Status of women in Assam during the Colonial Period

Abstract

The coming of the British in the mainstream politics of Assam had influence the status of women and the society as a whole. In the medieval period, though the society was patriarchal in character but due to the prevalence of tribal outlook, women's enjoyed certain amount of freedom in the society. Despite the fact of having better status in the society as compared to other parts of India, their position was still subordinate and therefore they were severely discriminated in various fields. However after the colonial intervention and the advent of western education, the scenario of Assamese society witnessed lot of changes. The educational experiment of the late 19th century produced a new class of women as well as men intelligentsia who helped in the development of the status of women in the society. Women, along with male intelligentsia protested against the prevailing evil condition in the society such as female infanticide, child marriage etc. The British penetration in Assam and the introduction of western culture created a new condition and thus towards the end of 19th century many women began to participate in public domain and nationalist campaign which provided them a political status in the society.