0022-1945
EXPLORING CHANGES IN WOMEN EMANCIPATION AND RIGHTS
DURING THE MEDIEVAL PERIOD
Author’s Name: Sanskriti Huckoo
PhD Research Scholar Affiliated to
School of Humanities and Social Sciences
G.D Goenka University, Gurugram, Haryana, India
Abstract
The paper explores the changing world of the women during the 15th and the 16th century India.
Three very important women have been discussed in length that seems to have reorganized
Medieval discourse. Gulbadan Begum, the author of Humayun Nama and the daughter of Babur
presents in front of us an example of domestic power within the Mughal court. The paper
presents the role of royal Mughal women in making the Mughal state structure. The social and
power relations that existed in the Mughal harem provided for the basis of policy making by the
Mughal Emperor. The second woman under my study would be the Rajput Queen Padmini. Her
study showcases alternative approaches. Her sacrifice is seen not only to be a protection of
Rajput honor. It also showcases how gender norms have power in them to construct heroic
memories from narratives. The third women is Mirabai. Though she too belonged to royalty just
like the above mentioned two, but was different. She had renounced the royal world and had
become a bhakti saint. Her bhakti contradicts patriarchal approaches within the Rajput. The
paper attempts to compare and contrast these three historic personalities to see how women
emancipation has been very fluid in nature.
Keywords: Gender Norms, Medieval Feminism Discourse, Patriarchal Approaches, Premakhyan
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Introduction
Women and gender studies have got a big boost in the recent years and an attempt to highlight
ways for women empowerment and enhancement has drawn many scholarly writings across
different disciplines. Cinema and media have played important roles and have contributed to a
newer world that does not buy masculine concepts. As a historian, I intend to trace this discourse
from a historical point of view. This paper provides a glimpse of the lives of some women during
the medieval period. I have focused on three important ladies during that time: Gulbadan Begum
(A.D 1523 –1603), the author of Humayun Nama, the Rajput Queen Padmini and Mirabai (A.D
1498-1546), the poet-saint of Rajasthan. Each one of them represented a different genre. What
relevance do these three historical ladies hold? They are often seen as protagonists in movies,
programmes and theater. They belong to different worlds and are yet bonded together in
memories for being strong, assertive and commanding.
Domestic Life of the Mughal Ladies
The story of Gulbadan Begum would be essential in trying to entangle the domestic life at the
Mughal court and her discourse will help us to understand how women in the past have been able
to reorganize political structures and institutions. Gulbadan Begum was the youngest daughter of
Babur and aunt of Akbar. She was born in 1523 in Kabul. At the age of six she travelled to Agra.
She compiled the life of her brother Humayun in Humayun Nama on the request of her nephew,
Akbar. She wrote when she was more than 60 years old. Her book represents a different line of
history as it talks about the domestic life of the Mughal women1. The very fact that Gulbadan
Begum could write the book suggests that the Mughals got their daughters educated. Her
1 Begam, Gulbadan (2001). Humayun-Nama: The History Of Humayun (A S. Beveridge, Trans.) New Delhi: Goodword.
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influence was unparalleled in the royal household and she soon became an integral part of the
Mughal nobility2. Mughal women had become key players. During the reign of Babur (A.D
1483-1530), the first Mughal emperor, monarchy was still in its inception. The domestic world
of Babur and Humayun has been referred to as peripatetic. i.e there were no formal institutions
and the entire Mughal body was on a move3. There were no hierarchies in the domestic world.
The females travelled along with the Mughals as there were no permanent palaces. Gulbadan
begum writes how Humayun would often go and meet his female relatives and discuss with them
important issues. There was hardly any difference in the private and public life till then. But very
soon with the larger empires of Akbar and Jahangir being established, hierarchies developed and
the domestic world became more organized in the harem. We now see that an exclusive
socio-political domain of these women has been created and they are now living in a very strict
environment. They cannot connect to the outside world the way they used to in the earlier period.
But if Akbar tried to consolidate his power by disciplining his woman body it was same with his
body of nobles. The idea was respect. The kind of respect given to womenfolk can be ascertained
from the fact that they played an important role in negotiating peace, solving various challenges
and giving commendable advices to the emperor. All this shakes our belief that the Mughal
emperor was at the helm of affairs. One such instance was that of hajj. The absoluteness of
Akbar is questioned and this brings into light my key concern. Gender norms can empower when
they are broken and this was done by Gulbadan Begum when she vowed to visit holy places. For
a very long time the route from Gujarat to Mecca had been very dangerous. But as soon as things
became better, she requested Akbar. Akbar gave permission along with money and goods. She
lived there for almost four years.
2 Hanlon, Rosalind O’.(1999). Manliness And Imperial Service In Mughal North India, Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 42(1), 47-93.
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Authority In The Hands Of Mughal Womenfolk
For Akbar, ‘Manliness’ was only a virtue of discipline bringing about a harmony and balance in
the society. Akbar had ordered all his nobles to read Akhlaq-i-Nasiri of Nasirud-din Tusi. It
presented a model of masculine virtue that talked about morality not only in the administrative
work but also in their respective households. This meant self-control and purity of body. In this
context, homosexual love was a complete no-no. Also, it was necessary to limit him to one wife.
Importance was given to the education of children and daughters could acquire some
accomplishments. This equilibrium in the household was in a larger perspective epitomized by
sulh-i-kul (peace for all).4 So just like other religions in sulh-i-kul, womenfolk also earned
respect. We come to know that Akbar had so much reverence for his aunt Gulbadan Begum that
when she died at the age of 80 in 1603, Akbar carried her bier for some distance and mourned for
two years breathing his last breath in 1605. Akbar did honor women with titles and often kept
women superintendents over them thus making them dependent on him. They were given land
grants and cash allowances just like other nobles. In fact, as new territories came into the empire,
money flowed directly into the pockets of the women who would start their own business
ventures. We have heard of the Meena Baazar organized by the women where they would put up
stalls5. Their earnings would go for charity. Many Rajput princesses in the harem would go and
visit their own families. Some of them even maintained gardens. From being veiled to wielding
authority this was the social-political domain of the women during the Mughal times. It provided
them with a sense of security and self respect in resonance with the modern voices of
emancipation, financial independence, education, rights and above all empowerment. Gulbadan
3 Lal, Ruby. (2005). Domesticity And Power In The Early Mughal World. New York: Cambridge University Press. 4 Hanlon, Rosalind O’. (2007). Kingdom, Household And Body: History, Gender And Imperial Service Under Akbar, Modern Asian Studies, 41(5), 889-923. 5 Fazl, Abul. (1978). Ain-i-Akbari. (H. Blochmann, Trans. Vol. I; H.S Jarrett, Trans. Vols II and III).
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Begum wrote at a time when most of the authors were busy in eulogizing their patrons. The aura
with which she puts down every bit of her experience makes her account commendable.
The legendary Protagonist of Jayasi’s Padmavat
If Gulbadan Begum’s influence was through her pen, Padmini’s attributes laid in the vivid
narrations in the aftermath of her life. Padmini, the Rajput Queen of Mewar who is the second
woman in my study is a familiar figure. She was contemporary to the Delhi Sultanate period of
the 13th and 14th century. Her legend has various versions6. The most earliest and popular one is
Sufi Malik Muhammad Jayasi’s Padmavat completed in 1540. It is in the form of mystical tale of
love in the genre of Premakhyan written in Avadhi. I am going to focus on this epic poem and try
to understand perceptions about her in the 16th century when it was written. So while my analysis
of Gulbadan Begum was from what she wrote in her account when she was alive, queen
Padmini’s overview would be from what the Sufi poet Jayasi’s Padmavat written two centuries
later. The time periods of both these are contemporary to each other. This will help us to
understand the two worlds- Mughal Women and Rajput Women in the same time zone in a better
manner. Padmini’s story goes like this. Ala-ud-Khalji wants Chittor and attacks it. He
announces that he will remove his troops only when he gets a glimpse of Padmini. Finally her
reflection is shown in the mirror. The Sultan is swayed by her beauty and wants her at any cost.
He tricks Padmini’s husband Ratansen into captivity. Padmini decides to fight and get him back.
When defeat becomes inevitable Rajput women led by Padmini organize Jauhar and immolate
themselves. This Jauhar does not make the legend of Padmini exemplary. Rather it was the ideal
Rajput womanhood that perpetuated another medieval woman discourse different from that of
Mughal womanhood. This pavitra prototype was similar to what Akbar wanted his noble’s body
6 Sreenivasan, Ramya. (2007). The Many Lives Of A Rajput Queen: Heroic Pasts In India, c. 1500-1900. New Delhi: Permanent Black.
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to be-- as a symbol of purity. Supreme love for Jayasi was the sufi-mystical love to god. Thus the
triumph of mystical love over Ala-ud-din’s corporeal love suggests how Padmini gets the
attributes of a hero as she is the more courageous one7. Her courage to lead other Rajput women
to jauhar had two relevant propositions. First, it would avoid any chances of rape and son’s being
born of mixed blood, second, it would encourage the soldiers to fight zealously. Padmini
abandons the veil and leaves the female domain to protect the kingdom.8 Thus substituting her
husband was a heroic virtue in itself cutting across feminine and masculine boundaries. The way
the theme of Padmini was used by Jayasi as an allegory shows the relevant importance of
feminine attributes over muscular ones. Ratansena is in viraha (anguish due to separation of
love) from his heroine9. Viraha is a state of mind which has been mostly attributed to women. In
Jayasi’s narration the female showcases her supreme love, virtue and higher status by sacrificing
herself on the pyre. Padmini was authoritative in her decisions and stood apart from a typical
Rajput woman. The concept of viraha seems interesting and requires some examination. The
term Viraha is used with Barahmasa to mean the feminine longing of her beloved across 12
months. This concept is central to understanding of women in the medieval times because these
poems started proliferating from such times only. The virahini would connote human soul in
search of god. Thus women’s voices were heard through Barahmasa literature and were written
on different seasons of the year. It is surprising that history writing obsessed with men and their
yearnings have been dominated by feminine literature. The very fact that women have been key
7Harlan, Lindsay, (1994). Religion and Rajput Women: The Ethic of Protection in Contemporary Narratives. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal. 8 Ibid 9 Jaisi, Malik Muhammad. (1994). Padmavat. ( A. G Shirreff, Trans.). Calcutta: Royal Asiatic Society of Bengal.
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protagonists or nayika 10 in many themes conforms to the emancipated women within the
socio-political domain of medieval India.
A Women’s Voice In The Spiritual World
One significant domain yet not discussed is the spiritual aspect wherein also women left their
imprints. The spiritual world dominated by male bhaktas was reshaped by Mirabai’s bhakti. A
female voice in this sphere redefined gender relations and broke the patriarchal norms of the
medieval Rajput State11. She defined society’s conception about where a woman should be and
how is she required to conduct herself. Mira was born in a village in Merta in Rajasthan in 1498.
In her childhood, she was given a doll of Shri Krishna by her father. She made this as her
lifelong husband. While some stories related to Mirabai certainly have a historicity what really
makes us to contemplate is that even male bhaktas would voice their songs through a woman
separated from her beloved. This holds true for Kabir and Surdas.12 This means that the driving
force behind the Bhakti movement that shook the Brahamanical dominance of Hinduism was a
feminine idiom. This gives immense superiority to the woman’s position which was changing.
Bhakti movement contradicts patriarchal approaches. Even when Mirabai got married into
Chittor she refused to discharge the duties of a wife and daughter in law. She broke norms and
through her personal struggle questioned the very basis of masculinity. She was disapproved,
disgraced, schemed against, disowned and tortured. After her husband’s death she was forced to
commit sati as per tradition. But she resisted all this as she was clear with her goals. She would
10 The Riti Literature of the 17th and 18th century is occupied with naiya-bhed descriptions from head to toe that pushes my stand on the importance of feminine attributes in vernacular sources. 11 Sangari, Kumkum. (1990). Mirabai and the Spiritual Economy of Bhakti, Economic And Political Weekly, 25(27), 1464-1475. 12 Hawley, John Stratton. (2005). Three Bhakti Voices: Mirabai, Surdas and Kabir in their Times and Ours. Delhi: Oxford University Press
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spend her time in discussing spiritual ideas with sadhus and sang bhajans in the name of her
beloved Krishna. Yet we do not see her as immoral or unethical. While Padmini’s strength lay in
the fact that she became a sati, Mirabai refused to do so making it clear that gender norms can
empower women when they are broken. One committed sati while the other did not. Both are
revered for their assertiveness. Padmini’s valor was that she worked as a virtuous wife while
Mirabai’s valor worked in the form of her love towards god. Mirabai’s popularity was
widespread. After many attempts on her life by her brother-in-law she decided to leave Chittor
and wandered as an ascetic. She very soon became a pan-Indian figure. In Vrindavan, we find a
temple devoted to her. Her bhajans brought fame to her. In fact her songs were used as a vehicle
for the expression of frustration by the subordinates like peasants or women constrained by
marital relationships13. There is also a story on how Akbar travelled with Tansen to visit this
woman saint and before leaving placed a necklace on her feet. Though this story does not have
validity in history but her hagiographers certainly raise her to the position of being divine. She
threw away all the traditional feminine signs of ornamentation, makeup and other
embellishments. The only way she wanted to beautify herself was through love of Krishna14.
This was the spiritual domain sprinkled with resentment, assertiveness, tranquility and above all
devotion. Renouncing life to become an ascetic had been the domain of the males as assigned by
the Varnashramas. The fourth one, Sanyas, a devotional life was a prerogative of masculinity in
Vedic Hinduism and for a woman to consume this meant that she had won the emancipated
spirit. The devotion of Mirabai’s self to the deity of Krishna was an attempt to appropriate a
13 Mukta, P. (1994). Upholding the Common Life: The Community of Mirabai. New York: Oxford University Press 14 Jain, P., & Sharma, S. (2002). Honour, Gender And The Legend Of Meera Bai. Economic and Political Weekly, 37, 4646-4650.
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harmonious living with her surroundings in a social milieu which was stressed. Her death
symbolized her soul’s union with the deity of Krishna:
Mira danced with bells on her ankles
People say Mira has gone mad
The mother-in-law says
She devoted the family honor
The king sent her a cup of poison
Mira drank it laughingly,
Offering body and soul at Hari’s feet
Mira drinks the sweetness of his vision
Girdhar is Mira’s Lord
She comes to take refuge in him15
Concluding Remarks
The three women- Gulbadan Begum, Rani Padmini and Mirabai were similar in terms of being
born in the same social milieu of the medieval period. Yet they were different in the way they
exemplified themselves. Gulbadan Begum’s highlight came from her pen, Padmini’s relevance
emerged from self-immolation and Mirabai’s strength was justified from her devotion. This
entanglement of the three in a social-political-spiritual realm provides us the perfect recipe to
ascertain the fact that it was a multi-faceted medieval feminine discourse. Patriarchal approaches
were contradicted by intellect, valour and bhakti. Gender norms got broken and medieval
discourse enriched with gender studies.
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Bibliography
Begam, Gulbadan (2001). Humayun-Nama: The History Of Humayun (A S. Beveridge, Trans.)
New Delhi: Goodword.
Fazl, Abul. (1978). Ain-i-Akbari. (H. Blochmann, Trans. Vol. I; H.S Jarrett, Trans. Vols II and
III).
Hanlon, Rosalind O’. (2007). Kingdom, Household And Body: History, Gender And Imperial
Service Under Akbar, Modern Asian Studies, 41(5), 889-923.
____. (1999). Manliness And Imperial Service In Mughal North India, Journal of the Economic
and Social History of the Orient, 42(1), 47-93.
Harlan, Lindsay. (1994). Religion and Rajput Women: The Ethic of Protection in Contemporary
Narratives. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal.
Hawley, John Stratton. (2005). Three Bhakti Voices: Mirabai, Surdas and Kabir in their Times
and Ours. Delhi: Oxford University Press.
Jain, P., & Sharma, S. (2002). Honour, Gender And The Legend Of Meera Bai. Economic and
Political Weekly, 37, 4646-4650.
Jaisi, Malik Muhammad. (1994). Padmavat. (A. G Shirreff, Trans.). Calcutta: Royal Asiatic
Society of Bengal.
Lal, Ruby. (2005). Domesticity And Power In The Early Mughal World. New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Mukta, P. (1994). Upholding The Common Life: The Community Of Mirabai. New York: Oxford
University Press
Nilsoon, Usha S. (1969). Mirabai- Makers of Indian Literature-. New Delhi: Sahitya Kala
Academy
15 Nilsoon, Usha S. (1969). Mirabai -Makers of Indian Literature. New Delhi: Sahitya Kala Academy
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Sangari, Kumkum. (1990). Mirabai and the Spiritual Economy of Bhakti, Economic and
Political Weekly, 25 (27), 1464-1475
Sreenivasan, Ramya. (2007). The Many Lives Of A Rajput Queen: Heroic Pasts In India, c.
1500-1900. New Delhi: Permanent Black.
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