At the beginning of the project, all known documents were read and summarised in a database for some preliminary statistical analyses and to identify case studies for further examination. The socio-historical and archaeological contexts of the documents were considered through a literature review, before focussing on selected documents to consider instances of potential gender discrimination. It was found that most of the legal-type documents detailed complaints made by men, with few having women as complainants. There were different types of dharma or ‘laws’ that cases could be investigated according to, with some practices identified as unlawful. To explore the theme of gender discrimination, the project examined documents detailing instances of violence, with a focus on witchcraft, and gender and violence. It was found that in cases involving witchcraft allegations, only women were identified as witches and could be punished legally, but they could also have been killed without being legally identified as witches. In this case, their male owners or guardians could receive compensation if the woman was wrongly killed. Men could be accused of performing witchcraft but were not referred to as witches. It appears that men with status could influence the outcome of legal cases, regardless of whether they were guilty. In cases involving assault and violence, men were also the main accused and complainants, but men and women could both be victims and be treated in extremely violent ways. Where men were the victims, or brought a complaint when a woman had been mistreated, there was an element of humiliation for the male complainant and an attack on their masculinity. Both men and women could experience gendered or sexual violence, but this also differed in type. There was an added psychological and emotional component to the cases. Furthermore, although slaves could be mistreated, only female slaves could legally be beaten and bound. It also appeared that local officials did not investigate cases properly, and were perhaps complicit in some crimes, because of personal animosity towards complainants. Some of the observations and findings were shared at conferences. The main findings will be disseminated through forthcoming articles, with summaries on a blog.
