Women’s Place In Hindu Religion

Prakriti Chalise

BA II Year

St. Xavier College

In all societies of the world religion has occupied a very high position in varying degrees in the regulation of human conduct. There is no doubt that in the evolution of human society religion came first and law came later. Religion is one of the most fruitful sources of law. Religion provides shape to the law that is why if religious norms and values are good obviously law is good and vice versa. The core of every religion is morality and morality is the lifeblood of every law. If law is not guided by morality then such law might become draconian law which ultimately cannot address the issues and problems of the society. Religion is another name of dharma. Dharma is the customary collection of Hindu legal system. Nepalese legal system is indigenous legal system. Hindu legal system insists on economic and social rights. Hindu law is based on Hindu religion and Hindu philosophy.

Talking about Hindu Religion and the position of women, Hindu religion has always focused on benevolence and morality. It says that soul is very important and to protect the soul means to protect the humanity and society at large. Spiritual development is to understand reality. Understanding the natural dharma means understanding your own dharma (swodharma), social dharma and individual dharma. Respecting "atma" means thinking all people in this world are human beings. The males and females play their different important roles with the sense of coexistence. Stratification is universally rejected. Thus it can be said that Hindu dharma very essentially promotes equality, inclusiveness and justice. However, the worst part of Hindu dharma is that as time passed by females were treated as subordinate to males.

Hindu dharma believes in good karma; he/she gets mokshya if one does good karma. Father is obliged to look at the welfare of the children. Family is not called father. He is only the member of the family not an absolute power, just a guidance of the family. All the members have their own duty. Every individual member has a duty - father, son wife, husband, mother, daughter - to each other. This system does not exclude any member; it includes every individual. Each refers to collective duty inside the family. By designing duty it develops the mechanism of social life.

In the Vedic period there was absolute equality between men and women. In fact the three goddesses Bhagwati, Laxmi and Sarwaswati also symbolize that power, money and education were vested in these three goddesses which was the best evidence that women’s status at that period was very strong. It is true that Hindu religion is full of cultured principles essential for the humankind. The interpreters of Vedas and Sruti interpreted them in their own interest and established domination of certain groups. In the period of Smriti the hierarchical society was made up where women were supposed to be in lower position than men.

Vedas (Sruti), Smiriti and Dharshan are the three major parts of the Hindu dharma which had a great influence on the Hindu law and its legal system. Most of the Smriti especially Manu Smriti of the Hindu religion is against women that has encouraged gender discrimination in the society. Hindu religion was good until it had not been turned into Hinduism when discrimination, subordination and domination crept in as did orthodoxy. Such orthodoxy has created a great impact in the legal system as legal system of Nepal has been discriminating against women. The patriarchy which is the outcome of Hinduism has provided a demarcation between men and women where women are always treated as inferior and feeble.

It was written in the Manu Smriti that women should not be let free, she should be always under the control of man either in the form of father, husband or son. Manu Smriti, in another word, did not accept the independent identity of the women as it strictly connected the identity of women with that of men. The sati system (burning wife in husband’s funeral pyre) was the best example in this regard. Sati system upheld that wife’s identity ended with the death of the husband whereas husband had no such compulsion. When wife died he could easily get married.

Therefore it can be concluded that though Hindu religion in the beginning was not against women. It was a later development of ism which placed women in lower position. The reflection of Hinduism in our legal system can still be seen.

Prakriti Chalise

BA II Year

St. Xavier College