Name – Jay Sutariya

SID - 3117000

Name – Jay Sutariya

Student Number – 3117000
Topic – 1
 Name – Jay Sutariya
SID - 3117000

In this essay, I will talk about the role women played in Indian religious tradition. I am

going to show the gender inequalities that happened in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. I

will talk about women in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism because these three traditions are

encountered more in this course. There are also some points in which women were granted

some liberty. I will talk about the "Manusmirit" and "Sati Pratha" systems for women.

To start up with, as clothey stated women's role was to worship her husband (pg 87). I

agree with that; in Hinduism, women were treated unequally to men. From their birth, they

were treated as they must worship their husbands as gods and not question anything against

their husbands' families. For example, as in Ramayana, after the war, Sita and Ram headed

back to their home. But due to the pressure of the public and family members, Sita must go

through "Agni Pariksha" to prove her "Pavitrata." In my opinion, treating a woman like this is

not valid. As in the book, I agree with clothey as she said the woman was treated as to do

household duties and the role was to worship his husband's family(pg87). Unlike the ancient

religion or society, Buddhism gives women a role in society to manage businesses and

management of the house in the absence of her husband. As in Hinduism in ancient cultures,

women's educational rights were not given, and they do not believe educating girls is their

dharma. The women get trained to worship her husband and to do duties of the household. But

Buddhism does not restrict woman's educational rights. 

In my view, apart from other religions, the Buddhism religion has a very tolerant

attitude towards women. Buddhism treats women equally to men in ancient times in

comparison to other societies. But in Hinduism, it is not like they do not respect women. They

respect more as the men's duty was to protect his woman till his last breath. They treat women

as a symbol representing nature and the source of "shakti" (power). As per the views, I do not
 Name – Jay Sutariya
SID - 3117000

see any religion gave a chance to select her life autonomously compared to today's society.

The decision of women was taken by the family, community, or her husband in ancient

societies. As in Hinduism, the woman does not have a choice to select their husband or a life

partner. Because family member takes their decision without concerning them. I agree with

clothey that women get married before or after puberty(pg88). The most exciting thing about

marriage is she cannot marry any person who does not belong to her caste, and she should only

marry a person of her parent's choice. This practice is still visible in many Indian regions like

Rajasthan, and inter-caste marriage is seen as the violence of their dharma. But there are no

marriage laws in Buddhism, as they believe one should love her wife despite being of any

caste. As in the book in Hinduism, after the husband's death, all the causes of death are

imposed upon his wife. After the death, women were not able to involve in any social

activities(pg88). Women law forced them to follow God's name, and specific clothes and food

were chosen for them by communities or their husbands.

In many regions, the "Sati Pratha" starts after the husband's death. She must sacrifice

her life with his husband. But as in Buddhism, after death woman was allowed to manage her

husband's business, but the restrictions were the same as Hinduism. These all religions do not

give women a chance to speak or stand up with the man. For example, Draupadi in

Mahabharata gets assaulted by Kaurava, and no one stopped them(pg96). Higher the caste,

higher the women's role in maintaining, representing the whole community or religion. Despite

being of any religion, none of them give them a chance to express her emotion. They just

treated her like a birth-making machine whom they feed food from time to time. Their feelings

do not matter to society, as you stated in the lecture that women in Buddhist tradition cannot

become buddha (Lecture613:42). The reason behind is they believe men are the leading

decision-maker and men can only become a buddha. In my opinion, women should be the
 Name – Jay Sutariya
SID - 3117000

same as men's because women are the ones who give birth to men. I can say if there are no

women, then there are no men.

To add up, Manusmrti gives varying and conflicting views on the right of women

(pg88). For example, traveling with other males and staying apart from her husband, drinking

is unacceptable for women in the Indian subcontinent. If they do not follow the orders, she

gets corrupted, and due to these restrictions on women, it affects her heart and mind. It is not

like all the rules are for women, but Manusmrti also states some rules for the men. For

example, his husband has to "sacrifice" to complete his role as a husband and same for

women. To be continued, I believe that role of a girl as a mother is supreme, and she stands

above the father. It is said that while giving birth to a child, no man can handle that pain. 

To conclude, I have discussed the gender inequalities in the Indian subcontinent. I also

figure out the role women played in Hinduism and Buddhism. After studying the role of

women in Indian society, women are still facing discrimination and cannot go outside alone at

midnight. Being an Indian, I know Indian is the "rape capital of the world."