Tuesday 16 January 2007

Women are given very high status in Sikhism

Came across this site. I've always had a very high opinion of Sikhs since (a) watching The Changes (BBC TV) in 1980, which took them extremely respectfully, (b) listening to the Radio 4 programme on Sikh humour.
 

 
 
Women are given very high status in Sikhism by the Sikh Gurus. Women are given not only equality but they are also given rights to do everything that men can. For example, women can participate and lead the congregation. Women can go to Sikh temple and worship there. Women can play a role of priest, lecturer, singer and whatever there may be. The third Guru, Guru Amardaas Ji, appointed many missionary priests that were sent all over India to preach Sikhism and fifty two of them were women. Read the following points:

Sikhism says this:

"We are born of woman, we are conceived in the womb of woman, we are engaged and married to woman. We make friendship with woman and the lineage continued because of woman. When one woman dies, we take another one, we are bound with the world through woman. Why should we talk ill of her, who gives birth to kings? The woman is born from woman; there is none without her. Only the One True Lord is without woman" (Guru Nanak Dev, Var Asa, Ang 473)

"Woman is one half the complete personality of man, and is entitled to share
secular and spiritual knowledge equally." (Bhai Gurdas Ji, Var 5, Pauri 16:59)

 

 

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