This is what Gandhi had to say to Women.
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Who says that woman is dependent on others? The Shastras say nothing of the sort. Sita was Rama’s better half and enjoyed empire over his heart. Neither was Damayanti1 dependent. Who will say, after reading the Mahabharata, that Draupadi2 was dependent on others? Who will call Draupadi dependent, Draupadi who, when the Pandavas failed to protect her, saved herself by an appeal to Lord Krishna? We cherish as sacred the names of seven women as chaste and virtuous wives. Were they dependent? A woman who has the strength to preserve her purity, to defend her virtue—to call such a woman dependent is to murder language and violate dharma.
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Who says that woman is dependent on others? The Shastras say nothing of the sort. Sita was Rama’s better half and enjoyed empire over his heart. Neither was Damayanti1 dependent. Who will say, after reading the Mahabharata, that Draupadi2 was dependent on others? Who will call Draupadi dependent, Draupadi who, when the Pandavas failed to protect her, saved herself by an appeal to Lord Krishna? We cherish as sacred the names of seven women as chaste and virtuous wives. Were they dependent? A woman who has the strength to preserve her purity, to defend her virtue—to call such a woman dependent is to murder language and violate dharma.
[From Gujarati]Navajivan, 31-5-1925
1 Wife of King Nala, in the Mahabharata
2 Wife of the five Pandava princes, in the Mahabharata
--------------------------------CWMG Vol. 31, Art. 203, Pg. 338-------------------------
1 Wife of King Nala, in the Mahabharata
2 Wife of the five Pandava princes, in the Mahabharata
--------------------------------CWMG Vol. 31, Art. 203, Pg. 338-------------------------
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