Photo Of Sikh Woman With Facial Hair Leads To Conversation, Understanding

Randip Singh · Sep 29, 2012

Folks the clue is in our titles!!!

Dasam Padshah was a genius:

Singh for men only!!! - Like lion, hence why the men have their mane like appearance with beards and long hair.

Kaur for women only - Princess - princess like appearance. Princesses didn't keep beards etc.. ...and if need be like a Queen one day to take up the sword.

This is religious equality and diversity. We are equal but different!! Sensible in my eyes.

We have to stop the stupidity of literality amongst Sikhs!!!!
animatedkhanda1

Searching · Sep 29, 2012

Was Mai Bhago one of those blessed? Apparently not. Why?

Why did she wear male clothes as Guru ji's bodyguard? A beard then would not be too out of place.

Ishna ji
The are women bodyguards and army personnel everywhere in the world. They all wear male clothes.
Female clothes are not very practical and comfortable when it comes to combat.
Just imagine a woman riding a horse with a sword in one hand and bow and arrows hanging from her back wearing a sari or skirt.
I will say Mai Bhago was practical in wearing male clothes and that is what all women do who are employed in the army/police anywhere in the world.

Ishna · Sep 29, 2012

Kaur means Prince, not Princess.

Searching ji - Nice point. I guess that makes the clothes unisex then.

Kanwaljit.Singh · Sep 29, 2012

Kaur for women only - Princess - princess like appearance. Princesses didn't keep beards etc.. ...and if need be like a Queen one day to take up the sword.

This is religious equality and diversity. We are equal but different!! Sensible in my eyes.

We have to stop the stupidity of literality amongst Sikhs!!!!

I have seen people keep the dirt from shoes in Jora Ghar, so that people can take away the Dhoor (dirt) of the Sangat. Now that is stupidity of literal sense.

But why so? Coz it is not something they have earned. Someone else is collecting that dirt for people to take it away.

Whereas this Bibi has earned it all by herself. She has earned the looks of strangers, comments from fellow Sikhs, disapproval from some family members and the risk of being outcast. Still she has much more impressive co-curricular activity involvement than me and many others in University.

She has faith that Guru Sahib wants her to be that way. She is following her faith. If Guru's Will be, she might think if she is going down that way blindly or taking something too literally. This is something beyond what we describe as our faith. And it is beyond the courage we have.

She is living her life protecting her Kesh even if they are on face and upper lips. And I guess many people would have suggested her all the time to let them go. She has not. End of story

Inderjeet Kaur · Sep 29, 2012

sgpc to honour balpreet kaur for maintaining sikh identity
http://punjabnewsline.com/news/SGPC-to-honour-Balpreet-Kaur-for-maintaining-Sikh-identity.html

To me there is something sad about this. It is not the young lady's facial hair, but her courage and dedication that is inspiring. It is sad that we Sikhs show so little of these qualities nowadays that the SGPC finds it necessary to honour one who has them.

Randip Singh · Sep 29, 2012

Ishna said:
Kaur means Prince, not Princess.

.

I know Kaur means Prince, but when it was given to women it was given so that they were not seen as less than mean.

My point nevertheless stands.

I see no point in women keeping beards.

Inderjeet Kaur · Sep 29, 2012

Randip Singh said:
I know Kaur means Prince, but when it was given to women it was given so that they were not seen as less than mean.

My point nevertheless stands.

I see no point in women keeping beards.

Of course you have every right to your opinion. Can you respect - while still disagreeing - those who disagree with you? Or do you believe everybody - or at least all Sikhs - should agree with you?

namjiwankaur · Oct 6, 2012

WaheGuru!!!!

_/|\_ Sat Nam

Just came across this on Youtube. Regardless of our personal opinions on women with facial hair, I find anyone whose faith so strong, she can not succumb to the pressure in the west to conform to a certain look. Women like these are extremely inspirational, aren't they?

I tried talking about this to someone I know who is really self-conscious about her looks and won't go out w/o "her face on". Women in the west are pressured constantly to do their hair, their eyes, their wardrobe ... just so. I think it is sad that women have "bad hair days".

I confess I didn't get some of the 5Ks for a long time. Only in the last few weeks has it really sunk in. I am also so brainwashed by needing to present a certain image and conform. And it has finally hit me. That is all about the outside and it is so blinding. I feel I have learned some serious and important lessons recently about kesh and I see I don't want myself shackled like that anymore to something like the length of my hair, etc., pulls me away from my devotion to WaheGuru. Kesh seems to me now to be a prayer, a way of saying: I don't need to improve my body. I need to thank You for it.

*TheKaursWay* Sikh Women And Kes