Which statements are correct about men and women in agricultural societies in the 16th-17th centuries?

Statement A- Draconian punishments were inflicted on males if they were suspected of infidelity by the females.
Statement B- Due to the shortage of women, female infidelity was not always punished.

Neither of the statements is correct.

The correct answer is Option 4 - Neither of the statements is correct.

Corrections in the statements:

Statement A- Draconian punishments were inflicted on FEMALES, not males if they were suspected of infidelity by the males.

Statement B- Due to the shortage of women, female infidelity was not always punished is incorrect as high mortality rates among women – owing to malnutrition, frequent pregnancies, death during childbirth did lead to a shortage of wives but if they were infidile then draconian punishments were inflicted. While male infidelity was not always punished.

Women in agricultural societies:

Marriages in many rural communities required the payment of bride-price rather than dowry to the bride’s family. Remarriage was considered legitimate both among divorced and widowed women. The importance attached to women as a reproductive force also meant that the fear of losing control over them was great. According to established social norms, the household was headed by a male. Thus women were kept under strict control by the male members of the family and the community. They could inflict draconian punishments if they suspected infidelity on the part of women.

Documents from Western India – Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra – record petitions sent by women to the village panchayat, seeking redress and justice. Wives protested against the infidelity of their husbands or the neglect of the wife and children by the male head of the household, the grihasthi. While male infidelity was not always punished.