Gender Differences in Sikhism

Paper Summary:

The paper explores how Sikhism was established to specifically abolish gender inequality that is prevalent in the Indian society, and how this reflects the religion's anti-gender discrimination status.

From the Paper:

"Sikhism is a religion that began in India, specifically in the Punjab area during the year 1500 CE, established by Guru Nanak, and this religious institution was established primarily to offer a distinction in Hinduism and Islam, and to end the social stratification that is prevalent in Hinduism (the caste system) and Islam (a patriarchal society religion). Nine gurus have perpetuated Guru Nanak's work on Sikhism, and the religion developed steadily during the middle of the 18th century until the present time in Indian society, and the religion flourished enough for the Sikhs to establish their own territory in India, particularly in Punjab, which was granted (and they partially control) to them in the 1960s. At present, the Sikh population already reached 14 million. As a religion, Sikhism adapts the Indian belief in reincarnation and the Islamic belief in only one God (monotheism), but the religion's adaptation of these beliefs does not mean that Sikhism is similar, or like the Hinduism and Islam religion. In fact, Sikhism is radically different from these two major religions in India, since Sikhism does not encourage and support the practice of gender stratification, especially the oppression of women, which are common practices in the Hindu and Islamic traditions. Sikhism was established to specifically abolish the gender stratification that is prevalent in the Indian society, and this reflects the religion's anti-gender discrimination status. Examples of gender stratification in the Indian societies are the society's treatment to women as "unclean" and "seducers or temptress" of men. They are considered as commodities by the people, and must be valued only for their capability to "perpetuate the race, do household work, and serve the male members of the society" (Kaur 2000). Also, the practice of female infanticide and sati (compulsory burning of a widow in the funeral pyre after the death of her husband) has further put the women's position in the society into an even lower status than any other individuals in the society. All of these injustices and discrimination are what Sikhism aims to prevent and eradicate from the Indian society they live in."

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