Smṛti texts such as the Manusmṛti articulate gender roles within a clearly patriarchal and hierarchical social vision. Women are primarily cast in relational terms—as daughters, wives, and mothers—whose central dharma lies in domesticity, motherhood, and the maintenance of the household. Their religious merit is often framed as being realized through service to husband and family, rather than through independent ritual authority or ascetic paths that are valorized for men. Across these texts, women are generally not envisioned as autonomous agents in the public or ritual sphere, but as indispensable partners in sustaining family and social order.

A consistent theme is the notion of lifelong dependence on male guardians. Verses famously state that a woman is to be under the protection of her father in childhood, her husband in youth, and her sons in old age, and “must never be independent.” Legal and economic autonomy is therefore limited, with property and inheritance typically mediated by male relatives, even though some Smṛtis do acknowledge forms of women’s wealth (strīdhanā) and certain inheritance rights. Women’s legal capacity in major decisions is correspondingly constrained, reinforcing their status as dependents within the juridical framework.

Ritually, women are usually not treated as full Vedic actors in their own right. Participation in Vedic sacrifice is commonly envisioned through the role of the wife assisting the male sacrificer, and formal initiation and Vedic study are often reserved for “twice-born” males. At the same time, the texts repeatedly stress the honor due to mothers and wives, and harming or dishonoring them is portrayed as a serious moral fault. This rhetoric of honor and protection, however, is closely bound up with the regulation of female sexuality, strict expectations of chastity and fidelity, and severe sanctions for transgression, all in the service of preserving lineage and social order.

Marriage is presented as central to a woman’s social and spiritual fulfillment, with chastity, devotion to the husband, and care for family welfare held up as ideals. Widow remarriage is often discouraged, especially in later Smṛti traditions, though some texts allow it under specific conditions or for particular groups. The ideal of the devoted wife who remains faithful even after the husband’s death is strongly praised, and the expectation of lifelong fidelity underscores the asymmetry between male and female sexual norms. Childbearing and child-rearing thus become not only social functions but also religiously charged duties.

Despite these restrictions, the Smṛtis do not portray women as marginal to dharma; rather, they are seen as central to the integrity of the household and the continuity of tradition. Some texts acknowledge women’s intellectual capacities and allow for education in certain contexts, and there is recognition of their crucial role in maintaining dharma within the home. Different Smṛtis and their later interpretations show variations in strictness, with some offering slightly more room for women’s property rights or personal agency. Yet across this diversity, the overarching pattern remains one in which women are honored in principle but institutionally subordinated, their status defined by both reverence and restriction.