It is in the Hinduism we find women were oppressed. Women were not oppressed in the Vedic times but high status accorded to women in the Vedic society.+

As we peep into the religious history of India we find present-day Hinduism is nothing to do with the ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.

In India, people think that religion as a stepping stone to the higher truth but it is not so because religion is based on the false Self (waking entity or ego) within the false experience (waking or the world).

One must go beyond form, time, and space. The theistic tradition has been kept alive by religious orthodoxy. The orthodoxy is the path of ignorance because it is based on ignorance. The orthodoxy is nothing to do with the ultimate truth or Brahman. Thus, it is not the path of ultimate truth or Brahman.

Vedic people did not worship the Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Hindu gods and Goddesses are not Vedic Gods. Vedas mention that God is “One” whereas in Hinduism there are sixty million Gods. Hinduism is not the ancient Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma. Hindus do idol worship, while Vedas bar idol worship. God pervades everything and everywhere. Hindus worship Puranic Gods. The Puranic Gods are not Vedic Gods.

Hindus indulge non-Vedic beliefs such as idolatry, ancestor worship, pilgrimages, priestcraft, offerings made in temples, the caste system, and untouchability and child marriages.

All these lack Vedic sanctions, therefore, Hinduism is not Ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.

All Hindus indulge in non-Vedic practices barred by the Vedas introduced by the different founders of the different sects of Hinduism at different times, whereas the Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma is ancient and has no founder.

 Hinduism is not Santana Dharma or Vedic Religion. Hinduism is not a religion. Rather it is a group of religions found within India that share common beliefs while still remaining very different.

To be considered an orthodox Hindu one need only accept the authority of Shruti, however, there is no universal agreement among Hindus on what constitutes Shruti. Vedantins consider the Vedanta, i.e., the Upanishads as Shruti, but also include the Bhagavad-Gita and Brahma Sutras as authoritative. For some Vaishnavas, the Bhagavata Purana is to be considered Veda. Some consider the Tantras are considered Veda. Thus, we find that there is ample scope for different philosophies, ideologies, and practices under the very broad umbrella of Hinduism. And all Hindus indulge in non-Vedic practices barred by the Vedas introduced by the different founders of the different sects of Hinduism.

The vast ocean of Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma was consistently steady and calm for a very long period. It appears that as a consequence of the rage of the Buddhist revolution it got suddenly disturbed and flowed down to us in disorder. Even today Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma has not recovered from the onslaught of Buddhism and Jainism and is not able to settle in people's hearts in its original form in the same old measure.

The Buddhist influence is seen in great measure in the Vedic philosophy which is followed by the majority of Indians. Thus, it is clear that Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma has not retained its original form, but has been influenced by other religions and has undergone a sea change. Thus, the influence of Buddhism on Santana Dharma is extraordinary. Even Kumarila Bhatta, who fought with great heroism for the revival of Vedic religion, was so much influenced by Buddhism that he established for the first time in the country, an atheist Vedic Religion or Santana Dharma. There is no room for any doubt to assert that the Kumarila Bhatta School was influenced by atheist Buddhism because the school which is based on the validity of the Vedas and rituals refutes the existence of God.

In Yajur Veda – chapter- 32:~ God is Supreme or Supreme Spirit has no ‘Pratima’ (idol) or material shape. He cannot be seen directly by anyone. He pervades all beings and all directions. Thus, Idolatry does not find any support from the Vedas.

Rig Veda: ~ The Atman is the cause; Atman is the support of all that exists in this universe. May ye never turn away from the Atman the innermost Self. May ye never accept another God in place of the Atman nor worship other than the Atman?" (10:48, 5)

Rig-Veda 1-164-46 and Y.V 32-1 clearly mention that God is “One”.

Rig Veda declares God is ‘ONE’ and God is Atman, then why believe and worship in place of the real God.

Brihad Upanishad: ~ “If you think there is another entity, whether man or God there is no truth."

When Upanishad itself declares: ~ Sarvam khalvidam brahma ~ all this (universe) is verily Brahman. By following back all of the relative appearances in the world, we eventually return to that from which it is all manifest – the non-dual reality (Chandogya Upanishad).

Rig Veda is the only scripture among those of all religions in which the Divine Truths are revealed to women sages also and some of these hymns describing the revelation find a prominent place in the Rig Veda Samhita like the hymn (10.125) (tenth mandala, 125 sūkta or hymn) attributed to the woman sage Vāk Ambriņi. There are more than thirty women sages in Rig Veda with specific hymns associated with them.

In all the Semitic religions there is no mention of any revelation to women and no woman is listed among the prominent disciples of the founders or prophets of those religions.

There are numerous hymns in Rigveda indicating the high status accorded to women in Vedic society. Rig Veda (10.27.12) explicitly states that the practice of a lady choosing her own husband was in vogue.

The hymn (10.85), the marriage hymn, explicitly states that the daughter-in-law should be treated like a queen, sāmrājni, by all the family members especially the mother-in-law, husband, and father-in-law.

 In Rig Veda (10.85.26) the bride was exhorted to address the assembly; to be asked to address the assembly was regarded as an honor by most of the Sages. Women were not oppressed in Vedic times. First, one has that Hinduism is not the ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.

It is in Hinduism we find women were oppressed. Women were not oppressed in the Vedic times but a high status was accorded to women in the Vedic society.

Even today, some orthodox persons deny the right of chanting the Veda to women. However, they cannot cite any authoritative scripture to support their views. Any book in Sanskrit cannot be accepted as scripture or divine revelation.

Women Vedic Sages

Women Saints and Sages of India have been given less importance, for several reasons obvious to anyone studying history...

In the medieval period, women were confined to homes and according to some moral codes, women were not allowed to study scriptures and chant mantras while mantras were invoked as female deities or Goddesses.

The Vedic rishis had wives who were learned women and took part in philosophical discussions. The crippling social practices for women, considering them inferior, and unfit for scriptural studies were introduced by male-dominated societies...While women's monastics or nuns were introduced in Buddhism; it was not a common practice to have nuns in Hindu monastic orders until recent times.

Sage  Sankara has philosophical disputes and debates with an equally great scholar, Mandana Mishra.  Mishra's learned wife Bharathi served as the umpire.

Sage Sankara Sankara says: ~ in Mand.P.351 and also in Vivekachoodamani, that even women can realize the truth if they persist.

Thus, it proves that Sage Sankara wanted even women to acquire Advaitic wisdom whereas the orthodox Advaitins Bars women from indulging in the path of wisdom. 

Sage Sankara says ~  Even women can realize the truth if they persist. (Mand.P.351 and also in Vivekachoodamani)

Some of the quotations given by these critics are from the period of the sutra books which are dated more than two thousand years later than the Rigveda. Naturally, these critics suppress quotations that speak of the high status of women in the society of the Rig Vedic period and the period of Upanishads.

There is no evidence to support the orthodox claims that Veda bars study scriptures and chant mantras. Women were confined to homes. The Vedic culture is different than the Hindu culture.

Hinduism is a group of castes and creeds with diverse beliefs and culturally diverse is nothing to do with the ancient Vedic religion or Santana Dharma.   It is an error to identify the Vedic Religion as Hinduism because Hinduism is a non-Vedic belief system.:~Santthosh Kummar