That women’s status has consistently been subordinate to that of men in India as elsewhere has been accepted for quite sometime now. Patriarchy and religion have generally been held to be the main culprits for creating this situation. While these two forces played a very significant role and influenced all other factors, the low social status accorded to women is the result also of political, economic, legal and educational and other social determinants.
Indian Women’s Status Through The Ages
Discussion about women’s status, therefore, involves looking at what position they have held in any given society at a given point of time. It varies across place and time because their position is determined by existing social structure and social relationships. Social structure, constituting of patterns of social relationships, is not static and manifests itself in the social change process in any society.