New Delhi, June 26 -- The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has, in its newly introduced Class IX Social Science textbook, quoted a verse from the Manu-smriti to illustrate that women were accorded respect in the Vedic period, while also emphasising that their position "fluctuated, even declined" over time.

The chapter, State and Society up to 1000 CE, says the Vedic period is "often described as a period during which women held a high and respectful position in society".

It notes that women participated in scholarly learning, performed rituals alongside men in certain contexts, attended public gatherings, and that several hymns of the Rig Veda are traditionally attributed to women sages, including Apala, Vis...