STATUS AND PERCEPTION OF WOMEN BASED ON GENDER EXCLUSION DUE TO RELIGIOHISTORICAL FACTORS CORRECTED VERSION (original) (raw)

2020, Diva Enterprises, New Delhi

Exclusion has been practiced towards individuals and groups since time immemorial. They are deprived of rights, dignity, amenities and possibilities, which are otherwise accessible to other people, in an organized, well-planned manner. People are isolated on the basis of gender; class; race, racial roots and skin colour; religious leanings; cultural preferences; economic status; political inclination/s; healthcare, academic standing; living style; appearance; and dressing style. Social exclusion is a forcefully aggressive process. It is advocated comparatively; an individual’s/ a group’s situation/s is/ are compared with those of another/ others based on socio-religio-historical contexts. It is not one-dimensional but multi-dimensional. Gender based seclusion can be witnessed everywhere even in present day. Women, who constitute fifty percent of the population, are denied social rights and resources; suppressed; cheated of social involvement and cultural inclusion. The reason behind this is that girls and boys are brought up differently. They are given distinct roles and taught contrasting values. In due course, this ‘gendering,’ at a very early age, leads to their exclusion at every stage of life, which results in oppression. The society fails, at large, in incorporating their due concerns in the social domain. Thus, seclusion, which is the result of apathy, provides, basis for inequality, making one member of the society feel superior to the other. This marginalization is a deep-rooted problem which is the consequence of the social system/s prevalent in the country. During the times of Vedas and Upanishads, women enjoyed respect and freedom. The advent of Smritis redefined the status of women. With the passage of time, her role changed. She was made more submissive and had to acquiesce to men. The present paper deals with the changed perception and status of women, primarily based on the Manusmriti. (288 words) Keywords: Women, status, perception, freedom, exclusion.