Bhāonā is a major traditional art form of Assam. Sankardeva, the founder had taken ideas fromBharata‟s Natyasastra for its creation. Usually women are not allowed to act in Bhāonā. Neither the Natyasastra,nor Sankardeva had mentioned such points. Instead there are some rule regulations regarding women acting inthe Natyasastra. For example Bharata says in chapter thirty five: When women impersonate female charactersand men male characters and their ages are similar to that of the characters represented, the impersonate iscalled natural. Even there are hints of women performing male roles. It might be impossible for women to act inBhāonā in the contemporary social condition during the period of Sankardeva and if they had acted we have noevidence. Anyhow, a rigid rule appeared that women cannot act in Bhāonā. Such rule does not contribute in theprogress of art. On the other hand it is not humane from the social perspective. This rigidity prevails even in thetwenty first century Assam. This paper is going to discuss the different perspectives regarding this issue ofwomenactingconnectingtherulesprovidedbytheNatyasastratakingsomeexamplesfromthecurrentsituation.