WOMEN UNDER POLYGAMY
are of the lightest. There are no rooms crowded with furniture to sweep and dust, and not even a bed to make, while the clothing for the family is too simple to burden the housewife.
"Touching upon the problems of wifehood and motherhood, Mrs. Steel made the bold statement that during her long residence in India she had not seen as much matrimonial unhappiness, even taking polygamy into account, as she had witnessed in our own land."—Daily Chronicle.
I have cited passages from the Hindu sacred books and the ancient codes showing that the rights of women were not disregarded in India. The following passage is from the "Rigveda":—
"Though the wife, like the children, was subject to the will of her husband, her position was one of greater honour in the Rigvedic age than later, for she shared with her husband the performance of sacrifice. She was mistress of the house, with control not only over servants and slaves but also over the unmarried brothers and sisters of her husband. As the family could only be continued in the male line, prayers for abundance of sons are very frequent. But the birth of daughters is never desired in the Rigveda; it is deprecated in the Atharvaveda; the Yajurveda refers to girls being exposed when born; and one of the Brahmanas observes that 'to have a daughter is a misery.' This prejudice survives in India to the present day with unabated force."[1]
- ↑ "Imp. Gazetteer of India," 1908.
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