Whenever a religious rite is performed or the Gods or Goddesses propitiated by some ritual, the wife must sit by the side of the husband or else the rite or ritual is ineffectual. This is the high status given to the wedded woman in the Indian religious scriptures.

No charitable gift can be valid without the wife’s assent. Of course, she has no authority to perform these rites by herself, and so she is called abala (one without strength or power). The power implied here is ‘spiritual power over rites.’ Unfortunately, the use of this word has become so widespread that women themselves have come to believe that they are fundamentally weak and powerless in all fields. This is a big mistake; women are not weak, only authorisation to perform rituals is denied. (SSS Vol.14, p. 16)

Despite the evidences of recognition of the greatness of the feminine principle, women have been described as abala (the weaker vessel). This appellation is applied to women because of the secondary status accorded to women in the performance of Yajnas (sacrifice) and other rituals, though participation together with men was permitted. Women could not perform sacrifices and rituals by themselves. Even charitable and religious acts could be performed by women only in association with their spouses.

Though the term abala is applied to women in this specific context alone, women are not weak at all in terms of strength or ability. We have innumerable examples of the strength displayed by women in the world. As against three potencies attributed to men, women are said to have seven potencies (according to the Gita). Can you call as weak Savitri, who made the Lord of Death restore to life her dead husband? Can Anasuya, who transformed the Divine Trinity, Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva into three babies and played with them, be called an abala (weak woman)? Sumati was a great lady who stopped the sun from rising, because her husband was predestined to die the next morning. Could she be termed as abala? No. Was Draupadi, who bore with fortitude for 14 years all the ordeals her husbands went through, a weak woman? Can Sita, who shared with Rama all hardships of life in the forest and achieved ultimate victory, be called weak? Can Gargi, who could carry on the debate with the Raja yogi, Janaka in a dauntless spirit, be called a weak woman?

There are any number of such heroic women in recorded history. Though physically women may appear weak, in reality they are full of strength. As the embodiment of the three gunas, women are endowed with exceptional strength. Even in the spiritual field women display their boundless capacity. (SSS Vol.29, p. 55)