Which of the following statements is correct about women in India in medieval times as described by different foreign travellers?
Statement 1- Some women seemed to embrace death cheerfully, others were forced to die.
Statement 2- Women from merchant families participated in commercial activities, sometimes even taking mercantile disputes to the court of law.
Statement 3- The labour of women was crucial in both agricultural and non-agricultural production.
Choose the correct answer from the given options:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option 4 - Statements 1, 2 and 3, all are correct
Given statements:
Statement 1- Some women seemed to embrace death cheerfully, others were forced to die. (CORRECT)
Statement 2- Women from merchant families participated in commercial activities, sometimes even taking mercantile disputes to the court of law. (CORRECT)
Statement 3- The labour of women was crucial in both agricultural and non-agricultural production. (CORRECT)
Contemporary European travellers and writers often highlighted the treatment of women as a crucial marker of difference between Western and Eastern societies. Not surprisingly, Bernier chose the practice of sati for detailed description. He noted that while some women seemed to embrace death cheerfully, others were forced to die. However, women’s lives revolved around much else besides the practice of sati. Their labour was crucial in both agricultural and non-agricultural production. Women from merchant families participated in commercial activities, sometimes even taking mercantile disputes to the court of law. It therefore seems unlikely that women were confined to the private spaces of their homes.