Women in Hinduism

The world has recently turned their attention to India as news broke out about the Sabarimala temple ban on menstruating-age women was ordered by the Supreme Court to be lifted. The sanction allowing females ages 10 to 50 has thus sparked controversy and even led to violence from devotees as well as right-wing Hindu politicians.

Any females trying to get close to the temple have been attacked– including journalists attempting to broadcast news– and those who publicize their desire to visit the temple are met with death threats.

The ban was set to “protect” the celibate Hindu god that the temple honors. Women who are fertile are seen as impure and tempting to Lord Ayyappa. India itself, along with other countries near the subcontinent, has a long history of misogynistic intentions ranging from killing newborns once finding out they are female to shunning women away into isolation for menstruating.

However, these actions are simply due to centuries of misinterpreted rituals. For example, women were kept away while they were bleeding so that they themselves felt comfortable and did not have to finish household chores while in pain.

In more modern times it is used to “out” a woman and make her embarrassed of her natural body. According to Mildred Worth Pinkham, who wrote about female roles in sacred Hindu scriptures, “religious deeds are said to be useless if women are not honored and cherished.” Hindus worship Goddesses as much as the Gods. In fact, Diwali, one of the most well-known Hindu holidays, honors goddess Lakshimi, and Dashain worships the goddess Durga.

It is surprising to me that India’s right-wing believe that a God is so much like a human that he cannot control his desires towards female mortals, yet Goddesses are so un-human that they themselves do not menstruate. With that logic, the goddesses would seem more mighty than their male counterparts.