Equal rights

By encouraging the active participation of women as equal in worship of God, and in society, Guru Nanak created for them space within the pr...

By encouraging the active participation of women as equal in worship of God, and in society, Guru Nanak created for them space within the prevalent patriarchal system. He attacked the very notion of women being inferior because of physiological differences. He took the notion of equality of women far beyond what had been done before him.

The lead given by Guru Nanak in recognising woman as the spiritual equal of man and in assigning a positive role for women in society was taken further by his successors. To start with, Sikh men and women ate together and prayed together. The Gurus themselves gave great importance to family life and to their women — mothers, wives and daughters — which had a demonstrative effect.

The contribution of Guru Angad Dev’s wife, Bibi Khivi, to the langar has been documented. His daughter, Bibi Amro, was well versed in the scriptures and she sang Guru Nanak’s bani at congregations. Guru Amardas had been impressed by Bibi Amro’s rendering of the bani even before he became a Sikh. After he became the third Guru, he consolidated the Sikh position regarding equality of women. He denounced Sati, the practice of burning a widow on the funeral pyre of her husband, and prohibited the purdah for women, according to which, women were hidden from men outside their own family, often by using a veil. He also laid great emphasis on langar, through which he demonstrated equality. He appointed women in prominent religious positions. Guru Amardas established 22 manjis (ecclesiastical districts) for men and 52 peerahs for women for preaching and spreading Sikhism. These were revolutionary steps at that time.

Manuscripts were prepared for the women family members of the Gurus, their genealogical details were recorded, which also point to the prominence of women during the time. Guru Teg Bahadur, the ninth Guru, named a town Chak Nanaki, after his mother. In Guru Gobind Singh’s time, Mai Bago led 40 Sikhs, who had deserted the Guru, back into battle. The tenth Guru’s wife, Mata Sahib Kaur, was by his side when he initiated the Khalsa in 1699. Sikh men and women alike became Khalsa. Sikh history is replete with examples of how women have risen to the occasion.

Extracted from ‘Guru Nanak, His Life and Teachings’ (Rupa, 2004)