Gnyana Saraswathi at Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Tamil Nadu, circa 1020 C.E.

Stone sculpture of Gnyana Saraswathi at  Gangaikonda Cholapuram, Tamil Nadu, circa 1020 C.E.

All Arya women were invested with the sacred thread, until, in response to Ashoka's persecution of Brahmanism, it was considered wise for women to be uninitiated into Brahmanism. The Islamic invasions put an end to the freedom of women and introduced such ugly defensive practices as purda and sati. The Indian Rapeublic delivered the final blow by putting an end to the matriarchal systems that had survived in the North East and the South West, and where feminiity had been considered a matter of pride to the point where it was considered an act of submission or inferiority to cover one's breasts.

(via Jigna Shah)