Status of Women in Hinduism - Essay Sample

Introduction

Religion is a powerful force that plays a vital role in shaping and structuring society through the administration moral standards. Hinduism is among the world's biggest religions, and it dominates India and other countries in South Asia. Due to the magnitude of its followers, it provides a fundamental basis for exploring the role of women in developing and practicing religion. Hinduism has guided the Hindus by setting customs and enabling people to live in a particular way (Pathak 229). Hinduism has had a considerable role in structuring the culture of Indian society. Ancient Hindu texts, such as Vedas and Upanishads, present diverse and conflicting views regarding the status of women in Hinduism traditions (Pathak 229).

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Hinduism Traditions

In Hinduism traditions, the roles of women were diverse. Women formed an integral part of society, and they can be studied historically to evaluate their position and illustrate major developments (Kumar 30). Various societal norms define duties, morality, and behaviors, thus helping people maintain order and stability. However, the norms evolve gradually, but history plays a significant role in tracing the developments. Hinduism is a way of life, and it has governed and structured Hindus’ cultural setup based on different scriptures such as Vedas, Smritis, and Puranas. The ancient Hindu scriptures such as Vedas and Upanishads portrayed much respect for women by depicting them as supreme beings (Pathak 229). In the scriptures, a woman plays the role of a goddess of knowledge, wealth, productivity, and famine. In the early Vedic (1500 BC – 600 BCE), women enjoyed higher status and could choose between becoming Brahmavadini or Sadhyavadhu (Pathak 229). Brahmavadini were the educated women, while the Sadhyavadhu took care of the family since they could marry (Pathak 229). During the early Vedic, women were worshipped in temples as goddesses and society perceived they had powers to grant prayers or withhold requests. During the period, girls were free to choose their spouses, and widow remarriages were permissible. As a result, it shows that Hinduism traditions valued women and carried them with high esteem.

Childbirth in Hinduism Traditions

Hindus regarded childbirth as a significant aspect, and therefore, customs and traditions started before a baby was born. In India, society perceived that each individual in the community was responsible for perpetuating the Hindu race. As a result, after marriage, religious leaders could recite conception prayer (Garbhadana) to bless the couples to meet their parental obligations (Pathak 230). Pregnant mothers had fears for their pregnancy and general concerns. Ayurveda considers childbirth a natural social ceremony instead of a pathological (Tewari and Tewari 32). As a result, it provides human reproduction without defects since human procreation reflects a divine creation. Ayurvedic, therefore, had various rituals to perfect processes and products of reproduction during childbirth. The Ayurvedic texts of Susruta provide elaborate routines, rituals, and behaviors that pregnant women had to undergo to ensure seamless childbirth. Even though some of the strictures also applied to men, women were made more responsible and accountable for enhancing the fetus since they were the bearers and nurturers. In Hinduism traditions, women were more scrutinized before marriage to determine their ability to give birth to healthy children.

Females in Hinduism traditions had a significant role in bearing children and educating them according to traditional practices. However, Hindus in countries such as India desired to get a son and not a daughter. According to Kumar, Hindu parents preferred to get baby boys more so as a first child since they could depend on them in old age (30). For instance, the frequent outbreak of war demanded that a homestead should have a boy who protected the family. As a result of the shift in the desire, women started taking the secondary role in a household and took the position of wives who remained at home when men went to war. Societal needs were fulfilled by women, which necessitated respect for their position in society. Men maintained their dominance in society while women sustained the established concepts in the household.

In the Hinduism traditions, pregnancy and childbirth were special moments in a woman’s life. The period provided that a woman would undergo various rituals and special treatments according to the stipulated customs. The perpetuation of family lineage made Hindus prefer boys to girls, especially as a firstborn child. According to Klingorová and Havlícek, Hindus perceived that a son would preserve the family name after he gets married (3). Families would, therefore, perform different rituals to manifest the birth of a boy child. Hedman argues that before conception, a woman and a man would perform particular rituals supervised by a religious leader in the genital parts of a woman (17). After performing the ritual, the husband and wife would copulate based on a specific pattern depending on the gender of their desired child. However, mothers took the blame for failing to conceive a boy regardless of whether the spouses took the specified precautions to give birth to a boy child. Hinduism contained overt gender discrimination, especially towards females, in different rituals that the people observed (Pathak 228). For instance, women were given various concoctions before and during pregnancy to give birth to a specific gender, protect the unborn child, and ensure the mother's safety. Also, pregnant women would follow different rules to ensure good health of the unborn baby. The husband's desire to get fair skin, big, and with reddish eyes, the woman would take special concoctions with large quantities of barley for a week. Hinduism strongly emphasized that fair sons and women were therefore subjected to different rituals to give birth as per men’s desires. Different strategies prescribed by the community were meant to shift blame to the woman in case she fails to give birth to a fairly child.

Marriage in Hinduism Traditions

Marriage in the Hinduism traditions was sacred, and it was allowed between a man and a woman. Hinduism prohibited certain types of marriage, such as between a woman who is too young, too old, or those suffering from a prolonged ailment or stricken with specific disorders (Pathak 228). As a result, Hinduism advocated that a man and a woman should come together to form a union when they are free from any defects. Hinduism provides that women were created to help men keep them company, facilitate procreation, and ensure continuity of family ancestries. Pathak observed that Brahman created the female archetype to achieve the creation's ultimate duality (229). Therefore, women's existence is affiliated to Dharma and secondary to men in the lineage of things on earth. The Vedas express that a woman’s major role is to help the man undertake various obligations and help execute family traditions. As a result, women’s main roles were to give birth and ensure children’s upbringing and as per the Hindu traditions. Hinduism is largely male-dominated as it is in almost all other religions (Tewari and Tewari 28). Thus, women play secondary roles even in specific periods, such as Gupta, women from well off families held administrative roles in the temple. Women in higher castes observed stricter norms, and men's dominion progressed. Ideally, Vedas gave men greater duties while females took the secondary role of helping men execute their responsibilities. Women in society enjoyed positions of being wives, daughters, and mothers, which implied that females could lose their position once their husbands died or suffered from any disability.

Different Hindu scriptures, such as Vedas and Upanishads, prescribed the sharing of duties between men and women. Vedas indicated that men had greater responsibilities than women; for instance, the Vedic ceremonies where sacrificial duties were men’s duties. The involvement of women was generally for procreation, and it emphasized on male children. According to Tewari and Tewari, women in the Hinduism traditions could not officiate in a Vedic ceremony since they were sometimes considered unclean or unable to appease the spirits (26). As a result, women could only accomplish domestic ceremonies such as puja, where the host of the sacrifice had to be a male. Nevertheless, women were respected since Hindus worship mother goddesses but consulted male gods. Vedas also outlawed female harassment or neglect in the household. According to Morales, the Hindu religious scripture provided that men should attend to their wives until death (4). As a result, men should not abandon their wives since they were gifts from gods given under a pledge. However, various conditions, such as mentally incapacitated, barrenness, and adultery, provided leeway for men to get another woman. According to Hinduism traditions, women were perceived as characteristics of nature and were given names such as shaktiswarupini, meaning pure energy, Devi, the auspicious one, and mata, the mother goddess. Due to Hindu's respect for women, men were responsible for taking care of mothers in old age and their dependent daughters.

Participation of Women in Organized Religion

Hindu women had a significant influence on worship. For instance, they participated in puja and domestic worship to appease the spirits and allow the community to conduct different rituals. According to Hedman, even though Hindu women’s participation in puja was vital and considered powerful, their role in the temple was insignificant (15). For instance, temple leadership was preserved for men, while menstruating women were barred from entering the temple. Participation in leadership and temple worship for Hindu women is seen as inferior compared to the role that the men had. Nevertheless, Hindu women had specific rituals that are conducted by females only. Society worshipped goddesses and sought solutions to various issues affecting the community. Women in Hinduism conducted daily puja, which provides females with a rather significant role in religion. The daily puja is domestic worship that allowed family members to devote themselves to the Hindu god (Klingorová and Havlícek 2). Women led the worship even all the family members participated in it. During puja, women's worship was a decisive encounter with the deity and a significant family experience. According to Kumar, women, worship is a significant thing since it meant salvation for the household and their redemption (32). Married or unmarried women conducted puja, while widows were outlawed from leading the ceremony. Family members relied on married women to perform the ritual, which placed Hindu women in powerful leadership positions.

Conclusion

Conflicting views range from feminine leadership, highest goddess, and other roles of women in society. Hinduism has deep-rooted classical images that define the nature and role of women based on philosophy and mythology. The images have held cultural authority in Hinduism for centuries, and currently, they serve as appreciation, critique, and transformation of traditional feminine ideals. Throughout history, women have fought for their status and role in various aspects of society. Women in Hinduism traditions were not different since they lived the life of a mother and a wife and followed in their ancestors' footsteps and the established customs. Hindu law books set the roles of women and stipulated how a lady should behave (Pathak 229). Women’s roles in ancient Hinduism were both oppressed and supreme since a woman had a strong presence by serving as a goddess and helped the man perform various obligatory duties.