[Advaita-l] Women and Vedas

[Annapureddy Siddhartha Reddy]

Namaste all,
       I wanted to know a few things about Vedas vis-a-vis women and sudras.
I asked them previously on the forum, so this is more a reminder. Here's the
link:
http://lists.advaita-vedanta.org/archives/advaita-l/2006-April/016985.html

Ram Garibji mentioned that since the Upanayanam is mentioned only for the
Dvijas in the Satapatha Brahmana, sudras and women are ineligible for Vedic
study.
-- But it is not been clear if Upanayanam has been said to be a
pre-requisite for Vedic study, somewhere in the Vedas itself? Is there an
internal reference?
-- Is there any internal reference in the Vedas explicitly forbidding the
sudras and women from Vedic study?

Thanks.

A.Siddhartha.