A Contemporary Study On Laws Related To Women: From Manusmriti To Modern India

Siddhi Jakatdar, Maharashtra National Law University, Nagpur

ABSTRACT

The Manavadharmasastra or Manusmriti is a Sanskrit text which belongs to the Dharmasastra literary tradition of Hinduism. Manusmriti is the law of Manu. The text discusses how life should be, it talks about Dharma which means duty, the duty of men and women in society. The text was a prime source of law during the Common era. Manusmriti has often been a point of controversy as it depicts orthodox ideas. The ninth part of the text talks about the ideal duty and image of women. The position of women in ancient times and in the modern world has changed significantly. Manusmriti being a source of law has a prejudiced and biased approach toward women. But in today’s world women are no longer considered lesser than men. The identity of a woman does not depend on a man anymore. This research paper will attempt to critically study the law related to women in Manusmriti and its degree of relevance in modern India. The present research uses the doctrinal method. While much research has been conducted on the related subject matter, this study will try to examine Manusmriti, one of the prime sources of law since ancient times, from a feminist perspective and its pertinence today. The researcher will review the existing literature and will try to differentiate, compare and analyse the evolution of women from a legal point of view. The central argument of the paper is that the status of women from a legal context in ancient times and now is extremely different, also the Indic texts namely, Manusmriti should be filtered out and cannot be absolutely relied upon in modern times.

Keywords: India, Manusmriti, Women.