A fun thread on idea of women's modesty through the ages in different cultures. Altekar in his book Position of Women expalins in short how the women from all over the world were treated in ancient times.

After the enforcement of compulsory veil in Hindu society due to the influence Islam!c rulers, he goes on to explain how different civilizations treated their women. Let's see how progressive other cultures were.

In around 500 BC Athens, women were not allowed to meet their husband's guests or step outside their homes without proper guards. A groom could not meet see his bride's face before marriage in Greece because the women lived in such seclusion.

We have romantic stories of daring elopements and of secret lovers in our history. Our women not only moved about freely in the society but chose their own partners. Example Shakuntala and Dushyanta.

A character of Menander's play says, " A free woman should be bound by the street door." While we had the heroine in plays like Ratnaprabha who opined that, " the strictest seclusion of women is a folly produced by jealousy.

... Is is of no use whatsoever. Women of good character are guarded only by their own virtue and nothing else."

Hawww! How regressive is that!

Spartan women had seperate appartments and they were not allowed to attend banquets. In ancient Assyria, a veil was worn by all married women. Harlots and concubines moved around without a veil.

Persia also kepts it's women secluded even before the Christian Era. B!ble lays down that women should not speak in public at Chûrch. If they had any queries, they were to ask their husbands at home.

"It is a shame for women to speak in the Chûrch." Early Chûrch fathers held a similar view. Tertullian says, " For a virgin of virtuous habits ever public appearance with an unveiled face was equivalent to suffering of r@pe."

Clement or Alexanderia says, " Let the woman be entirely covered, unless she happens to be at home. She will not invite another to fall into sin by uncovering her face."

With the introduction of Christian!ty in Russia, the women were shut from friends and foes alike. 16th century Russian wives and daughters were not to be seen even by their own brothers or near relations.

While we have Manu Maharaj advising men to remain cautious around the women while no where telling women to conceal themselves or their faces. So regressive I tell you!

Modern day England was no better for women even until 1850. Until about 1850 a woman could not a take even a walk alone let alone travel alone. They could not even ask a fellow worker to visit unless she happened to be not just a girl but also a family member.

It was scandalous for women to address a public meeting. When two ladies spoke at a meeting conducted for the purpose of supporting women's cause in 1869, a member of parliament had said, ...

" Two ladies, wives of members of this Parliament had recently disgraced themselves by speaking on public."

Soo progressive... Hain na?

While in the 1857 uprising we saw Rani Lakshmi Bai not just standing upto the Britishers but also fighting and sacrificing herself on the battlefield.

The House of commons was built in 1844 and ladies gallery albeit with a grille to screen the faces of occupants was sanctioned with great difficulty. This grille was removed in 1918.

Whereas a 1st century BC bas relief on the left hand pillar at Sanchi shows women watching a procession from the balconies. Without a veil. That's soo regressive.