FEMALE
FIG
URES IN H
INDUIS
M
AND HIN
DU FEMIN
ISM IN
INDIA
SO
PH
I E S
HE
MA
S
FEMINISM AND RELIGION?
• Generally thought that the two don’t mix well• Most practiced religions often based off patriarchal
structure
• What about Hindu feminists?• Face a heightened challenge within India• How can the presence of goddesses within the religion
influence the feminist cause?
• Hindu definition
• Feminist definition• Not easily defined in India• Body, mind, and soul acknowledged
VIEW ON (HUMAN) WOMEN IN HINDU TEXTS• Primary issue: the Manusmriti
• Outlines “code of conduct” for anyone following Hinduism, especially specific for women• “A virtuous wife should constantly serve her husband like a
god, even if he behaves badly, freely indulges his lust, and is devoid of any good qualities […] It is because a wife obeys her husband that she is exalted in heaven”
• Other texts reinforce gender bias and subjugation of women• Women created from the feet • Women are not worthy of trust
• Counterarguments?
ISSUES FOR WOMEN IN INDIA
• Oppression strongest in rural areas (more traditional)
• Sexual harrassment and violence/rape, femicide and female feticide, honor killings (sati), dowry-related murder, child marriage, etc.
• Hinduism often used as an explanation for child marriage
• Up to 136,000 women and girls killed by fire each year (2012 statistic)
• 1,800,000 girls under age six died from domestic violence issues in the past two decades
• 93 women raped per day (2014 statistic)
• Paros in areas with low ratio of women to men
• General lack of education and care for women
THE ARGUMENT FOR HINDU FEMINISM
• Only major religion where female deities are worshipped
• There is even a divine feminine creative energy (Devi/Shakti)• Everything is created from this absolute feminine• No male gods can exist without some feminine energy
• Shaktism: goddess worship• Shakta cults• Conflict with god-worshipping cults in the past• Emphasis on goddesses that embody feminist beliefs
FEMINIST GODDESSES?
• Kali and Durga most commonly cited
• Kali (the Dark One or the Dark Mother)• Associated with destruction• Monstrous in imagery• Dances on corpses
• Durga (the Invincible or the Inaccessible)• Known as a fighter of demons• Pictured with her Bengal tiger or lion
KALI
Credit: http://hinduperspective.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/godess-kali-1.gif
Credit: http://jessicarrot.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/kali.jpe?w=510
DURGA
Credit: www.ksiqno.blogspot.com
CRITICISMS OF KALI AND DURGA
• Too one-dimensional and masculine• Primarily based off Western feminist ideals
• But they are only pieces of the whole (Devi)
• Also, there are other goddesses who represent characteristics that they seem to be missing• Lakshmi (goddess of light and prosperity)• Sarasvati (goddess of wisdom/knowledge)
• All retain characteristics often reserved for males
NON-GODDESS WOMEN IN HINDU MYTH
• Not represented as such strong characters and not respected within their stories much of the time
• Prime examples within two Hindu epics
• The Ramayana• Sita
• The Mahabharata• Draupadi
• Despite their oppression within the epics, their actions and character traits can be seen in a feminist light• Sita’s renunciation and Draupadi’s question
THE GENDER GAP IN INDIA
• Epics can be seen as a representation of the gender gap for women in India • Disconnect between how goddesses are treated and
how human women are treated
• Emphasis on purity and obedience• Impact of hierarchal society • Caste
CHALLENGES FOR HINDU FEMINISM
• Essential to address the issue of the oppression of Indian women, especially Hindu women• Development of India, globalization
• Hesitance to speak out among Hindu feminists
• Could a revitalization of Shaktism and an emphasis on the strength and perseverance of human female characters help the Hindu feminist movement?
• Hinduism as a uniting force for Indian women