Jainism is a well known religion for its religious equality. According to Jainism religion all the creatures that exist on earth are equal and they have their own roles to play for the easy going of life. Jainism is an ancient Indian religion and its followers are called as Jian which means Victory. This consequently indicates that path of victory depends on how we over come the cycle of rebirth rebirth though an ethical land spiritual life.
Concept of Liberation in Jainism
The prime objective and motive of any Jainism followers is to obtain Moksha which refers to Liberation. In other word acquiring salvation of a soul form the cycle of rebirth and death. Liberation is a heavenly state of a soul which is possible when on overcomes from Karmic Bonds. All the other activities apart form striving to obtain Moksha is considered as rubbish.
Femaleness as an Impediment to Liberation
All the living beings that are on earth have the potential to achieve liberation. While Jainism says all the people have the rights and capability to gain liberation some traditionalists say that for women it is a difficult thing to succeed. In Jainism women are projected as virtuous mother who spend all their energy to care their children and learned teacher. However they are also widely considered as ‘temptress and evildoers’. In this way the Jainism religion and its conservative people underestimate and belittle the woman in few aspects, especially on the aspects of their natural and physical structures.
In Jainism we find that there are two sets of believers: one is Digambara who believe that women cannot reach liberation unless they are reborn as me. Other set of followers are called as Svetambara who strongly disagree to Digambara. Digambara embrace on to this view for the following reasons:
Nakedness: Digambara cling on this principle because they totally believe that nakedness is one of the fundamental ways to achieve liberation and women are not allowed generally to be naked on the public premises, because it creates problem to men and brings shame to women. Hence in this way Digambara says that liberation for women a hard thing to obtain.
Ahimsa, Impurity and Women: Digambara affirms that women cannot enjoy liberation because they are inborn with harmfulness which intrinsically refers to their menstruation period. Their menstruation blood kills micro organisms that are living in the female body and they also assume it a sign of impurity. They advocate idea that menstruation itself makes them impure. They have no scientific evidence to prove their argument yet they stick on to this precept.
Attachment: Another important element is women basically emotional beings they are very much attached to children. Therefore women will find difficult to do away with from some earthly attachments. Liberation is possible for women if only they make themselves detach from worldly things.
Portrayal of Women in Buddhism Religion
The role of women is considered to be very pathetic in ancient era of India. They were treated in a cruel way and they were not allowed to act on their own and as wish. Freedom was considered to be an unreachable destiny for them. They were always kept under the care of somebody; in childhood, they had to be there with their parents, under the care of husbands, like a slave, after the marriage then finally under the care of son or daughter as aged parents. During the childhood, lots of restrictions were applied. Being a wife the life of women was often miserable. So playing a role a woman was not that very simple rather it was seen as a burden. In this situation Buddhism’s view on women was something different; they treated as ordinary human beings not as slaves so we shall see about them elaborately.
Buddhism’s view on women
Buddhism treated both male and female equally. They did not compare male with female and not considered women as being inferior to men. The Buddhism had an idea that the human beings were useful to the society. The Buddha gave an emphasis on the fruitful role played by women in the family and the role played as mother to bring up the family. Family life was not something where the husband alone would work night and day to fulfill the responsibilities rather the works must be shared with equal dedication. The husband is not allowed to treat his wife as a slave instead he should consider his wife as his better half, a friend, a life partner and a good companion. A leader of the family is not expected to hide anything with regard to the business in which he is engaged only then she would have some knowledge about the business and manage his affairs in his absence.
Buddhism encourages the women to gain good education because Buddha agreed that women have the capacity to realize the truth, just as men are capable of. This is the reason why he had allowed the admission of women into the order. He was able to see the uniqueness of women, the hard work they put in to rise up the children and the will power to run the family when the husband is expired. This shows that in the Buddhist society a wife occupied equal position with the husband.
Portrayal of Women in Hinduism Religion
Feminism in Hinduism is not respected as equal as compared to men in Hindu society. Historically speaking, whether it was ancient India or the medieval India, the status and respect of woman was always at stake and not regularized. Talking about south Asian subcontinent, mixture of Muslim and Hindu women, socially, women have faced infinite atrocities in the hands of the men. However, if compared, Muslim women were much better off for their religion as it had set special injunctions for the maintenance of their virtue, rights and status. Whereas, the Hindu women of those times were worthless in front of all, owing much to their own religion and holy scripture. Hinduism, as a religion opposes the fundamental rights of the female clan. The Vedas, Scripture of Hindus is quite hostile to its women no matter what. According to it, women happen to be inhuman and are subject to no primary civil liberties. The society, thus, ignored all kinds of rights owned by the women and thus, in ancient era all led a hopeless life.
The Position of Women in Hinduism
There is a fundamental tension between the value accorded women within classical and traditional Hindu society and the distinction of women in myth and their role in various Bhakti movements. There is no strong connection between the presence of feminine imagery or figures in a tradition mythology or scriptures and gender egalitarianism. Indeed, despite the prevalence of worship of the Mother Goddess, Hindu women were/are not regarded as the spiritual, moral or intellectual equals of men. Within, that is, a traditional Hindu framework.
Women as equals of men in early Vedic Religion
Within the early Vedic tradition there is evidence that women enjoyed a great deal of equality with men. Women could receive an education in religious doctrine and practice, and could even devote themselves to study and teaching. The myths found in the Rig Veda contain a number of important female deities including Ushas and Vak.
Criticism Appraisal
In majority of the religion women are treated equally to men and there is gender equality. However in reality and in deed we cannot deny the fact that women are the subordinate and there is much to overcome to establish the so called Gender Equality. For an instance in India, where we live in the patriarchal society, one of the common issues is the gender Inequality. So we can exempt the women in all religion from this gender inequality. To some extent woman in religious community is still very much a men’s world particularly in the area of family, community and religious life.
Patriarchy actually means the rule of the father. In some religions, they follow the patriarchy system. Hence, women always play a secondary role in the socio-political and the religious life of a woman. There is always a preferential treatment for men and boys. There is always a case of women being physically and sexually abused in the family and society at large. Thus we can say that women are only a subordinate and men are the boss. Another major problem in the gender studies of religion is infanticide. The life of a girl child is not valued today. The babies are just aborted just because she is a girl. Hence in Punjab there is an imbalance in the ratio of men and women. Hence there is always room to improve.
Conclusion
Women in general have travelled a long way from the old conventions of sati, illiteracy, oppression, suppression and being an asset of the males, the women have made a huge come back. They have not only earned social and economic development but also the political liberty. In this age, many women have renounced their orthodox views about their religion and thus joined the more modern mainstream. This has therefore led people of India to realize the importance of their women and the role they actually play in the life of the entire family and society. It is this feeling that eventually has ousted the conventionalism from the hearts of the people and especially the women themselves. The concept of equality between all sexes is gripping in to the mind of people in this present scenario, most especially in the all the religions.
It is my analysis over the time which I have experienced and heard and seen from amongst many religions that thinking pattern on both men and women have changed a lot from traditional way to modern. This is made possible probably due to the equal rights given for education to both gender. Though we could vividly see the improvement of women in the entire field still some people try belittling them in a few aspects which should be avoided. People need to cultivate the art being open to new ideas.