Does Religion Oppress Women?<small>
by NICHOLAS KRISTOF</small>
<!-- <small>December 20th, 2009</small>--> Sikhism is unique in the history of the world's religions in that it has, from the very outset, and in clear, unambiguous and unequivocal terms , enunciated the equality of men and women. However, this is no reason for us to get smug about it. Sadly, we too have, in our daily practices and through time, succumbed to the less enlightened practices of the majority communities which surround us. Strangely and most distressfully, the modern day masands at the Darbar Sahib in Amritsar do not allow women to do seva in the Harmandar. Some uneducated segments of the community resort to forced marriages of their daughters or even so-called 'honour' killings. Female foeticide too has become the shame in some segments of our community.
One of the questions that my co-author and I get most often when we give lectures about our new book, Half the Sky, is a variant of: Is religion the real problem?
My own take is that religion has often been part of the problem, but that it also can be part of the solution. I've seen people kill in the name of religion, and I've seen people reject condoms in the name of religion even as a tool for fighting AIDS (which usually means people dying).
But I've also seen Catholic nuns showing unbelievable courage and compassion in corners of the world where no other aid workers are around, and mission clinics and church-financed schools too numerous to mention. And in Islamic countries, I've seen mullahs who are hypocritical misogynists but also some imams who are leading a push for education and justice.
In short, I don't think there's any glib answer to the question, but there is no question that religions can be a force for justice and equality that they are now not. This magnificent new speech by Jimmy Carter on this topic makes that point very well. Excerpts:
It is ironic that women are now welcomed into all major professions and other positions of authority, but are branded as inferior and deprived of the equal right to serve God in positions of religious leadership. The plight of abused women is made more acceptable by the mandated subservience of women by religious leaders.
The truth is that male religious leaders have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions - all of whom have called for proper and equitable treatment of all the children of God. It is time we had the courage to challenge these views and set a new course that demands equal rights for women and men, girls and boys.
At their most repugnant, the belief that women are inferior human beings in the eyes of God gives excuses to the brutal husband who beats his wife, the soldier who rapes a woman, the employer who has a lower pay scale for women employees, or parents who decide to abort a female embryo. It also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair and equal access to education, health care, employment, and influence within their own communities.
[Courtesy: The New York Times]
December 20, 2009
by NICHOLAS KRISTOF</small>
<!-- <small>December 20th, 2009</small>--> Sikhism is unique in the history of the world's religions in that it has, from the very outset, and in clear, unambiguous and unequivocal terms , enunciated the equality of men and women. However, this is no reason for us to get smug about it. Sadly, we too have, in our daily practices and through time, succumbed to the less enlightened practices of the majority communities which surround us. Strangely and most distressfully, the modern day masands at the Darbar Sahib in Amritsar do not allow women to do seva in the Harmandar. Some uneducated segments of the community resort to forced marriages of their daughters or even so-called 'honour' killings. Female foeticide too has become the shame in some segments of our community.
One of the questions that my co-author and I get most often when we give lectures about our new book, Half the Sky, is a variant of: Is religion the real problem?
My own take is that religion has often been part of the problem, but that it also can be part of the solution. I've seen people kill in the name of religion, and I've seen people reject condoms in the name of religion even as a tool for fighting AIDS (which usually means people dying).
But I've also seen Catholic nuns showing unbelievable courage and compassion in corners of the world where no other aid workers are around, and mission clinics and church-financed schools too numerous to mention. And in Islamic countries, I've seen mullahs who are hypocritical misogynists but also some imams who are leading a push for education and justice.
In short, I don't think there's any glib answer to the question, but there is no question that religions can be a force for justice and equality that they are now not. This magnificent new speech by Jimmy Carter on this topic makes that point very well. Excerpts:
It is ironic that women are now welcomed into all major professions and other positions of authority, but are branded as inferior and deprived of the equal right to serve God in positions of religious leadership. The plight of abused women is made more acceptable by the mandated subservience of women by religious leaders.
The truth is that male religious leaders have had - and still have - an option to interpret holy teachings either to exalt or subjugate women. They have, for their own selfish ends, overwhelmingly chosen the latter. Their continuing choice provides the foundation or justification for much of the pervasive persecution and abuse of women throughout the world. This is in clear violation not just of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights but also the teachings of Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul, Moses and the prophets, Muhammad, and founders of other great religions - all of whom have called for proper and equitable treatment of all the children of God. It is time we had the courage to challenge these views and set a new course that demands equal rights for women and men, girls and boys.
At their most repugnant, the belief that women are inferior human beings in the eyes of God gives excuses to the brutal husband who beats his wife, the soldier who rapes a woman, the employer who has a lower pay scale for women employees, or parents who decide to abort a female embryo. It also costs many millions of girls and women control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny them fair and equal access to education, health care, employment, and influence within their own communities.
[Courtesy: The New York Times]
December 20, 2009
Swap the word love for Fear!
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