Honoring Women In Hinduism

According to Hinduism the female was created by Brahman as part of the duality in creation, to provide company to men and facilitate procreation, progeny and continuation of family linage. The Vedas suggest that a woman’s primary duty is to help her husband in performing obligatory duties and enable him to continue his family tradition. Her primary duty is to give birth to his children and take care of them. Hinduism is a predominantly male dominated religion. Woman play a secondary role. The situation is gradually changing. It is difficult to draw generalizations about the status of present day Hindu women because of society is complex. In general, life in cities is much different from life in the rural areas. Those who live abroad live in different conditions than those who live in the country. Yet, we have ample indications that women are still subject to many restrictions and disabilities in rural area as well as urban areas. The financial independence of woman and the education levels of the family play an important role in this regard. Women in urban areas face numerous challenges in their professions and personal lives. But overall, life is better for them compared to the past. Love marriage outside of the caste or community are scorned and sometimes the couples are killed or excommunicated by the elders in the family or village. Widows can now have a life of their own and even remarry. They draw a lot of sympathy. But

The role of women stood the same to everyone till the years of 1400’s when a new thinking process began, for people embarked a new role for women. During the years of 1400’s to 1600’s in Europe, the Renaissance sparked knowledge that spread to everyone and precipitated ideas that included individualism the belief that humans were thought to be just as important as God. Humanism established these beliefs, for it is studying the literature of the past and the faith of the past. The renaissance generated these humanism and individualism convictions, which caused men to begin to have confidence in themselves and build new innovations in the belief of their own power. With these influences, women started to be impacted and many people started to have several views of the role of women. These views commenced the debate over women that were analyzed with the belief of women empowerment, humanist thinkers, and religious leaders.

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)

The position of women in Buddhism appears to be contrasting to the position of animals – as if women as more inferior than animals are in the tradition. In “Rupyavati Gives Away Her Breasts,” after Rupyavati’s selfless deed, everybody is amazed that a woman could be so giving and compassionate, offering up her own body for another. In shock that a woman possesses such bravery, the people who had gathered said, “’How your sharp intellect contrasts with your female sex!’” (p. 166). Clearly, the ethics and capability of women to perform selflessness were not acknowledged at the time, which is obviously due to cultural norms.

Nonetheless, within the Hindu religion, women’s roles have evolved over time and women are going against the social norm of their tradition and their way of life in hopes of being treated in the same manner that Sikh women are within Sikhism (Desai, et al., 1995). Hindu women’s traditional roles in the household in India have changed over the past century. The influence of Western scholars as well as Sikhism views on women has brought change to the overall status and role of women in Hinduism so that Hindu women can be recognized in the same way that Sikhism women are. Western scholars who have studied Hinduism have written many books and articles on the sacred scriptures including reviews on the Vedas (hymns and ritual texts) and other religious scriptures that at one point were restricted from Hindu women.

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.

Within these gender roles respect is earned in very different ways even though both are based on an almost emotionless stoicism. Men earn respect “through tough assertiveness, fearlessness, and pride, whereas in regard to needs and passions, through self control.” (Abu-Lughod, 116) These make it where the strict rules of the society are not just known but enforced with a strong hand so that the men can be viewed in a high regard. The women however, gain respect through deferring to the men and showing obedience with the same type of restraint in regards to there want and desires. Although the women can gain respect they are not viewed as equals to the men. “The unequivocal purity of maleness per se is clear: even a nonpraying boy is more pure than a praying, nonmenstruating woman.” (Abu-Lughod, 132) These rigid rules are enforced by the men who are expected to show no emotion in all he does including leading his dependents. The men are allowed and even encouraged to beat their wives if the

As traditions differ in many cultures one thing does not change and that is woman are the care-givers. They watch after the family and because of that are protected by the men in the household as well as respected. As demonstrated however in Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns women are viewed not as treasure but as property. They are made to do what they are told and not to ask any questions.

Judaism is a very complex, deep and meaningful religion. It includes many commandments and laws. Women and men have specific “instructions” and rituals that each one has to fulfill according to their gender. Judaism expects a specific behavior from men and another one completely different from women. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explain the different roles of men and women and the more important commandments they have to accomplish based on their gender.

Established in 100-300 CE, was the Code of Manu. According to the Code of Manu, women of any age must not be independent, even when it comes to doing daily chores or routines. The way I see this is women are not allowed to do anything for themselves, so they must rely on the men they have in their lives. Things have changed drastically since then. The way things are different is that back then, men were in control, and women had to depend on others to do things for them. Women are forced to stay with the men in their lives, whether they want to or not because if they leave, it makes the families despise her. No matter what she does, she must always keep a smile on her face and show happiness in what she does. In my point of view, if I was

In many parts of the world females still have very little rights. Indeed, equality between men and women have been accepted by the majority of the developed countries, but developing countries still struggle to see women as equals to men, and India is one of the worst. Currently, the Indian National Congress Party is only 10% female, limiting the say women get. In India, women are definitely not seen as equals to men are being treated like second rate citizens. It also really says something about the inequality in a country when its women are so used to being treated badly most of them do not even recognize that they have rights. In India, men were always valued more than women, which is why an estimated ten million female foetuses are aborted every year. The lack of females in areas leads to crimes like human trafficking for sexual reasons like giving birth to more children. Old traditions and beliefs are the main reasons to why millions of female foetuses are aborted every year, but it is also the reason behind bride burning, another serious issue in India.

From the Vedic Age and Epic Age, where women were treated as social equals, to the Age of Buddhism, which was the most peaceful time for women in India’s past, women were once the ones that were looked up to (Chaudhury, 16-27). The Vedic Age was a period in India’s past where women and men were counterparts, they were treated as equals. Women were cultured, had an education, and had a social status that mattered. Marriage at this time was not a mandatory event, and also were allowed to have any job they wanted, even joining the military (Chaudhury, 18-29).

The language and structure of the Laws of Manu seem to predominantly target women as the sacred laws establish and dictate a woman’s actions over the course of her lifetime. From their birth to their death, women must strictly dedicate their entire lives to their husband and children. The Laws of Manu act as sacred principles for Hindus to worship just as the Ten Commandments act as sacred principles for all Jews and Christians to worship. For the most part, I believe the author, Manu, uses a commanding and effective language to ensure his laws will be followed as intended. Personally, I think the language of the Laws of Manu is somewhat contradictory as the laws lack clarity and consistency. The first law implies that women must always be

The influence of the Hindu goddesses of feminism in India is a widely argued topic. On one hand, the the Hindu goddesses act as powerful role models for Hindu women by setting an example of how the ideal Hindu women must be. If you look at a lot of the reading we have read so far, most of the Hindu goddesses such as Devi and Parvati were consorts of male gods. These goddesses inspire women to diligently serve their husbands while still following their respective dharmas. These goddesses were also shown as beautiful, charismatic and even graceful. There are also many different festivals such as Navratri where these female deities are worshipped either separately or collectively as females due to their grace and power. Growing up with the religion,

In discussing the role of women in contemporary society there are three main areas that can be addressed. The perceptions of woman within contemporary Muslim societies. The status, position and role of woman in the Qur'an and in early Islam