NCERT’s new Class 9 textbook includes a Manu-smriti verse highlighting Vedic-era respect for women, while also noting their status later fluctuated and declined. The chapter explores women’s scholarly and public roles in the Vedic period, citing Rig Veda hymns. It also details women’s contributions in later periods, including governance and arts, and revisits the fluid nature of varna and jati systems, emphasizing deeds over birth
