Abstract
This paper addresses the topic of feminism as it relates to India and Hindu theology. The connection between specifically Hindu theology and Indian culture is first established. There it can be seen that Indian culture has caused changes in Hinduism, often meant to suit the needs of those who changed it. We hypothesise that there is correlation between a lack of feminist narratives seen in contemporary Hinduism and the intentional shifting in religious practices particularly by British colonialists and Indian nationalists in the 19th century to suit their own needs. This raised the question of if there were more examples of shifting in religious practices toward the Brahmin-, cisgender-, and masculine-dominated form we see today. For this we looked into the iconography of Hinduism and found that paintings in particular showed much more diversity in narrative and sometimes even contradicted narratives found in Hindu texts. We make recommendations for better inclusivity in India today based on these findings.
Highlights
Both the Bible and Quran have been used to order women to obey their husbands and to deny them the right to property or political participation
Hindu theology is so ingrained in Indian society that any change to Indian culture will necessarily impact Hindu religious practises, whilst the theology of Hinduism to this day dictates the flow of culture in India
A question related to this concerns India itself: could there be a bias on behalf of politicians, priests, and society that could subvert feminist narratives that have long existed in Hinduism? To answer this question we look to Kedar Vishwanathan, who asserts that India underwent a transformation in its theology in the early 19th Century, initiated by nationalists: ”The concept of woman symbolized the binary opposition between Indian tradition and British modernity
Summary
Both the Bible and Quran have been used to order women to obey their husbands and to deny them the right to property or political participation. Manusmriti is the most common text that prescribes the code of conduct for Hindus and it is disapproving of homosexuality and condemns female homosexuality in Verses 369 and 370 of Book VIII.[1] Overall, the teachings of Manu are full of sexism and misogyny. The law book says that a woman should never be given freedom and kept under the control of her father when young, her husband after she is married, and her son if her husband passes away (Verse 151 of Book V).[2] Hinduism does not have one source book, unlike the other major world religions. Most orthodox traditional authorities based on Vedanta philosophy consider Brahma Sutra, Upanishads, and Bhagavad Gita to be the three main scriptures for Hindu religious and philosophical thought; unlike Manusmriti, these texts do not explicitly describe the status of women or gender and sexual minorities[3]
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