Give an account of the social legislations for the emancipation of women.
The condition of women, by the time the British established their rule, was not encouraging. Several evil practices such as the practice of sati, the purdah system, child marriage, female infanticide, bride price and polygamy had made their life quite miserable. The place of women had come to be confined to be four walls of her home. The doors of education had been shut for them. From economic point of view also her status was miserable. There was no social and economic equality between a man and women. A Hindu woman was not entitled to inherit any property. Thus, by and large, she was completely dependent, on men.
During the 19th and 20th Centuries some laws were enacted with the since efforts of social reformers, humans and some British administrators to improve the condition of women in Indian society. The first effort in this direction was the enactment of law against the practice Of sati during the administration of lord William Bentinck.
Female Infanticide:
Female infanticide was another inhuman practice afflicting the 19th century Indian society. It was particularly in vogue in Rajputana, Punjab and the North Western provinces. Colonel Todd, Johnson Duncan, Malcolm and other British administrators have discussed about this evil custom in detail. Factors such as family pride, the fear of not finding a suitable match for the girl child and the hesitation to bend before the prospective in laws were some of the major reasons responsible for this practice.
Therefore immediately after birth, the female infants were being killed either by feeding them with opium or by strangulating or by purposely neglecting them. Some lows were’ anacted aagainst this practice in 1795, 1802 and 1804 and then in 1870. However, the practice could not be completely eradicated only through legal measures. Gradually, this evil practice came to be done away through education and public opinion.
Widow Remarriage: . .
There are many historical evidences to suggest that widow remarriage enjoyed social sanction during ancient period in India. In course of time the practice ceased to prevail increasing the number of widows to lakhs during the 19th century. Therefore it became incumbent on the part of the social reforms to make sincere efforts to popularize widow remarriage by writing in newspapers and contemporary journals.
Prominent among there reformers were Raja Rammohan Roy and Iswar Chandra Vidyasagar. They carried out large scale campaigns in this regaled mainly through books, pamphlets and petitions with scores of signatures. In July 1856, J.P. Grant, a member of the governor general’s council finally tabled a bill in support of the widow remarriage, which was passed on 13 July 195o and came to be called the widow Remarriage Act, 1856.
Child Marriage:
The practice of child marriage was another social stigma for the women. In November 1817, the Indian reforms association was started with the efforts of Keshav Chandra Sen. A journal called Mahapap Bal Vivah (Child marriage; The Cardinal Sin) was also launched with the efforts of B.M. Malabari fight against child marriage. In 1846, the minimum marriageable age for a girl was only 10 years.
In 1891, through the enactment of the age of Consent Act, this was raised to 12 years. In 1930, through the Sharda act, the minimum age was raised to 14 years. After, independence, the limit was raised to 18 years in 1978.
Purdah system:
Similarly, voices were raised against the practice of Purdah during the 19th and 20th century. The condition of women among the peasantry was relatively better in this respect. Purdah was not so much prevalentirr. Southern India. Through the large scale participation of women in the national freedom movement the system disappeared without any specific legislative measure taken against it.