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