Especially in the Pre-historical period, women of the Indian sub-continent were subjected to all sorts of physical and mental torment, as well as social inequality. Violence and Misconduct against women were entirely normal, the Misogyny begin so prominent. The concept of feminism was minimal and instead, the idea of being a woman gave rise to an inferiority complex among women. The women were looked down upon by society and taken as mere objects of luxury. Slavery and prostitution were rampant in society, mostly because they were the only source of income for the livelihood of Women. The status of women in Buddhism before the Buddha period was not good. But Buddha made significant change on the status of women in Buddhism.
The status of women in society, through slow decline since the Vedic period, was utterly miserable by the time of Buddha. Some women were forced into prostitution while others were into Slavery. But the arrival of Buddha leads to the cessation of such suffering of women and a drastic change in their social statuses. Women were liberated from their miserable lives, like men, and they entered the order of the Nuns. Even those with the most terrible background had the opportunity to attain Arhant and Nirvana. Buddha freed many from slave-direct or indirectly and changed the attitude of many courtesans(Ganika).
This sort of social change done by Buddha was a large step towards gender equality. To this day, Buddhism regards women as highly as men and treats them in an equal manner. Buddha established the pillars of gender equality. Buddha minimized the discriminatory attitudes towards women and thus empowered the women in a way. He realized the importance of women and completely transformed the perspective of the then-contemporary society towards women in general. The world today is thriving in gender equality due to relentless effort(and men) through the centuries, we should not forget the large contribution of Buddha, his teachings and action, to the cause.
