Status Of Women In India

THE MODERN PERIOD
The leaders of the national movement realized that the liberation of the country from the bondage of imperialism was impossible without the active participation of women who constituted half of the population of the country.
In addition to the measures to raise initiated by Britishers the status of women in India, from the traditional past, many energetic steps (legal, social, economic and political) have been provided by the Government of India after independence by removing the obstacles in their way. The efforts of the social reformers and their movements launched in the pre-independence period also bore fruits. The Indian national movement led to the emancipation of Indian women.

Most of the social reformers and thinkers

In order to raise the status of women, affect many jurisdictions women were set after independence in force. These were primarily related to marriage, divorce, inheritance of property and employment. Though the legislations and many other emancipatory actions of the social reformers have no doubt raised the status of women in India but still much is to be done in this field. The institution of bigamy (man marrying any number of women) has almost come to an end; if detected, it has become a punishable offence. Today, both sexes have the right to a civil marriage. Today both sexes have the right to a civil

In practice, they continue to suffer discrimination, harassment, humiliation, inhuman dignities and unworthy treatment and exploitation in and outside home. Economic stability on the other hand is too denied. While she is worshipped as “Grah Laxmi” wealth of home, her status has come down in general as property of masses has been on the increase. Within the home, even today she is still not treated at par with her male counterpart. Barring a few urban educated families, a baby girl is never welcomed with as much happiness as a baby boy. The birth of a girl is regarded as a bad omen. They are not treated as equals to men, and not given due respect in the family. Male’s roles as father and husband still dominate over both his children and wife. The power to govern the home and the authority still rests in the hands of male head of the household. The dominant father model still persists in most of the middle and lower class families. Leaving aside a few, in the so-called modern families wives have not become equal partners to their husbands even if they are well-educated or more educated to their husbands. Most of the decisions of the household, from purchasing daily household items to decide about the education and marriage of their children—are taken by father/husband. There is no significant change in the attitude of the males even in the families