India Embassy traces journey of Indian women through ages
Times News Service
MUSCAT: As a part of its yearlong celebration of 70 years of the Independence of India, the Indian Embassy, Muscat, organised a Cultural Show, ‘Glimpses of Indian Women Through the Ages’, at the Embassy premises on May 13.
There was a divergence in perception of the status of Indian women among the people in Oman, including among the expatriate communities, which was based on stereotypical presentations of Indian women in the media and lack of information about the revolutionary changes in the status of Indian women that had taken place since independence, the Embassy said in statement.
The Embassy, therefore, took the initiative of presenting a balanced, nuanced and accurate picture of the status of Indian women, as evolved over 5,000 years of India’s history.
The status of women in India had continued to evolve through the Ages and this was the theme of the event. It traced the evolution in the status of women from the Indus Valley Civilisation through the Vedic and Post-Vedic periods, the medieval period, and British colonial rule to the postIndependence era.
While women enjoyed, during the ancient age in India, a high status in society and participated in all spheres of activities, on par with men, there was a gradual decline in their status and role, and during the medieval period the role of women was increasingly restricted.
The well-known classical play, Abhigyan Shakuntalam, written by the famous poet Kalidasa, was enacted to depict the status of women during the Vedic period, when they wrote religious hymns, participated in philosophical debates, chose their husbands and engaged in other social, economic and religious activities, on par with men.