Courtesan and Wife or Public woman and Domestic woman

I was in a meeting and someone just told me, now days women are freely moving around, working, taking up jobs, independent and are financially self sufficient. Do you think that is the reason why many extra marital affairs have increased? And I was in a shock state not knowing what to say.

This person is attaching the extra marital affair with the woman's freedom to wok. The society hasn't changed, it's the same but only new lifestyle has come. I was trying to relate his statement to what he must have learnt in his growing age.

Its an indication of him learning that women who sit at home are good women and in control and women who go out are not so good and not in control. In my research I traced back the history of women in India from 1700 BC but beyond vedic references.

During those days in the society the Public Women and Domestic Women were different . The public women were the keepers of Art, Culture and Religion whereas domestic women were the keepers of Family, Lineage and children. The Law of Manu reveals the basis of domestic woman's stature in a male-dominated society: "He who carefully guards his wife, preserves (the purity of) his offspring, virtuous conduct, his family, himself, and his (means of acquiring) merit"(dharma)!

Whereas the public woman was supported by the elites of .the society and the government as integral and important part of the social structure. However, most respected and supported were the Ganika.

In our history specific San- skrit terms were used to highlight distinctions between these women. 
The exceptionally civilized public woman, proficient in arts and endowed with winsome qualities, is called a ganikd. 
A Vesya or specifically a woman called a Rupafivd, is a prostitute, ranked below the ganikd, whose artistic talents she does not possess. A very low- grade prostitute (a "whore") is a Pumscali, and a prostitute who is a slave is Dasi, such as a kumbhaddsi, a "pots-and-pans" prostitute consigned to the most menial of tasks. A temple dancer, or religious courtesan, is called a devaddsi.

This indicates that women in public were used for the sexual gratification, those were educated lot with expertise in various skills, remember the movie Utsav in which Rekha acted. So there was a general division of women from Public and women from House, The public one are unchaste and one from the house are chaste by the protection of the Man which considers the protection of the offsprings and lineages. However, this structure changed in colonial and post colonial era and the respect of Public women disappeared. Their glory went away. Also women from Home too became worse due to having a limited role with lack of education right from the start.

The society today has changed and the same woman can be public woman and a house woman. Man wants her to fulfill both the roles effectively, yet he is not able to accept her fully. However, the choice of a woman is bigger than what man wants from her is the need of an hour. today.
The potential and capacity of a woman with her ability to be a keeper of Art, Culture, Religion, House, Family, Lineage and offsprings is unthinkable. Today many women are doing it but I think this age old perception of inside and outside woman is still creating a damage for the choices she is making for herself. The question is who designed PUBLIC AND DOMESTIC WOMEN categories? by binding them into some role that's being then supported by the men in power. The power is taken over by women today, yes when power comes the responsibility too increases. Those are the dynamics of power.

Men have to accept women as they are and allow the freedom and choices they are making for themselves. The debate is not about whether that society was good or this ? its about women were out into the role that was beneficial for the society. Today also everyone is talking about the same.