QUES. What was Akbar’s attitude towards women? UPSC IES/ISS EXAM 2024 General Studies. 200 Words. 5 Marks.
HINTS:
Akbar’s attitude towards women was indeed a complex mix of progressive social reform, traditional patriarchal practices and pragmatism, often functioning simultaneously to maintain societal stability, personal desire and imperial power.
Must read: Rajput policy of Akbar vs Rajput policy of Aurangzeb
Progressive Social Reforms
Akbar aimed to uplift the status of women and challenge harmful social evils prevalent in both Hindu and Muslim society. For example:
1. Akbar prohibited the forced practice of Sati and issued orders to Kotwals to intervene when a widow did not voluntarily wish to burn.
2. He actively encouraged and legalized the remarriage of widows to provide them with social and economic security.
3. Recognizing the dangers of child marriage, Akbar raised the marriage age to 14 for girls and 16 for boys.
4. Akbar opposed second marriage unless the first wife was barren.
5. He established girls’ schools within the royal palace and supported female education, allowing women to study and participate in arts and literature.
6. He supported the Islamic inheritance laws that allowed women to own and manage their own property, including grants of land.
Traditional Patriarchal Practices
Despite the above mentioned reforms, Akbar adhered to traditional patriarchal and Mughal practices. For example:
1. He maintained a large, strictly controlled harem where women were secluded and ranked based on their position in the emperor’s life.
2. Purdah was strictly enforced among the elite, limiting the freedom and social interaction of high-ranking women.
3. Women were typically restricted to their homes or the royal harem, with very limited opportunities for public life.
4. While allowing royal women to manage their own affairs, they were still under the ultimate patriarchal authority of the emperor.
Pragmatism
Akbar’s actions were often driven by the need for stability and political alliances. For example:
1. His marriages, particularly to Rajput princesses, were a pragmatic political tool to secure alliances with strong, hostile families.
2. By marrying Hindu women and allowing them to follow their religious practices within the palace, he fostered a sense of unity, reducing the resistance of local rulers.
3. Akbar hosted the Meena Bazar, which was a fun and economic, yet highly practical way for him to observe and engage with women of noble families, ensuring the harem remained filled with women of the highest birth, and at times, finding new wives/concubines.
4. Akbar’s crackdown on the custom of enslaving women after war was both a humane measure and a practical one to maintain order in his empire.
Conclusion
Akbar’s approach was never absolute. He was a reformer who allowed voluntary Sati but forbidden the coerced one. He was an autocrat who valued his wives’ opinions yet kept them in strict purdah. This unique blend made him a progressive leader for his time, even if his policies didn’t completely abolish the deeply rooted patriarchy of medieval India.
