Sikhism

Sikh women. These women are veiled although Sikh teaching does not require them to do so.

Most of the early converts to the Sikh faith came were previously of Hindu origin. In Hinduism, women were seen to be inferior in both in a social and a spiritual sense. A married woman became entirely dependent on her husband, and some Hindu groups believed that men in contact with women would inhibit them from spiritual growth. In the 15^th century, the founders of Sikhism, known as the Gurus, established the religion and directly opposed such inequality in gender. The first Guru, known as Guru Nanak, himself called for “full respect” to be shown to women (Henderson).

Women as a result can be seen as equal to men in many different ways. One of these ways is the fact that a woman has an equal right as a man to lead a congregation. There is nothing related to the religion of Sikhism that has expressly assigned certain tasks in the congregation to men and to women. Any role that a man can play is a role that a woman can play (The Sikh Coalition). Also, unlike other religions of South Asia, female Sikhs are not required to be veiled in public (the photo above, however, shows that some Sikh women would choose to veil themselves anyway). Even when in the community making group meals, men and women both are expected to participate in the cooking and the cleaning. Thus, what would be seen as “women’s work” by some in other faiths would nonetheless be carried out by both the men and women (Henderson).

However, there are still some aspects within the religion where men and women are not equal. There is still a lack of women in leadership positions (Henderson). In addition, in some Sikh congregations, men can be seen to be sitting on one side while women are sitting on another. While this physical separation seems to be inherently against Sikh teaching, it is only done for practical purposes. The cultural norms of the regions in which Sikhism is primarily practiced frown upon any inappropriate contact between a man and a woman. So in a crowded congregation, this is a necessary adjustment to avoid any awkward situations (The Sikh Coalition).

Notice how the men are separated from the women.

On the subject of social climate in certain regions, the Punjabi region, a place containing a high percentage of Sikhs, has families that are still seen as patriarchal. There is still some general condescension coming from men towards women (Sanghera).  North of Punjab is the Jammu and Kashmir state. There has been an insurgency ongoing in that area from the late 1980s up until now. The overall poor standard of living in this area has left the Sikhs pursuing more of a traditional patriarchal family style, with the women charged with homemaking. More ambitious men are said to actually be looking for work, while other men show outright “laziness,” which stresses out the overworked wives (Aggarwal).

All in all, however, it must be stressed that Sikhism is indeed one of the most liberal modern religions when it comes to gender relations (Sanghera). The social and cultural norms of the specific areas in which Sikhism is practiced seem to be inhibiting the full potential of gender equality. However, although the implementation of the Sikh scripture is not always fully applied to real life, the intent is clearly there. The equality of all people is a goal that Sikhs aspire to achieve (Henderson).

The above video contains bits of information pertaining to what a Sikh woman is allowed to do within the scope of the religion (i.e. EVERYTHING). It is specified that anything said otherwise about the role of women is a cultural misconception.

• Aggarwal, Neil Krishan. “Exploring identity, culture, and suffering with a Kashmiri Sikh refugee.” Social Science & Medicine Oct. 2007: 1654-1665. Print.
• Henderson, Laura A. “Women in Sikhism.” Faces: People, Places, and Cultures Nov. 2000: 34. Print.
• Sanghera, Sathnam. “Sikhism, the most modern and liberal of religions, is succumbing to fundamentalism.” The Times [London] 2 Jun. 2009: T2. Print.
• The Sikh Coalition. “About Sikhs: FAQ.” The Sikh Coalition: The Voice of a People. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.