Honoring Women In Hinduism

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

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 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.

An often controversial issue within politics is how woman are viewed and treated in the Hindu religion. The role of woman in Hinduism is often disputed and positions range from quite reasonable to highly antagonistic. An often overlooked aspect is that, Hinduism is more of a way of life then a Religion. This is because Hinduism requires that we see the same reality in all the diversity of creation; that we see the same Self in all beings. Hindu women within this religion would view themselves as an important part of the family, but this is not shown through the contents of the Manusmriti. The Manusmriti directly translated is “Laws of Manu,” or “Institutions of Manu,” is regarded as the foundational

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.

As a married couple, being parents and having a child or children, the mother and father need to share their responsibilities with their new roles in the family. Judaism believes that each parent can contribute different areas on how to help and teach their other immediate family members, such as being parents and child or children. Compare to a family of Hinduism, women are seen inferior to men, thus men making the majority of the decisions. Men are seen as the individuals who makes all the decision for the families. When Women are seen as the individuals where they do not make the decision for the family, need to depend on her husband, be a house wife in which she is in the house to clean, cook, take care of her and her husband’s child or children, and most importantly please her husband with what he needs and wants. A Hindu woman is not really seen as an individual but more of a creature or even an object because in the book of Sex, Marriage, and Family in World Religions, it states, “A man should have sex with his wife… and always find his satisfaction in his own wife, when he desires sexual pleasure he should go to her to whom he is vowed…” (Browning, Green, and Witte,

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.

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.

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

THESIS: Should women be permitted to lead religious worship, such as music; should women be permitted to be a pastor; should women be allowed to hold a high administrative office; should women be allowed to serve and care for others? Women are human beings, and all humans were created to serve each other; however, mankind may have culturally set barriers and limitations on women which would not benefit women to serve in certain roles.

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,

As a result of these reviews, the ongoing reconstruction of the social status and roles of Hindu women has brought about many new changes in Hinduism. Some of these changes include changes in education, health measures, problems of early marriages, the positions of widows, and the representation of women in governing bodies (Desai, et al., 1995). For example, within Hinduism now,

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

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)

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