Islam Are Sikh Women Expected To Cover Head At All Time?

[Inderjeet Kaur]

Though I am not an authority to guide someone on this aspect, yet I would like to speak out my experience on such matters.
As per SRM keeping of hair is mandatory as also covering your head when you enter a Gurdwara or when you are ( not a religious edict but a social practice/custom) in the presence of your husband's (if you are married) Male relatives who happen to be elder to your husband.
I personally do not deem it fit, girls/women, tying Turbans. A dupatta is good enough. For sports the girls can tie a scarf.

Two points.

First, the SRM deems it fit for a woman to tie turban, if she chooses.

Sikh Reht Maryada
Section Four
CHAPTER X
Living in Consonance with Guru's Tenets (Gurmat Rehni)
Article XVI
.
t. For a Sikh, there is no restriction or requirement as to dress except that he must wear Kachhehra (A drawer type garment fastened by a fitted string round the waist, very often worn as an underwear.) and turban. A Sikh woman may or may not tie turban.

Second point (usually overlooked). The SRM spells out the minimum that a Sikh should do. One can always choose to do more.

 

[safiya]

In Sikhism or Hinduism in Punjab head covering by women is done to show due respect to elderly male relatives of other father figures. The practice has no connection as in Islam to show modesty in the subject women.

As far as liberty is concerned Sikh women have equal rights as men whereas in Islam a women cannot go alone outside her residence and she must be accompanied by her husband, a women, a brother, or her son and she must be fully covered by a Burka. A Sikh women can interact with any male a relative or otherwise but in Islam she is not allowed to interact and in some acute circumstances if she has to she will speak standing behind a curtain, a wall etc.
In religious congregations Sikh Women can partake on equal footing to men sitting opposite each other in groups or side by side. But in Islam the women have no right to participate. Moreover the Muslim womenfolk are considered as chattels.

So much ignorance in your comment, first Burqua is not mandatory in islam, just show me where in the Quran Says women should wear it!?
secondaly, women in islam can fight in wars next to men, and you are saying that muslims women can not go outside without a husband? How can she fight then??The husband ride the horse and she hold the sword ?

 

[P J Singh]

Very interesting question and insightful comments. May I please share a bit of my thinking on the question.

Head covering by Sikh women is more like a cultural thing; a sign of respect that arose out of the patriarchal society from where we have evolved. Women in the past covered their head as a sign of modesty and respect for elders and while in the company of men who commanded respect perhaps because they were often the bread winners while women tended the housework. Now, we are in more like a level playing field, women are equally educated, if not more; they are professionals and they do not only have to show respect to men but they also deserve to be respected equally – equality – the vision of the founder of Sikhism.

Whether a Sikh woman covers her head or not needs to judged from the perspective of Sikh protocols. No matter whether a woman is Amritdhari or not, my understanding is that Sikh Reyat Marayada is silent on this issue. However, covering head in front of Guru Granth Sahib by both men and women is a must and it is the sign of respect to the Guru. No matter how educated or informed we may be, our wisdom remains infinitesimally small in front of the immense wisdom that is embedded in the Sabad.

If a Sikh woman decides to cover her head in public, she can use a dupatta, a scarf, or a turban of any colour ( white, black or blue, or any other); it is her call. The problem comes when many women who are Amritdhari wear turban and claim that it is the requirement of being a baptized Sikh. Sikh Reyat Marayada does not support this, neither is there any record that Guru Gobind Singh Sahib made this as a requirements for Sikh Khalsa women. When young kids, media or curious bystanders ask this question, it is misleading to tell them that it is the requirement of Sikh faith when there is no evidence to support this.

As far as I know, since many of my family relations are from Akhand Kirtani Jatha; I noticed the women members wore turbans. I also recall each time they visited our place we had to put aside and hide all of our ceramic pots and pans because they ate only in metal utensils.

Then there are women with the 3HO foundation that was set up by Harbahajan Singh Yogi, who wear white turbans. I do not know if there is any other offshoot Sikh group that asks its women to wear turbans – perhaps there are some when we have hundreds of Deras in Punjab. The problem is that such specific Sikh Marayadas promoted by individuals contribute to inequality and divisiveness in Sikh faith. Women equality and equality across caste and creed is the hallmark of Sikh faith and these clans work against the fundamental principles of Sikh faith for which our gurus sacrificed their own lives and of their children to fight against inequality, discrimination, and divisiveness.

Gurbani tells us over and over again that haumain ( ego) is most destructive to our personal, social, emotional and spiritual growth. And the formation and promotion of such clans with their own specific Sikh Marayadas and dress protocols is more of a display of ego of those who do not work within the established Sikh protocols. It is because they believe by giving a different outward appearance to their adherents, they can produce a better version of Khalsa – Remember their is is only one Khalsa - Guru Ka Khalsa!!

We all know what Gurbani says about the outward appearance and this leads to another question for a separate thread that I may post. The question is: we all know that 5Ks collectively define the identity of the Khalsa; what is the significance of each Kakar individually?

Women who wear white, blue or black turban ( or of any colour for that matter) can anyone please help, how one should answer if someone asks why you are wearing a turban - should we say that you are baptized and Guru Sahib asked women to wear turban when Sikh Reyat Marayada does not support this or should we say you are a creed of better Khalsa than the Guru's Khalsa for which he sacrificed himself and his family.

 

[P J Singh]

Just to add to my previous post, I would say that the Sikh Rahat Maryada (SRM) is the established protocol for all Sikhs - baptized or not-- to follow. Even though SRM is published by SGPC, it is prepared by about 24 leading intellectual and Gurbani literate Sikh minds; in addition, it also includes input from many more. As such, no matter how we may view SGPC and its operational agenda, functionality and political views, SRM is an independent and outstanding piece of work that has been put together very thoughtfully for all Sikhs to follow. No other Sikh Maryada by any Dera, Sant or Missionary should supersede it.

As per SRM, there is no stated requirements for baptized Sikh women to wear turban. But that should not stop any baptized Sikh woman to wear one, it is totally her choice. However, if the woman then claims and suggests that she is wearing a turban because it is the requirement for a baptized woman to wear one, then she is wrong and puts other Sikhs in an awkward position because it is not in Sikh Maryada.

So what is the problem? The problem is that the introduction of such alternate Sikh Maryadas leads to divisions in Sikh Panth, creates new sects and clans and that often leads to conflicts and voilence as many of us have witnessed such incidents in Gurudawars around the world including in the precincts of Sri Harmander Sahib.

 

[swarn bains]

I have been reading ggs for over fifty years. i did not find that a sikh has to cover his or her head while eating. all these new conditions are added by illetrate sikh leaders who want to assert their power. in essence Sggs wants and guides us to cleanse our mind and soul whichever way one can, so any other condition does not apply although rehat maryada has added a few conditions for sikhs to maintain discipline which we should respect. thanks everyone

 

[swarn bains]

Burka and head cover came into existence long before islam. the reason is that invaders invaded istambul for 500 times.every time they carried gold silver and the women to sell as wives and maids. The invders never killed women. so the women decided to cover the face, so that the invaders will take time to find out who is worth taking and selling . in this process many women will run away and not carried asway by the invaders. when islam came into being the rulers made it a custom. it is not in the quran but a custom. for sikh women it became sort of half burka just to cover the head to pay respect to the elder men and hide the face from them but not from everyone. covering the head or not covering the head does not do any cleansing of mind which sggs mendates and guides.

 

[WorldReligions]

As far as liberty is concerned Sikh women have equal rights as men whereas in Islam a women cannot go alone outside her residence and she must be accompanied by her husband, a women, a brother, or her son and she must be fully covered by a Burka. A Sikh women can interact with any male a relative or otherwise but in Islam she is not allowed to interact and in some acute circumstances if she has to she will speak standing behind a curtain, a wall etc.
In religious congregations Sikh Women can partake on equal footing to men sitting opposite each other in groups or side by side. But in Islam the women have no right to participate. Moreover the Muslim womenfolk are considered as chattels.

Just so you know, excluding Afghanistan (and parts of Pakistan), muslims don’t tend to wear burqas. I’m not saying that Sikhs aren’t equal. But perhaps you should look up how many muslims wear burqas before assuming that Afghanistan is the only Muslim country and everyone follows their exact practices.

 

[WorldReligions]

In Sikhism or Hinduism in Punjab head covering by women is done to show due respect to elderly male relatives of other father figures. The practice has no connection as in Islam to show modesty in the subject women.

As far as liberty is concerned Sikh women have equal rights as men whereas in Islam a women cannot go alone outside her residence and she must be accompanied by her husband, a women, a brother, or her son and she must be fully covered by a Burka. A Sikh women can interact with any male a relative or otherwise but in Islam she is not allowed to interact and in some acute circumstances if she has to she will speak standing behind a curtain, a wall etc.
In religious congregations Sikh Women can partake on equal footing to men sitting opposite each other in groups or side by side. But in Islam the women have no right to participate. Moreover the Muslim womenfolk are considered as chattels.

Yes this is an interpretation of Islam. But not the only one. I’m pretty sure the Wahhabi sect specifically. Not all sects are the same. The burqa is mostly worn in Afghanistan, Pashtun Pakistan and probably parts of India.
I actually heard that at one point in Afghanistan it was worn to show how wealthy someone was!