Buddha Gautama Women

Historically, “Women and Gender in Islam” discusses the social, political, legal, and religious discourses and structures that have shaped the experience of Muslim women

In many cultures, the roles of women vary reluctantly. While researching the many aspects of Buddhism, the religion is sometimes practiced differently and the roles of women differs. According to Experiencing World Religions, (Molloy, 127) Buddhism is one of the world's oldest yet most significant religions thus far. It has influenced many cultures, originating from India and making its way to migrate throughout the country of Asia, and women have been involved since the very first day. In today’s society, although men are predominantly inferior over women, women are granted the same opportunities. Just like many other societies in other countries or many other religions there are discriminations and prejucial acts against women. Although, woman are offered the second class citizenship in many Buddhist traditions, a woman's role is very important when helping maintain the religion resulting in mass population of worshipers , fulfilling the duties as caregivers and also wives to their husbands, and also providing any assistance if needed in the community. (Molloy, 127)

Aisha bint Abu Bakr was a leader, a woman, a wife, a theologian, a scholar and a political activist. She was precocious, loyal, brave and remarkably intelligent. These aspects of her humble life have allowed her to make a powerful impact on the development and expression of Islam that “no woman [has] reached”[1]. Not only did she influence the position of women in Islamic society, Islamic ethics, and the understanding and interpretation of the Qur’an, but she also modelled these qualities for the men, women and children of Islam.

Yet inequalities may not be the case for women in more westernized nations as they receive greater freedom (60). This is where the great diversity between modernist Muslim’s and conservative Muslim’s come in. Modernist Muslims argue genuine Islam is compatible with modern west society and political ideas such as democracy and the equality of women. The views of women in society are supported by revelations of the prophet Mohammed. On the other hand we have conservative Muslims where they believe in

Women were treated similarly in both civilizations, but they had their differences. The women in Egypt had more privileges compared to the women of India. In either civilization, the women are definitely not equal to men, there are sometimes when the powers get close, but they are never fully equal. Even in modern times, a man and a woman could have the same job and work the same hours, but women today get paid 79 cents to every man’s dollar. The roles of women have always been to remain submissive and care for the family, today that is still an expectation, it is just worded

Women have fully been permitted to participate in a religious community since the early days of Buddhism. But they were bound by restrictions, since they’ve typically been look upon

There are many political, religious, and cultural factors that shape the lives of Islamic women many of them are completely different than factors in the lives of American women. Islam is one of the world’s fastest growing religions; however, Brooks argues that “Islam’s holiest texts have been misused to justify the repression of women, and how male pride and power have warped the original message of this once liberating faith.” The book also shows these factors have slowly been taking away women’s rights, rather than furthering them.

From prehistory to 1450 CE, in many different and complex civilizations, religion has influenced the gender roles of many societies. From prehistory to 600 BCE, in Mesopotamia, women could own property, maintain their dowry, and even trade. However, from 600 BCE to 600 CE, in Rome, women were completely under the control of their paterfamilias. Than, from 600 to 1450 CE, in the Byzantine Empire, women were constrained to their homes, and when they went out, they had to wear veils over their faces. Religion influenced the gender roles of many societies and civilizations from prehistory to 1450 CE.

In both Muslim scholars where shocked to see the difference of how each Muslim society dressed and didn't practice all of the rules of the Sharia. For, example Ibn Battuta's travel to Mali and Ghana shocked him the most to see both male females interact with each other freely along with forming friendships from both sexes. The most shocking to him was women had no modesty in the presence of men and didn't practice veiling and seclusion Ibn Battuta viewed women as sexual femme fatales. That needed to be secluded and to be veiled in public and to show utter respect and obedience to their husbands. Ibn Battuta views women as sexual subjects that were made to pass the husband's lineage through child bearing. Ibn Battuta is quoted for stating

Whether it is in a polytheistic or a monotheistic religion, the gender of divinity is always a topic given great attention. Although Buddhism doesn’t put much focus on gods in the teaching, it does include certain religious aspects such as praying to the higher beings. The feminine divine traits in Buddhism can be found with a closer examination on the feminine metaphors in the Buddhist scriptures. While Buddhas are predominantly in male form, divine beings like Bodhisattvas often appears to be female figures including Kwan Yin and Tara. The concept of Buddha nature is described as “tathagata garbha” at times, which means Buddha womb. The imagery of this spiritual womb nurturing the nature for all beings implies the significance of this feminine feature. Another example is how the Buddha’s wisdom is referred to as a ‘she’ in some Buddhist texts. The involvement of both feminine and masculine traits seems to underline the irrelevance of gender in Buddhahood. On the other hand, in Christianity a prevailing image of God being the ‘Father’ is developed. The teachings of Jesus powerfully delineate God as a kind and merciful father accepting and guiding his children with no discrimination. In fact, there is only one explicit example in the scriptures comparing God seeking a sinner to a housewife in search of a lost coin. In addition to the masculine image of God, it is argued that between two human sexes, Jesus as a male is

Religion goes hand in hand with culture, and in the Muslim countries this is very apparent. The cultural importance of men over women may have stemmed from religion, however it was further recognized when imperialist countries introduced capitalism and class divides. “Islam must combat the wrenching impact of alien forces whose influence in economic, political, and cultural permutations continues to prevail” (Stowasser 1994, 5). Now, instead of an agrarian state where both men and women had their place, difficulties have formed due to the rise in education and awareness that women can and do have a place in society beyond domestic living Though women are not equal to men anywhere around the

viii). She goes about supporting this claim by delving into the very detailed documentation of Islam history. She attributes misogyny in the past and present Muslim culture to the male elite. She gives many examples of how Muhammad and Islam have

“In Tantric Buddhism, we are dealing with a misogynist, destructive, masculine philosophy and religion which is hostile to life – i.e. the precise opposite of that for which it is trustingly and magnanimously welcomed in the figure of the Dalai Lama.”[1] Within Tibetan Buddhism, there is an inherent contradiction regarding the status of women. Although in many aspects women are seen and treated as inferior to men, several of the ancient and fundamental values of Tibetan Buddhism, and more specifically Tantric Buddhism, emphasize equality of the sexes, universal compassion, and most importantly the significant and essential role of the woman. Tibetan Buddhist nuns have been trying to

The diversities within North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia (cultural, religious, political, etc.) play a crucial part in the status of women and the key features of gender roles in these particular geographic regions. The Middle East and North Africa share commonalities through Arabic and Islamic culture. Establishing equalities for women amongst the current social and political changes of Middle Eastern and North African societies stands as a difficult obstacle to overcome, but in spite of this, women’s rights efforts are still being made. While Islamic culture is dominant in Southeast Asia, the culture of Southeast Asian nations is diverse. Islam and gender in Southeast Asia have contributed to the continuing debate over Islam, feminism, and gender rights in the region. The cultures of North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia are male dominated, but this cultural dominance might not sustain in the future. This essay will compare and contrast the current status of women and the key features of gender roles in North Africa and the Middle East with those of Southwest Asia. Examples will also be provided to justify any arguments that are made.

Khadija was fifteen years older than Muhammad. Muhammad accepted work from Khadija and had led a few caravans for her. Credit should be given to Khadija for Muhammad’s success with Islam because it was her wealth that enabled him to spend a significant amount of time in religious meditation and isolation. Even though she was some years older than her twenty-five-year-old employee and had been married twice, she asked him to marry her (Phipps, 35).