The Hindu dominant states include Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, parts of Jammu and Kashmir and Nepal. In the Hindu society, the status and the role of a woman can be examined in terms of her role being associated with that of her family. A Hindu girl is believed to carry the pride of her family in her hands, as any deviant behaviour on her part is considered as an act of shame for the family and sometimes the village or the community. Upon marriage, the girl loses her original identity and adopts the name and lifestyle of her husband's family. She becomes the better half of the husband also noticed in the word 'ardhagini' which literally means half-body. She is obligated to worship the lineage gods of her husband’s home and observe death pollution rites and rituals for her husband’s family. According to the constitution of India, marriage below the age of 18 for girls is considered illegal and regarded as a punishable offence. However, in rural Uttarakhand, marriage of girls between the ages of 15-18 to aged men, widowers, and retired pensioners is a common phenomenon. Lack of education and awareness causes early marriage of girls. These increase the incidences of widowhood. Due to the marriage of the girls at an early age, the maturity level of the women remain lower as compared to the other members of the household. Thus, the participation of women in decision-making is low. As a result the social status of a married woman remains inferior to that of a man. A mother’s status is however different. As a mother, particularly of a son, she is respected and her participation in the decision-making is then recognized. In the similar respect, a sterile woman and a widow is treated as an outcast in the society. Their presence is considered inauspicious in religious and social gatherings. A widow is accustomed to similar situations. In some areas of the Himalayas the practice of Levirate is also popular. The Levirate customs permits the widow to remarry the younger brother of the deceased husband. The widow does not have a say in such situations. Since she now belongs to her conjugal family, the woman is obligated to abide by the wishes of her husband's family.

Buddhism prevails in the regions of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir, the Tibet bordering areas in Himachal Pradesh, parts of Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Parts of Nepal, Bhutan, Tibet and parts of Arunachal Pradesh. Buddhists have a fairly liberal attitude amongst women, particularly in respect to the work done by them. The degree of freedom enjoyed by the women is much more than in the Hindu dominated areas. The doctrine of Karma in Buddhism, gives the women an elevated status and sometimes the women are considered superior to men. For instance, it is said that the thought process among women is much clearer than among men. The Sutra holds that there is no difference observed between the sexes in the road to enlightenment. The women do not observe the Purdah. There is also less rigidity particularly in divorce and remarriage of widows unlike Hindus. As mentioned before the Hindu woman has no individuality of her own. Her position in society is determined by her role as a wife or a mother. Buddhism on the other hand recognizes the individuality and independence of the women and their title to salvation their own right whether married or unmarried. Marriage is considered as a social contract with the right to divorce. It is a contract and also an institution that defines the rights and duties of the individual attached to the contract. The community encourages the equality of sexes and in many ways treats marriage as a partnership. A Buddhist woman is given equal respect in terms of the domestic decisions for instance the kinship or marriage decisions. Among the Buddhists, a girl also has a liberty of choice as to whether she wants to be a nun and involve herself in a religious lifestyle or whether she wants to pursue a normal life set around worldly matters. As a nun, the girl’s hair is cut short and she wears a red cap and is bound to learn to read the Holy Scriptures. These girls are attached to their respective monasteries in which they live only during the winters. Inspite of the above, it the men who dominate the ritual sphere. While both men and women participate in the ceremonies, it the men who take charge of the major responsibilities. For example among the Bhutias, it is the men who play the musical instruments, while the women participate in dancing. Even in the dancing the movements of men and women vary starkly.  The nuns do not perform any ritual or funeral rights, they are only present during specific festival and ceremonial occasions. 

Polyandry is common practice among the Buddhist communities in the Himalayas. It is a custom, wherein several brothers share a single wife. The elder brother marries, after paying a bride price to the girl’s father and his wife in turn becomes a common wife for his brothers. Thus one can say, the husband acquires sexual rights over the girl, after which the girl becomes the property of her husband and his family. The practice is not a new phenomenon. It can be traced to the earliest days during the time of Mahabharata, where Draupadi was married to the five Pandava brothers. This could have indirectly encouraged the hill communities to take up the practice. The reason that supports the social custom as given by the people is that since the male children from the polyandrous marriage would jointly inherit the property it would keep the land holding and the property intact. This also arises from the fact that most of the time the size of the landholdings might be too small to be further fragmented between the children. Another argument that supports the polyandrous marriage is that, due to high intensity of migration by men in the Himalayas, having more than one husband, would be advantageous, since the other males would migrate while atleast one could be left behind in the house to take care of the wife and children. The girl chosen to be the wife is obligated to mate with the brothers. All progeny would be considered legitimate children of the eldest son to whom the girl is formally married. Polyandry is also a popular practice in a few other regions, which are Hindu dominated regions. For instance, Kinnaur in Himachal Pradesh; Jaunsar Bawar, Rawain, and Jaunpur district of Uttarakhand.

Among the tribal people of Arunachal Pradesh a similar structure can be observed. In the Sherdukpen society, while the father may be the head of the family, it is the mother who sets the general pattern of family life, and her opinion is considered in all family matters. The practice of bride price is also popular among them, however, their role in the administrative matters may be considered insignificant. In terms of property rights, the women only have the right to the movable property from her father's side, while she may have some rights over the land and other immovable property as a wife. They nevertheless, are allowed to attend all social functions and ceremonies. In religious aspects, the women do not have much activity. It is also a taboo for Sherdukpen women to become priests. They are usually confined to their duties of serving food and beer during religious ceremonies. Some of the Nishi women on the other hand are given the position as priests, but the services are again confined to only a few minor rites. A similar pattern of life maybe observed for the Tagin, Idu, Mishmi, Aka, Buguns and Tsanga tribes.  The tribes of Arunachal extensively practice Jhum or the shifting cultivation, where the women perform a major part of the agricultural activity as well. In political matters also the role of women is limited. All decisions regarding maintaining the law and order are taken by the village council comprising of men. Nonetheless, they may be present at the village council’s meeting and express their grievances. An exception can be seen in the Aka society, where the Aka Rani enjoys a better social stand as compared to the other women in the society, as she can attend and actively participate in the village council meetings. Thus while, people may hold the notion that the men and women share an equal status, the position given to them, in regard to their contributed labour is as close to being negligible.