The women have held different status and position at different times in India. She was regarded as mentally inferior to man. Manu was of the view that the females should not enjoy any freedom in any walk of life. They should ever remain under the strict control of their fatter during girlhood; of their husband during their married life and of their sons Suring widowhood.
The women could freely participate in the religious and public life during the Vedic Period. The couple jointly performed the sacrifices. A son’s birth always gave grater joy than the daughter’s birth. The brother less married girls enjoyed the right of inheritance.  The women could attend the social gatherings and freely meet and converse with strangers. The bride was most heartily welcomed. She reigned supreme over the household. The could chant the Vedic Mantras. A window could remarry her own brother-in-law at her sweet will. She stood high in the public. Even if she overstepped moral laws she was judged mildly and with sympathy. She was her husband’s helpmate in all the domestic affairs. The society was tolerant. Even the sons of a maiden were accepted by the society. The son was known as the boat of salvation but all the performances remained incomplete without the woman’s participation.
Latter on she lost her place in the religious sphere. The daughter’s birth was despised. Social laws and customs stamped her with a sort of mental deficiency. The luckless girl was treated as an intruder and was killed in certain tribes even in infancy. She was strictly confined to home and domestic cares. She was not to be relied upon in matters of serious concern. She had no free hand in expenditure.
