Term Paper on Feminism and Religion
Introduction It is a perceptible phenomenon that modern ideas and transnational interaction between people brings about so many changes that they come into conflict with the existing norms and belief systems of a society. In fact, the ability to assimilate productive changes and the capacity to discard beliefs that are detrimental to the interest of the society are the essential qualities of a good social order. If a society allows itself to be dominated by beliefs that are not in tune with the needs and aspirations of the changing times, one cannot ascribe it as a progressive society. On the other hand, it must also be said that a society that is open to change without considering the detrimental effects that such a change can make in the long run, will not add quality to that society. Hence, ideally there needs to be a balance between age old ideas that form the foundation of the society on and modern ideas that gives vigor and variety to the society. The modern progressive ideas need to be implemented on the foundations of strong principles bestowed by culture and traditions. Such a society that can give equal importance to proven and tested norms but also respects newer ideas of merit will be healthy and vibrant. However, we can see that in this strife torn world people are carried away by ideas and seek to implement them without considering their merit in the long run. Similarly, conservatives in the society are too eager to cling on to practices that abuse human dignity and rights. Moderation is no where to be seen and the urge to counter the refusal to change with militant zeal, is a very pernicious trend that has gripped societies worldwide. One such issue that has always been at loggerheads for the past many decades is feminism that seeks to liberate women, and code of religions that requires adherence to certain religious principles in the society. Analysis Background of the problem It is interesting to note that almost all religions have advised that women need to be allowed only a secondary role in the society. However, it must be strongly suspected that more than religions, it was the social circumstances that relegated women to a secondary position in the world. Men have been dominating the societies for many centuries and therefore it is quite obvious that they were successful in altering religions beliefs and customs in such a way as to suit them more than women. If we carefully look at the philosophies of the great religions during their initial stages of development, we can see that women were given equal importance in many matters of religion and the state. It was only during the later years that the fundamentalists who grew to have tremendous influence within the society, modified rules and regulations that could control and even exploit women in the society. This is how religion was degraded to the status of a manipulative tool that could subvert the rightful freedom and dignity of a group. Due to the abstractness of religious philosophies and the fear of God that almost every religion inculcates in the ardent believer, all the tenets of the religion was accepted without further questioning and reasoning. Only very few religions in the world allowed the devotee to question the religious principles even though the foundation of all religions principles is independent enquiry and constant negation of ignorance. Now, socially dominating groups found out that religion could be used to manipulate the masses so that they would conform to those rules that were set by a few selfish individuals within the society. Hence religious ideas were contorted to suite the whims and fancies of a few, who enjoyed social reputation. Therefore exploitation of women also got the much needed religious sanction, which ensured that conflicting voices were always silenced in the name of blasphemy. Hence, men were
able to control women for a long time in the name of religion. It was perhaps because of this that women were denied education so that they would not come to know of their real nature and the real edicts of religion. Therefore, it may be said that the struggle between feminism and religion is in fact the struggle between conservative male chauvinism and feminism and religion has been unrightfully dragged into the controversy.
Feminism and the fight for assertiveness Feminism arose as an organized cult because of the social process that involved women who reacted differently to different systems. For example, research shows that there are a lot of women who prefer the traditional security of religion than the relatively newer and often radical approach of feminism. Others are able to create a niche for themselves even in patriarchal religions because of the benefit offered by their circumstances. In other cases, they are accepted within the religious establishment even though they may not be vociferous feminists [Brasher 1998] Hence, it would be wrong to believe that feminism is the only medium that provided women with their much needed assertiveness. It is in fact the interplay of many factors. It is also amusing to note that many women resort to feminist perspectives when they fail to gain attention through other means. They may also use feminism selectively as a tool to tone down the fundamentalist rhetoric of orthodox religions. Perhaps this is another fact that makes religious people look down upon feminism as a sort of social rebellion. Feminism actually fights for the rights of women in the society and seeks to provide equal, if not more than equal, predominance to women in the society. However, it is sad that almost all feminists have equated religion with repression. While it is true that almost all religions can be accused of adopting double standards against women, the fact that seems to be ignored is that the subjugation of women were not sanctioned by any religion. It was merely the social order of a time that cultivated the feeling that religion advocated the subjugation and repression of women. However, women all over the world see traditionalist and religious leaders in the same perspective and actually believe that religion advocates the repression of women. This is a bad trend because ultimately peace of mind and liberation comes through religion: whatever be the materialist belief of a person may be. It is only through philosophic intervention that a person attains liberation and self-fulfillment. If the elements of religious thought are deliberately ignored in order to satisfy the ego of women, it will only boomerang and create issues in the society that would need a different set of solutions. It would be a good idea to examine in what way has the role of women belonging to different religions have changed in the modern society. While liberation of women has been a common theme for feminists in all major modern societies, their rhetoric has been affected by the religious beliefs of the women in a particular society. Hence, it is very important to note that feminism have been affected by the religious beliefs of the women involved in the liberation movements. The role of women in some of the prominent religions of the world is considered below. The role of women in Christian societies It must be said that the impact of feminist ideas have been most felt in those societies in which women are educated and economically self-sufficient. Hence, it may be inferred that education and economic freedom and two very important factors that encourage the strong establishment of feminist ideas. Hence, feminism has been most successful in countries where the Christian religion is the most predominant. It may be seen that feminism has changed the outlook of women to religion in almost all parts of Europe, the United States and Britain where the predominant faith is Christianity. The fact that women of other religions are still backward in
many respects in these countries indicates the importance of liberal ideas that come with education and freedom that comes with economic immunity. Even though the Christian faith was tolerant towards women in comparison to other religions, it too had strong religious edicts that prevented women from actively participating in public matters. The Puritan society of the Victorian era looked down on women who broke conventions and encouraged the adherence to traditional social norms. After the industrial revolution, the value of money went much above religion and it was important for women to have money rather than being considered as a religious lady. In fact, the society even now equates feminists to atheists because they believe that feminists cannot be religious in their outlook. This clearly shows the deep contention between religion and feminism [Ecklund, 2003]. Many Christian women have been able to balance between their identities as a feminist as well as an ardent Christian. Research shows that women prefer the best of both worlds and prefer the traditional security provide by their belief in religion, while they speak against the atrocities towards women even from the part of the Church. A lot of research has shown that Catholic women have reacted to the overbearing influence of The Christian religion in many different ways. For example, many of them have become outright critics of their religious systems and have rebelled against the religious establishment in their own ways. Mature elements within the same religion have sought to present a moderate view by incorporating elements of feminism with religious practices, and have been able to pay justice to both. There are also people who have broken away from the Church and formed groups that have remained religious, but have tried to reform some of the principles of the Church. In Christian societies women have been included in many social spheres of life which was not allowed by the traditional Christian faith. The role of women in the history of the US army is very significant. Today the contribution of women are very high in the US army and the number of women serving the military forces both in the military as well as the auxiliary services are very high. When women were inducted to the army, they were not allowed to fight on the contention that it was very dangerous for women to participate in the war. They were posted to non-combat positions, which in fact did not provide any significant safety for life. The contribution of women to the civil war also is very noteworthy. The women were involved in life threatening situations as nurses, spies or just by maintaining the family when the husbands were away fighting. The contribution of the ladies for maintaining the family cannot be ignored. The contribution of women in the civil war cannot be ascertained due to many reasons. Since the government had forbade women from involving themselves in the battle, women usually disguised as men and fought in the battlefield. "Mary Owens, discovered to be a woman after she was wounded in the arm, returned to her Pennsylvania home to a warm reception and press coverage. She had served for eighteen months under the alias John Evans." [Blanton, 1993]. Women have proved themselves in diverse fields like medicine, law and order and political administration Although these changes were party religious in nature and partly related to the development of the society, the recent demands that women be allowed to take up priesthood is very significant as a move towards normalizing women’s status in a domain, the highest offices of religion, that have never been dominated by women. The Church however remains adamant that only male celibates can be allowed as priests. Other changes that have changed the role of women in society are maternity rights, abortion rights, rights against sexual harassment etc. All these rights have made the women proactive in the society, and this role is very distinct from the meek and demure lady of the yesteryears. The role of women in Muslim societies The Muslim society is one the most restrictive one in terms of freedom to women. The attitude to
Muslim women was clearly highlighted during the reign of the Taliban when women were even denied the rights to decent medical facilities. As mentioned before, women were given much importance in the Muslim social life, but gradually they were restricted from even presenting themselves in public. The modern Muslim feminists try to highlight these points and have been successful to a certain extent to highlight the plights of the Muslim woman [Schwartz, 1998]. The Muslim feminist although very few in number and very widely scattered across the world have an uphill task to perform because education and economic independence are issues with which the Muslim women are not as lucky as their Christian or Hindu counterparts. "The fundamental principle of Islam is Tauhid - the unity of the human race under the sovereignty of the One and Only, Universal Divine Allah. Islam's message of peace affirms the equality of all human beings, and rejects all discrimination on the basis of race, class and gender. Yes, Allah is the Sovereign and we succumb to Him and put aside our preferences, prejudices, and traditions and culture which are secondary to Allah's injunctions. The Qur'an declares the absolute moral and spiritual equality of men and women" [Author not known, 1994] Much of the misconception that the world has about Muslims is because of the Muslim personal laws called Sharia, which specifies specific actions for the problems in life. For example the Sharia has laws that elucidate how a person must conduct himself in a society. The Sharia also has specific punishments if a person does not conform to the rules codified in it. Administrative laws in Muslim countries are based on the Sharia. For e.g. In the Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, the law is very strict and is based on Muslim interpretations of the law. Therefore, human right violations are very high in these countries. The atrocities of the Taliban are well documented in modern history. The Taliban had different set of laws for Muslims, non-Muslims and Women. Barbaric practices in the name of the Muslim Personal law were implemented and the defaulters were treated mercilessly. The intolerance of the Taliban towards other faiths is also well known. Experts opine that the violence that is associated with Muslim cultures of the world is primarily because the Muslim law authorizes some kind of violence. [Nasr, 2002].
However, the role of the Muslim woman has changed in many countries with a liberal outlook. For example in India and Bangladesh, the social involvement of women has increased since the past few decades. Women have started to occupy high posts in public administration and in Bangladesh, the highest office in the country is held by a lady. In many parts of the world, Muslim women have made a name for themselves as lawyers, physicians and administrators and have been competing with men in many fields. She has outgrown her traditional role as the housekeeper and has begun to affirm her identity in the society. Like in Christian communities Muslim women who are more affluent and educated have been able to break free from the shackles of restrictions imposed by religious misconception. There are a lot of Muslim organizations that impart educational and vocational training to Muslims in a bid to align them to the changing needs of the modern world. Most Muslim students who reside even in advanced nations are compelled to stop their education after their formal education in the religious schools. The lack of exposure to the outside world is one of the many factors that prevent their overall development. Muslim mothers who are educated can impart education to children at home and inculcate the interest in learning in them. Hence, the role of the Muslim woman begins from the grassroots level while the Christina woman can afford to look at higher issues that need further attention. The foray of the Muslim woman outside her home has definitely made changes to the outlook of hardcore Muslims. Many households have become flexible to the educational needs of their
children, especially their daughters. There is a growing resentment against age old practices that were imposed on women without any religious sanctions. Women have asserted and have gained their right to visit mosques and perform duties that are not restricted to the household. There are a lot of female Muslim professionals all over the world. With 1.2 billion Muslims worldwide today cultural differences make for great diversity in the way Islam is lived.
Cultural differences help to explain why countries like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Taliban's Afghanistan can all claim the imprimatur of holy law and yet treat their women differently. Iranian women can drive, work in a mixed office, and attend mixed university lectures. Saudi women cannot. Iranian women play active social roles as civil servants, teachers, doctors, and engineers - a profession closed to Saudi women. The Taliban discouraged women from leaving the house. But more than 3 million Afghanis have sought refuge in Iran in the last few decades, giving Iranian women a close look at another way of life under Islam [Frontline, 2002]. The vastness of the spread of the religion is definitely a fact that has impaired the development of all Muslim women. The role of Women in other religions Women’s liberation has followed a similar trend in other religions as well. For example in the Hindu culture, women were for long, restrained by the religious laws. However in India women have been actively involved in politics and other spheres of life since a very long time. Although some states in the Indian subcontinent have very liberal laws for women, there are parts in India where the rights of women are still trampled upon. Like everywhere else, the reason for this neglect is lack of education and economic dependence on the males of the society. In the cities and town and even in many villages the number of working women is similar to the men and the role of the lady is almost equal to the males in the house. It is seen that in the majority of households the decision making capacity lies with the males although the females actively influence the decision making process. Similarly, is the case in Jewish communities where the women have been enjoying their freedom since a long time. The Jewish society was also not liberal as far as women's affairs were concerned. Now there is growing concern among fundamentalists that the laws of the Talmud are being violated in the country. However it may be