1. The Role & Status of Women in Hinduism

2. Hinduism Established over ~4000 years ago.
Belief in the cycle of rebirth known as Samsara.
Sacred Text: Bhagavadgita (lit. “Song of the Lord”) & The Vedas
Monotheistic? Polytheistic? - Yes & Yes.
Other Texts: Manusmrti, an ancient legal text.
Expresses a unique revenance of the feminine.
Hosts a myriad of goddesses representing wealth and success.
Has experienced (as a system of belief) it’s own cycles of rebirth over time.
Bhagavad Githa Chapter 9 , Verse “lowborn - women”

3. Women through the Ages
Historically, women have cycle through periods of subjugation and liberation.
Most notable period: Rig-Vedic
Although male children were preferred, women experienced almost total equality with their male counterparts.
Education was the same and women were encouraged in philosophical debates.
Notable Female Sages: Lopamudra, Gargi, Maitreye
Religious importance of the feminine and their input as advisors was sought after until the Smirits period with the elevation of the Manusmrti.

4. The Feminine of Hinduism
Aditi
Aranyani
Ammavarua
Durga
Lakshmi
Maya
Mirriti
Parvarti
Shakti
Vishwambhari
Along with many more, each goddess represents an aspect of the faith in its entirity and encompases even the goddess of creation (Ammavarua) who laid the egg from which Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu hatched.
Krishna (to mortalkind) is the only purusha (enjoyer, male) and everyone and everything in existence is prakriti (energy, female).

5. When did it all change?
Following the great flood referenced in ancient texts, the Manusmrti established new laws and expectations of men and women.
The eras that regarded this text as law saw the decline of female rights - education and freedoms swiftly changed.
Women became subservient to their fathers, husbands and (when widowed) their sons.
Religion and culture created a volatile blend.
Imperialism and Colonization only worsend this with rigid western values.
culture and religion are separate entities - theoretically if religion comes from the omnipotent or omnipresent it cannot be affected by culture

6. Debunking the Devadasi
“Sacred Prostitution” and temple girls are not a supported concept by the Hindu faith.
The circumstances surrounding the existence of temple girls can be accredited to the lack finances to support the temples in which they worship, making this issue an economic one. In extreme cases unwanted female children are cast by the wayside and stuck in this lifestyle against their will. It is not sanctioned by ANY Vedic/Hindu text, as touching or even looking at women in any monastic lifestyle is strictly forbidden.

7. Sati
Derived from name of the Goddess Sati, who immolated herself due to the embarrassments of her father.
Outlawed since 1829
Recorded by Greek geographer Strabo circa 400 A.D.
Is an act which takes place in various ancie.
No longer considered reasonable as women’s rights and education is on the rise.

8. Women in Hinduism Today
Women are at the forefront of monumental changes in India. While positive changes are occurring very slowly, there are still a number of issues still being faced...
Bride burning - the murder of a betrothed due to lack of a dowry.
Sati - the self-immolation of widows upon the funeral pyres of their husbands.
Rape/Violence - both frequent and largely undocumented and unreported.
Famous female Hindus today range from Gargi, an influential female Hindu Sage, to rapper/entertainer M.I.A. (Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam).

9. Women & Hinduism in the Future
Slow & Steady - the feminine in Hinduism is being highlighted and brought to the forefront of the Hindu religion.
With media and other forms of expression, the treatment of Hindu women in Indian society is becoming more talked about.
The flexibility of Hinduism in the western world has allowed it to flourish and produce strong and independent womanhood among its female adherents.

10. What about Jainism?
Jainist doctrines denote a greater understanding of equality than Hinduism however is divided into two separate sects…
Digambara (“Sky Clad”) Jain - women must reincarnate as men before achieving liberation. Svetambara (“White Clad”) Jain - women and men are equivocally equal.
Digambara Jains also believe…
Nakedness (a necessity for achieving liberation) is distracting to men, and so a woman should reincarnate as man.
Women are inherently himsic (loosely translated as “harmful”) due to menstruation which “kills microorganisms within the body”.
Women too easily succumb to earthly desires (e.g. caring for children) and this makes it more difficult for them to truly achieve liberation.