The Source Book On Sikhism

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The Status of Women In Sikhism

Principal Amar Singh

Khalsa School, Vancouver, Canada

To appraise the status of a society the honour bestowed on the women is the most reliable criterion. All glorious hopes, aspirations, endeavours, yearnings and cravings of the man are bees humming around this flower, the woman. She is a gorgeous fountain of inspiration and exaltation to the man. The woman is so noble, divine and full of love that she drew the whole soled devotion of the humane men for centuries, but still remained a mystery. The women’s forehead we have for centuries focused on as our sky aglow with calm sparkle of the moon. Poets have written glorious poems to fathom the love and divine in her, but she still remains an unfolded riddle.

The woman’s face veiled with dark tresses has forever remained concealed and its expression epic only a part of her feelings. The appeal of her eyes and the divinely music of her alluring voice reveal only partly to man. Her divine act of faith, love and noble self-sacrifice form the base of a beauteous life that give birth to literature and art that become the vibrant lyrics of poets. Woman have always been the source of inspiration for all the heroic efforts of man to make himself man.

The best longings of immortality of man are also an outcome of this source. The best poetry has sprung out of this infinite fountain that embellished the pages of poetry books of which the world is so proud. “’O” modern woman realize that the secret of your charms is within your veils. Let the mystery of your clothes remain a mighty source of your bewitching enamour. The veil over your face which Guru Amar Das Ji told you to remove was a symbol of slavery. He emancipated you from thraldom and gave the freedom to gaze at the world and estimate its worth. Reckon for yourself the worthiness of this world and demerit those aspects of life that are degrading and impair the beauty of life. Do not forget the Guru who emancipated you to reckon the world. Guru Nanak Dev Ji spoke for you when none had uttered a word to reckon you a worthy human being. None had deemed pertinent to esteem your infinite worthiness to this world. None had reckoned how well you could smoothen the rough edges of life to make it beauteous and flowery. Your existence saturated life with sweet fragrance and the male dominated world enjoyed this fragrance, but refused to reckon your worthiness.” Guru Nanak Ji revealed this injustice imposed on you by speaking against it. He says on page 473 of the Guru Granth Sahib, “Within a woman the man is conceived and from woman he is born with a woman he is betrothed and married. With a woman man contracts friendship and with a woman the system of lineage keeps on going. When one’s wife dies, another lady is sought for. It is through a woman that man restrains his passions. Why call her bad, from whom are born the kings?”

Guru Amar Das Ji denounced the cruel practice of “Sati”. On the death of their husbands women were compelled by this custom to immolate themselves on the burning pyres of their husbands, rather “Sati” is she who suffers from the pangs of separation. Guru Amar Das Ji further declares, “Those women are “Sati” who live in modesty and contentment and have good conduct and remember the name of God everyday”.

Guru Amar Das Ji included women among the 52 local preachers who worked shoulder to shoulder with men in missionary work assigned to them. There is no religious function in Sikhism in which woman cannot participate on terms equal to that of men. It is Sikhism that elevated the status of women on par to that of men and life became equipoised and mysteriously fascinating.