WOMEN IN HINDUISM
Inequity and degradation of women are sanctified in the Hindu religion. Manu Smriti says: " Never trust a woman.
Never sit alone with a woman even if it may be your mother, she may tempt you.
Do not sit alone with your daughter, she may tempt you.
Do not sit alone with your sister, she may tempt you.
Again the same Manu Smriti continues:
"Na stree swadantriya marhathi".
"No liberty for women in society".
HINDU WOMEN VS MUSLIM WOMEN
The Brahmin media made a big campaign recently out of the Shah Banu case and they blew it out of all proportion. They implied that Islam restricted the freedom of women. Let us compare the positions of the Hindu woman and the Muslim woman. See the following facts for comparison.
HINDU WOMAN
The Hindu woman has no right to divorce her husband.
She has no property or inheritance rights.
Choice of partner is limited because she can only marry within her own caste; moreover her horoscope must match that of the intending bridegroom/family.
The family of the girl has to offer an enormous dowry to the bridegroom/family.
If her husband dies she should commit Sati (being cremated with her dead husband). Since today's law forbids Sati, society mainly punishes her in other "holy" ways (see below).
She cannot remarry.
THE MUSLIM WOMAN The Muslim woman has the right to divorce.
She enjoys property and inheritance rights. (Which other religion grants women these rights?). She can also conduct her own separate business.
She can marry any Muslim of her choice. If her parents choose a partner for her, her consent has to be taken. The dowry in Islam is a gift from a husband to his wife (not the other way round as is practised by some ignorant Muslims).
A Muslim widow can remarry.
Mixed marriage is encouraged and is a means to prevent racism creeping into society.
A Muslim mother is given the highest form of respect.
The living revolutionary Mr. Rajashekar questions what right have the Hindus to criticise the Muslims? Have you ever heard of a Muslim burning his wife? Every day we read in the paper about dowry deaths, Hindu women being burnt by the husband or in-laws. It is a fact that upper caste Hindus ill-treat their women. The Brahmin press has brainwashed all of us saying that Muslims do not give freedom to their women. He again questions, "Do the Hindus respect their women?" You be the judge!
'SATI" - HINDU WIDOW BURNING! If the Hindu man's wife dies, he is free to go and find another beautiful woman when he wants. But if the Hindu woman's husband dies, not only is she prohibited to remarry but she should be cremated along with her dead husband ("Sati"). According to the Haria, the woman who follows her husband in death purifies three families - her father's, her mother's and her husband's. These Brahmin theologians propagate the theory based in the Vedas that a woman who did not burn herself would never become free of being born as a woman again.
If a woman's husband was guilty of the murder of a Brahmin or guilty of "ingratitude" - then the wife who died clasping his body was said to purify him of his sins.
When His "Holiness" Puri Shankaracharya was asked about the fate of the widow's children, he replied - "it is fate! Let the children suffer or die without a mother. But SATI has to be performed according to Hinduism".
"SATI MATA Kl JAI" The Times of India reported (14-9-87): Jaipur- In what appeared to be a revival of a centuries-old custom of "Sati", a young woman belonging to a warrior caste of Rajasthan climbed into the funeral pyre of her husband, police said yesterday. Eighteen-year old Roop Kanwar's husband, Mansingh, had died in a hospital in Kikar district on Friday, His body was later taken to his home village at Diwrala for cremation. Roop Kanwar sat on the funeral pyre while it was lit by one of Mansingh ' s relatives. Hundreds of villagers who knew of her "Sati" well in advance gathered at the spot shouting slogans in praise of the burning widow. Police, who claimed to have received the information late, registered a case against four close relatives of Mansingh for having "HELPED" Roop Kanwar commit "Sati".
Roop Kanwar's husband, Mansingh took more than Rs. 100,000 worth of dowry in the form of money, 25 tola of gold, a TV, a radio and a refrigerator. Though Mansingh had demanded dowry worth of 200,000 rupees, her father had success- fully negotiated and reduced the amount to Rs. 100,000/=. So far in the same village more than 23 dowry killings have occurred in the last 3 years as recompense for not bringing the promised dowry in time.
The paper continues that the most revealing statement came from Mr. Cheeta Singh, a village teacher who said: "After all, she had no life to look forward to. As a widow, remarriage was out of the question in the Hindu tradition bound community".
The teacher continues: "The society treats a widow as a "kulachani" (an evil omen) and a economic liability. She has to remain barefoot, sleep on the floor and is not allowed to venture out of the house. She is slandered if seen talking to any male. It was better that she died, than live such a life "he said.
COMPULSORY "SATI"
A report from REUTER (25-9-87): said that Roop Kanwar was forced onto the funeral pyre against her will and struggled to save her life. Some villagers alleged that Roop Kanwar was forced onto the pyre and that she cried piteously as she died. A police report established conclusively on 4-10-87 that Roop Kanwar did try to escape from the pyre before it was lit. But she was unable to do so as logs of wood were stacked up to her neck. Her screams, which the villagers insist was the recital of "Gayatri mantra," were drowned in the slogans of "Sati mata kijai" (long live the lady of "Sati"). Although neighbours claimed that she was 18, the Times of India quoted school records as showing her date of birth as August 15th 1971. A survey by a Calcutta Women's Association reveals that most of the "Sati" are conducted because of the compulsion of the dead Hindu husbands close relatives, irrespective of the young widow's protests to commit suicide. Though the Indian Law prohibits such a cruel act, never in Indian history have any of the dead Hindu husband's close relatives been punished for forcing such crimes.
DR. LAKSHMFS ADVICE TO BRAHMIN WOMEN Dr. Lakshmi, a well known gynaecologist and social worker from Delhi, and who herself is a Brahmin (and married to the age of 37), suggests that Brahmin women should come out of their shells and act their own since she claims that their corroded thoughts won't save them at all.
She says that if you are a Hindu woman you cannot love anyone you like and you cannot marry anyone whom you choose. Your birth sign (stars) should match your mate's birth sign. In addition you should meet the unbearable dowry demand.
From the Skanda Purana
The goddess then entered the palace of the god who bears the moon as his diadem. When the three eyed god saw her he said, "Damn 'women," and she bowed to him and said, "You have spoken truely, and not falsely. This portion of Nature is senseless; women deserve to be reviled. It is the grace of men which brings release from the ocean of existence". Then Hara rejoiced and said to her, "Now you are worthy, and I will give you a son who will bring renown to you who are fair and glorious". Hara, the abode of various wonders, then made love with the goddess.