Movie forward, what are the prejudices underpinning the belief that men are more superior to women. There are several prejudices which are all countered by Gurbani but it is important that we identify these else we commit intellectual dishonesty, as can be seen in the previous post, whereby terms such as sexist or racist etc become insignificant labels and fail to reach those concerned with this malaise. These prejudices are mostly unconscious biases justifying the exclusionary practice of women in sikhism or even their disrespect.
The first prejudice is inherited from Muslim belief surrounding the idea of "Najaiyez", don't know if that is an accurate spelling, this is a derogatory term for bodily fluid or filth. The idea is that women excrete this during menstruation and that this can come into contact with the sacred and therefore destroy the sanctity of a place. This argument is used against sikhs in general by Muslims who argue God cannot be everywhere because God does not abide with or in filth. Men are therefore superior because women are dirty.
The second reason is pollution and is inherited from brahmanism. Again concerning menstruation, a woman unlike a man is unable to control her seed, this is therefore a weakness of females. A woman during her period is unable to exercise and execute cognitive function due to hormonal imbalance. She has an involuntary nature and is discharged from sacred duties. Religious protocol is not even reorganised, instead a women is seen as something that needs to be managed, and that by a man. So in this situation a man is superior because a woman is volatile.
The next prejudice is suspicion. This is the wilful ignorance of the intellectual argument for blind faith. For example the intellectual argument that no woman stood up to offer her head when the Khalsa was inaugurated. Despite the fact that this argument exploits an historical event solely on the basis of gender isn't bad enough, followers who are male will take no interest in uncovering this reasoning but will just go along with the sentiment that this is due to tradition. Female angst and opposition to this is then viewed with suspicious.
I will end with another prejudice but there are plenty more. This is what I call cultural chardi kalaa, whereby men are not content to rejoice in the welfare of humanity, instead they will infringe on another human being all the while thinking that they are being positive. I went on a yatra and whilst at a large gathering noticed that I was in receipt of alot of advances, I am male, at first thought that this was brotherly love but then I got my buttocks pinched. It goes from being overly friendly to "you want this to". This is a cultural problem which is confused further with the concept of chardi kala. It is a prejudice because chardi kala does not mean we all want the same thing, chardi kala is an enthused state of mind with contentment.
