Which of the following is said about women from merchant families in the subcontinent during the period described by travellers such as Ibn Battuta and Bernier?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → They took part in commercial activities and sometimes took trade disputes to court.
Option (1) They managed household accounts while their husbands handled trade disputes. — Incorrect. Women from merchant families did not leave disputes to men. They <strong>went to the court of law themselves</strong> over mercantile disputes.
Option (2) They took part in commercial activities and sometimes took trade disputes to court. — Correct. Women from merchant families <strong>participated in commercial activities</strong>. Some even took <strong>mercantile disputes</strong> (trade quarrels) to the court of law.
Option (3) They worked mainly as labourers in agricultural production on family lands. — Incorrect. Women's labour mattered in <strong>both agricultural and non-agricultural production</strong>. For merchant families, the point made is their <strong>part in trade and in court disputes</strong>.
Option (4) They spent their lives within the private spaces of their homes. — Incorrect. Because women worked and traded, it <strong>seems unlikely that they were confined</strong> to the private spaces of their homes. This option states the opposite.
NCERT (2026-27): “7. Women … |