Avishek Palit, Symbiosis Law School, Hyderabad
ABSTRACT
India is the land of stories. Our mythology, dated thousand years old, still sounds new when they are retold. Our mythological books are written by Valmiki, Vyasa, and many others. Men play a critical role in our mythological books, but women are no less salient. Crime towards women or suppression of women is not a new phenomenon. It is pretty systematic, and it ages well. Our mythological books clearly state the status of women through their portrayal of their feminine characters. Mahabharta is not Pandava's revenge story, but it is Draupadi's. If Sita had not been abducted, Ramayana would have been incomplete. Apart from these women, other female characters like Rukmini, Satyabati, Menaka, Mohini, and Ganga played significant roles as game-changers of the story. Through these characters' lenses, we can understand society. Crime is an inherent nature of our community. Crime towards women had been a serious issue not only during this era but also a serious concern during ancient times. In our mythological books, we get repeated words like purity, chastity which tell us that women were made the representatives of our society. This research paper mainly focuses on the status of women during ancient times and how it changed throughout the course of history in India.
Keywords: Mythology, Feminism, Women, Change
