M.A. II SEMESTER

PAPER NAME- WOMEN HISTORY IN INDIA

PAPER CODE-MAHS CC (111)

UNIT- III

DR DEEPTI JAISWAL

GUEST FACULTY

DEPT OF HISTORY

K.M.C.U.A.F.UNIVERSITY

Women’s Education in Ancient India

The general position of women in ancient India was unique. They enjoyed high status and independence in the society. An unmarried young learned daughter ought to be married to a learned bridegroom. Early marriage was not in vogue in those days. Even girls could freely choice their husbands. The customs of infant marriage and enforced widowhood were not prevalent in Vedic India.

Women in ancient India had free access to education. They were expected to participate in Vedic sacrifices and utter mantras. Even some of the hymns of the were composed by poetesses. We get references of such learned ladies as Visvavara, Lopamudra, Apala, Urvasi, Ghosa, Sulabha, Lilabati, Maitreyi, Saswati, Kshana, Gargi and others. Maitreyi, the celebrated wife of the most learned philosopher of ancient India, Yajnavalka, used to hold discussion on abstruse philosophical questions with her husband.

Gargi also participated in debate with Yajnavalka on philosophical issues. Lilabati was a great mathematician of ancient India. Thus we find that ancient society was not conservative to provide education to women and that many of them attained to great proficiencies in learning. The ancient women had equal rights with men in respect of education.

The Upanayana (Vedic initiation) of girls should have been as common as that of boys. In the the women not only enjoyed privileged position but also possessed high standard of morality. They had contributed positively to the educational system. The number of women who used to receive general literary and cultural education must have been fairly large.

For a long time family was the only educational institution, and even boys used to receive education only from their fathers or elders. The same naturally was the case with girls. But in later times a class of women teachers came to being (Upadhyayani). There was no purdah custom in Hindu society down to the 12th century, and so there was no difficulty for women in taking to the teaching profession. Lady teachers may probably have confined themselves to the teaching of girl-students. Panini refers to boarding houses for lady-students, chhatrisalas, and these probably were under the care of lady teachers.

Co-education was also prevalent in ancient India in mild form. Sometimes boys and girls were educated together while receiving higher education. From the ‘Malatimadhava’ of Bhavabhuti, written in the 8th century A.D., we learn that the nun Kamandaki was educated along with Bhurivasu and Devarata at a famous centre of education.

In the ‘Uttara-Rama-charit also (of the same author) we find Atreyi receiving her education along with Kusa and Lava.

It is difficult to determine the exact extent of education imparted to women during the early Vedic period in India. Upanayana ritual was obligatory for girls, and this must have ensured the imparting of a certain amount of Vedic and literary education to the girls of all classes. But female education received a great set-back during later Vedic period primarily owing to the deterioration of the religious status of women.

Upanayana began to be gradually prohibited to girls and by about 500 B.C. it had already become a formality. The discontinuance of Upanayana was disastrous to the religious status of women and they were declared unfit to recite Vedic Mantras and perform Vedic sacrifices. Thus Vedic education was prohibited to women. With the advent of foreigners the Brahmanical society became rigid and conservative.

The pandits adopted measures of defence. For this the women lost their freedom. They were confined within the home. In the changed situation the right to study came to be denied to women. With the code of Manu (200 A.D.) (Manusmriti or Manusanhita) her dependent position was firmly established. According to Manu, “by a girl, by a young woman, or even by an aged one, nothing must be done independently’. Manu further opines that “in childhood a female must be subject to her father, in youth to her husband, when her lord is dead to her sons”, a woman must never be independent.

“Day and night must women be kept in dependence by the males of their families. Her father protects her in childhood, her husband protects her in youth, and her sons protect her in old age; a woman is never fit for independence”. Thus, at the time of Manu, women were in low esteem and were not allowed to study the . Early marriage had become by now the custom.

The mischief caused by the discontinuance of Upanayana was further enhanced by the lowering of the marriageable age. In the Vedic period, girls were married at about the age of 16 or 17; but in the later Vedic period (from 500 B.C to 500 A.D.) girls were married at the age of 8 or 9. Early marriage of girls gave a death-blow to female education. Though in society, as a whole, female education received a great set-back during this period, it continued to receive attention in rich, aristocratic and royal families. Girls in these families were given a fairly good literary education but surely not Vedic literature.

The only education a girl of an ordinary family received was one which fitted her to fulfill her duties in the household of her husband. Her duties mainly confined to rearing up her children, keeping everything clean, preparing food for the members of the family and looking after the household utensils. Thus, the education of girls was entirely domestic. They used to receive education at homes.

Women in India were deprived of educational privileges for centuries, but there were always some exceptions to this general condition. Indian literature of all ages refers to educated women who took prominent part even in public affairs and showed finest skill in fine arts as well as in military art. Chandragupta Maurya had women bodyguards.

As we have mentioned earlier, the daughters of princes and well-to-do families often received some education from their fathers or elders or family priests. Many female ascetics and mendicants used to learn some and were conversant with popular religious poems.

The dancing girls in the South who often were attached to temples (devadasis) received some education, particularly in dancing and music. They were famous for their wit and cleverness. They learnt to read, sing and dance and sometimes also worked as spies. The education of these Devadasis is a very ancient custom in India..

Buddhism no doubt had its effect on the education of women. The Buddhist monastic order included not only monks but also nuns (bhikshunis). But it was only with the greatest reluctance that the. Buddha consented to this arrangement. In this he no doubt reflected the opinions of his time which were against the independence and education of women.

His aunt, Mahaprajapati, expressed her desire to join the order, but he refused thrice. At last, at the fervent appeal of Ananda, his first and favourite disciple, the Buddha yielded. He, however, expressed his sorrow and opined that the admission of women would ruin his work. The nuns were made closely dependent on the monks, and could only be admitted by them. There are ample evidences to show that the Buddha, like Manu, shared the low opinion of women. It is true that Buddhist nunneries did not spread to a desirable extent. Their number was very few. The cause is very simple. The Buddhist movement gave only an indirect impetus to female education. Nunneries had gone out of vogue by the 4th century A.D. Chinese pilgrims of the 5th and 7th centuries. A.D. do not refer to them at all.

It is interesting to note that in modern Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Burma (Myanmar) nuns are very small in number compared with the monks. In these countries nunneries do not impart instructions to girls as monasteries do to boys. This shows that Buddhist nunneries did not help much to spread education amongst women. There is nothing to show that the nunneries, like the monasteries, became centers of general education.

Even when Buddhism was at its zenith in India it did very little for the education of women. But those nuns who joined the order received instruction in the Buddhist doctrines and also in reading and writing. No doubt some attained to higher proficiency in learning. There are numerous references in Buddhist literature to the intellectual attainments of many Buddhist nuns. Some of them even became famous as teachers and scholars.

Education of Women in Medieval India:

In ancient India, particularly in the Vedic age, women, irrespective of their castes, enjoyed absolute freedom to receive education according to their abilities. Education at that time was universal and opens to all classes of people in society. Education, of course, in those days was mainly limited to literary and religious subjects.

The majority of women used to receive primary education but some women surely had the freedom to have higher philosophical knowledge and cultural accomplishment. Hindu women, especially of the upper classes, lived a life of adventure and insecurity, which stimulated the attainment of many arts and sciences. Women also composed Vedic hymns.

They were allowed to participate in sacrifices (yajnas) and had the right-to utter sacred mantras. They shared the intellectual pursuits of the time. Women also participated in dry philosophical discussions. We find references of many women scholars like Gargi, Maitreyi, Khana, Lilabati, Atreyi and Sulabha. Gargi had high philosophical attainment. Lilabati was a famous mathematician in those days.

They made valuable contribution to the advancement of knowledge. Women were also conversant with medical science. They also received training in fine arts like dancing, singing etc. There were even women teachers in ancient India. There are references to boarding houses for girl students. But in course of time (around 200 B. C.) the girls lost many of their academic freedom and privileges.

They were deprived of the privilege of undertaking Vedic studies. They even lost their high status in the society. They had to live within the four walls of their houses. Thus women’s education received a noticeable set-back. Their educational privileges had been considerably restricted. They were now declared to be at par with the Sudras without any right to Vedic studies and Vedic sacrifices.

Education of women, however, still continued in rich, cultured, well-to-do and aristocratic families. They used to receive education under private tutors. They were, truly, not given Vedic education, but they were given a good grounding in domestic arts, fine arts like music and dancing, printing, household decorations etc. They could read and write Sanskrit and Prakrit. Private tutors were engaged in rich families to train the girls in these arts and accomplishments. But poor families could not appoint private tutors. Hence, education among women in these families declined rapidly.

Inspite of this sharp decline in the general standard of women’s education we find several examples of educated women in South India such as Rava, Roha, Madhabi, Anulakshmi, Sasiprava etc. They used to compose poetry in Prakrit. In Bharat Chandra’s “Vidya Sundar” we find a reference to princess, Vidya, profoundly well-read and highly accomplished, engaged in discussing various problems of philosophy and religion with a prince, Sundar, her future husband.

Instances of such accomplished ladies can be multiplied. In Bengal, from the 16th to the 18th centuries, we come across a number of women scholars among whom mention may be made of Madhavi, Chandravati, Priyambada, Anandamayee etc. Some women scholars of this age took an interest in literary and philosophical discussion. They were well-grounded in Mimansa, the Vedanta and the Sanskrit literature. Some of the women scholars showed interest in medicine and wrote authoritative works on medical science.

Besides these instances of talented women, we also find many instances of dancing girls and female singers in different royal courts. In “Manasa- Mangal” Behula, the heroine is given the epithet ‘Nachuni’. It is to be noted, in this connection, that not only intellectual education, but also physical training was provided to women. Many such instances can be found in Bengali literature.

For example, in the ‘Dharmamangal’ of Ghanaram Chakravarty, we find that one of the wives of the hero dressed herself like a soldier and went to fight against the king of Gaur. From the story of princess Mallika narrated by Fakirram Kavibhusan, we find that women sometimes took to physical culture. Mallika was so strong physically that she could hunt tigers and wild elephants.

In a medieval literary work, Tchchawati Haran,’ we find the hero Charu Brahma reading with the heroine Ichchawati under the same teacher in the same school. In Sasisena, we find princess Sasisena studying with her lover Ahimanikeya under the same teacher Anantasiddha. From the Mymensingh Ballads we find that some women of those days were expert in painting and drawing besides needle-work and cooking. Dancing as an art was also cultivated as we find from Manasamangal (16th century) and by Dukhini’s Padavali. During the period under review, there were many dancing girls and courtesans who were skilled in music and dance.

From the story of Keshab Das, a contemporary of Akbar and Jahangir, we come to know that there were six talented women singers and dancers in the court of Inderjit Singh, the ruler of Orchha. From Banshi Das’s Manasamangal and from Ghanaram Chakraborty’s Dharmamangal we get instances of highly cultured women musicians. From the episode of the forged letter contained in Mukundaram’s ‘Kavi Kankan Chandi’, we come to know that in the 16th century the Hindu society was not completely adverse to women’s education.

In spite of their best desire, however, poor parents could not give sufficient education to their daughters. Yet, literacy was not totally absent among the lower class women of our society. In the ‘Kavi Kankan Chandi’ we find a fowler’s wife Phullara, while conversing with her husband Kalaketu, quoting profusely from the Ramayana and the Puranic stories.

In those days, Indian women used to receive education through another important source, namely, popular entertainment (kirtan, yatra, etc.) and folklore. The study of the sacred literature of the Hindus, particularly the epics and the , was very popular with the ladies of the well-to-do families. Music, dancing and playing upon various kinds of musical instruments were the favourite pastimes of some women.

From the discussion between Vidya and Sundar we learn that subjects like the Shastras, grammar, lexicon, literature, drama and rhetoric were included in the women’s curriculum. Girls were also trained in the management of household affairs.

During the Muslim rule in India, many of the rich and aristocratic Hindu families were ruined by the political turmoil. The result was a sharp decline in women’s education. Only a small fraction of the total girl-population now received education. No separate schools existed exclusively for the Hindu girls. The latter were taught in some places along with the boys, but only up to the elementary level. The Hindu society, as a whole, became prejudiced against women’s education. The belief that the girls who were given education would become widows soon gained ground in the society. The decline of literacy among the women population of our country was so sharp and rapid during the Middle Ages that by the beginning of the 19th century hardly one woman in a hundred could read and write. More than 99% of the Hindu women were now illiterate.

There were scanty arrangements and opportunities for the education of the girls. Their education was not regarded so important as that of the boys. Widespread early marriage of girls belonging to both Hindu and Muslim families acted as a great hindrance to their education. Abul Fazl refers to this practice of early marriage in Akbarnama. Manucci also mentions about the early marriage of the Hindu girls. Married girls had no liberty to go outside their family circle.

They were confined within the four walls of their houses. The ‘purdah system’ became very rigid among Muslims which also created a great hurdle in the way of education of the Muslim girls. Only the well-to-do families used to make some arrangements for the education of girls in the inner apartments of houses. These were commonly known as zenana schools.

But after marriage, both Hindu and Muslim girls had little time and opportunity for having literary or intellectual pursuits. Still, some rich people used to engage private tutors to impart education to their daughters secretly at home. That is why we come across a few highly educated Hindu ladies even during the Medieval period.

Education was theoretically a must for every man and woman in the Muslim society. But the Muslim girls, in general, had little time or opportunity to receive education. The Muslims in the Middle Ages were conservative in their outlook. They were not in favour of providing education to their daughters. They considered women’s education as unnecessary. Their idea was to prepare the young girls for household work.

Besides, due to the “purdah” system, education of the Muslim women was naturally restricted. Still, there were some well-to-do persons who looked after the education of their daughters at home with the help of private tutors. Education of Muslim women belonging to the higher and well-to-do classes made considerable progress during the Middle Ages. In the ‘harems’ of kings and nobles, some ladies were educated and some of them even won distinction, but the percentage of such educated ladies constituted only a microscopic part of the total Muslim women population. The Muslim women in general used to receive some sort of domestic training in household duties.

It has already been observed that girls belonging to Muslim royal and noble families were given education by private coaching within the palaces and homes. Sultana Raziyya (1236 – 40), the daughter and successor of Iltutmish, was highly educated. She had an excellent education and training. In addition to reading and writing, she learnt the art of riding and the use of arms. Not only she was herself learned, she was a patron of learning. Some of the wives of the Delhi Sultans showed general intelligence and literary ability.

Ghiyasuddin Khalji, son of Muhammad Khalji and Malwa, had founded a big madrasah at which special arrangements had been made for teaching different arts and crafts to women. According to Ferishta, women were taught dancing, music, sewing, needle-work, weaving, carpet making, military science, household affairs etc. This proves that girls of aristocratic families had sufficient opportunities in those days for acquiring proficiency in general learning and crafts.

In the Mughal period, too, the royalty and the aristocracy did not neglect the education of their women-folk. Some of the princesses had liberal education of high order. Gulbadan Begum, the daughter of Babur, was an educated and talented lady. She is said to be the first ‘literary gem’ of the Mughal period. She wrote a very valuable as well as informative work in Persian, the Humayun Nama. Her work gives valuable information regarding the reign of Humayun in all its aspects—social, political and economic. She had a poetic talent and composed many beautiful verses. She had a library of her own and used to collect books for that library.

Emperor Akbar made suitable arrangements for giving education and training in household affairs to the inmates of the royal harem. Akbar’s mother Hamida Banu Begum was an educated woman. She was a lady of strong character and sense of realism. Salima Sultana, the niece of Humayun, was also a learned lady. She was a voracious reader and possessed a complete mastery over the Persian language and literature. She composed many Persian poems. Her collection of poems under the title Diwan is still famous. Maham Anaga, the wet-nurse of Akbar, was a well-educated and accomplished lady. She founded a college in Delhi. Akbar is said to have established a girls’ school at Fatepur Sikri, the palace fort, for the education of the Mughal princesses and the daughters of nobles under the guidance of elderly and trained matrons.

Nur-Jahan, the celebrated wife of Jahangir, was a woman of unique talent and endowment. She knew thoroughly the Persian and Arabic literature. She wrote verses as well. The poetic lines on her tomb at Lahore are from her own pen. She took an active interest in literary and cultural matters. Her profound learning had made her wise and shrewd enough to carry on the administration successfully. She was really a genius in political, administrative and cultural fields.

Mumtaz Mahal, the beloved wife of Shah Jehan, is also well-known to us for her literary tastes and developed political faculties. She was a well-educated and highly accomplished lady. She was famous for her qualities of head and heart. An eminent woman scholar, Sati- Un-Nisa, was her companion and helped her in her literary and cultural pursuits. She was a widely-read woman in Arabic and Persian. Because of her sound education and profound literary knowledge, she was appointed as the lady tutor of Jahanara Begum. She was fully acquainted with the tenets of Islam, and was a poetess too. She had a sound knowledge of Persian language and literature. Mumtaz directly and indirectly assisted many scholars of her age. She had a female Nazir on whose recommendations she (Mumtaz) granted pensions and allowances to poor scholars.

Almost all the daughters of Aurangzeb were well-read and they had been educated in accordance with the Emperor’s own principles of education. Zebunnisa Begum, the eldest daughter of Aurangzeb, was an educated princess. She knew “both Persian and Arabic. She was the most cultured and talented of all the daughters of Aurangzeb. She had learnt the Holy Quran by heart, and for this her father rewarded her with 30,000 gold coins.

She also received training in elegant penmanship. She was also proficient in mathematics, astronomy and other difficult sciences. She also possessed poetical talent of high order. Moreover, she patronished scholars. She established a literary academy and a rich library for the use of scholars. Zinnat-Un-Nisa, the younger daughter of Emperor Aurangzeb, was as proficient in literature as her elder sister Zebunnisa. Aurangzeb himself supervised the education of his daughters. She received a thorough education and became well-versed in the doctrines of the Faith. She also patronised men of talent and scholarship.

Jahanara Begum, the beloved daughter of Shah Jahan, was also a talented poet. She was profoundly learned and encouraged the learned men of her time by giving them liberal awards and allowances. Still, she was very humble, and her humility is evident from the epitaph on her grave written by herself. Jahanara was really one of the brightest jewels of the Mughal royal court. She always patronised men of letters. She also wrote two famous biographies.

Thus it is evident, that the Muslim girls and ladies belonging to the higher classes of the society in Medieval India were generally educated and accomplished. Because of the limitations and restrictions of the time, particularly of the “purdah” system, the education of girls could not be universal or on a mass-scale. Women belonging to the poor sections of the society, in fact, could find very little time or opportunities for receiving education.

Thus, the vast majority of Indian women, Hindu and Muslim, might have remained illiterate and backward, buried behind the ‘Purdah’ and other social restrictions and pernicious practices. Whereas the ladies of higher classes, both among the Hindus and the Muslims, were highly accomplished and educated in most cases, the vast majority of women belonging to the ordinary classes, in both the communities, seems to have been dismal and unsatisfactory. The worst part of it was that there was no systematic and conscious move on the part of the state or society to ameliorate their conditions and to impart education.

Besides the royalty and the nobility, even among the middle classes, the education of girls was quite common. Jafar Sharif refers to various customs and practices relating to female education in Muslim India and he rightly holds that there was a number of educational institutions for women in different parts of the country. These institutions were mostly private and the state had nothing to do with them.

The Holy Quran formed their chief text book. Besides getting lessons on moral and religion, they received essentially practical education for managing the household affairs. Girls received their early education usually from their parents at home. There existed no separate schools for girls. In their childhood they were taught along with boys. After a few years they were taught in private schools or at home.

They were now placed under some elderly ladies who trained them in cooking, spinning, sewing, weaving and looking after the young. Domestic science and household duties found the most important place in their curriculum. In the primary stage, the Muslim girls were taught the 3 R’s along with the Quran.

Usually, the education of girls among both the communities ended with their marriage. Besides, there were numerous social limitations including the “purdah” system on their education. So very few of them got opportunities to have education of proper standard. Generally they lost all touch with cultural and educational activities after their marriage. Women belonging to the lower ranks of the society practically had no education. Still it cannot be said that women’s education was total

Education of Women in Modern India

The modern era began with the onset of the 19th century. The British came in India in 1600 A.D. for nearly 200 years in their East India Company incarnation there was no real efforts were made to address the question of social inequality or social oppression. With the dawn of 19th century an era of change began and it was during this period many efforts were made both by the British ruler and progressive section of Indian society to put an end to the social evils.

WOMEN IN COLONIAL ERA

Women in Colonial India were subordinate to men and dependent on their men for everything and the religious tradition justified this subordination. They were denied opportunity of education and refinement. When the Christian missionaries saw the deplorable condition of women in traditional Indian society they were amazed and emotionally moved. Thus, though aimed at spreading their religion they opened school, asylums, dispensaries and orphanage to give relief to the poor and needy Indian people. They succeeded in converting mostly the lower classes of Indian people but failed to understand as to what they should do to save the women. Social evils such as sati, child marriage, female infanticide, denial of right to education for women, suppression of women and dowry flourished unchecked. This situation was severely criticized by the colonial authorities and initiated some reforms but was met with opposition from Indian cultural nationalism who argued in favour of Indian tradition. Hence, the Queen‟s Proclamation of 1859 declared that British authorities will not interfere in religious matters of the people. The British began an era of social reform imposing a ban on inhuman practice of Sati in 1829. Raja Ram Mohan Roy pressurized the govt.to ban sati. Thus, Lord William Bentick took a lead in enacting the „Sati prohibition act‟ making distinction between voluntary sati and forced sati. However, the act did not end the practice of sati. Due to ban on widow remarriage and lack of opportunity for education women who were rescued from sati had to undergo great suffering. It was the plight of young and tortured widow that moved Ishwar Chandra Vidyasager who led the movement to lift the ban on widow remarriage. Due to his effort the „widow remarriage act of 1865‟ was passed and started many schools for women. Following his footsteps Jyoti Ba Phule too started schools for Dalit girls in Maharashtra. There were number of other progressive pieces of legislation during the British period, prominent among these is Child Marriage Restraints Act of 1829, ban on Female Infanticide 1870, Native Marriage Act II 1872, Married Women‟s Property Act III 1874, Abolition of Devdasi System 1929 etc. There were many more social reformers and freedom fighter (Dayanand Saraswati, Swami Vivekanand, Anni Besant, Mahatma Gandhi etc. during this period who directly and indirectly voiced for the cause of women. The British period show the rise of social reform movement’s which took up cause of women and worked towards raising their status. These acted a background for creation of department and launching schemes meant exclusively for the improvement of status of women.