Women in Religious Scriptures

In all four of the patriarchal religions there are two attitudes about women. The higher view as a companion and supporter of man which contrasts with the lower vision as woe-to-man. The higher vision arose out of the youthful need for sex and the society’s need for a minimum population base. The lower vision , however, arose out of the lack of sharing with higher-nature man of the renunciatory approach and greater attachment to the material benefits derivable from and through men. All four religions ascribe the higher view of woman to sexually non-demanding women (mother, sister and other respectable women) while a presumption is made that the average woman fits the description of the lower vision woman. This leads to a "facts-of-life" theory for the position on women in the Scriptures of patriarchal religions. It is due to this dichotomous approach in the Scriptures towards women that the control of women is justified by men, in addition to other more obvious and selfish reasons.

Judaism has clear ambivalence about women. “Women were, on the whole, regarded as inferior to men in mind, in function and status.” The pre-Lapsarian tradition views woman as a companion of man created by Yahweh. Woman was created after man and other animals. Thus, the woman was a culmination of the Creation. The second tradition pictures the post-Lapsarian woman. It regards woman as “subject to man, under the curse.” The net position of the Scriptures on the women is, however, negative. For example, only the daughter can be sold by the father but not the mother and only she can be betrothed without her consent. Women can not lead in prayers when men are present. Jewish women were separated from men in synagogues and kept between heathen and Jewish men. Women could not read Torah in public.

In contrast with Judaism, Christianity is a historical religion. Again there are two views about women. One affirms the equivalence of man and woman and the other defines women as subordinate to men socially as well as from the point of view of standing in the religious framework. Parallel to Judaism, women like Mary are to be respected but the average woman is again to be controlled and maintained in subordination. Socially, Christianity did not permit women to own property until nineteenth century.

In Islam both believing men and women are fully accountable at the time of the final resurrection and judgement. Women are one step below men because men can provide support to them and are responsible for taking care of them. However, certain rights of women are recognized. For example, a wife inherits her share of the husband’s property. This notwithstanding, all women are to respect all men.

Hindu literature has expressed paradoxical views on the role and position of women. The Laws of Manu imply the low status of women. In the Brahmanas, women gradually became silent partners in the yajna. Brahmanas, Aranyakas and Upanishads led to the position of “the male concern with female chastity and protection of women, an unprotected woman was doubly vulnerable: without male protection she was, by definition, unchaste.” However, due to the tradition of house-temples women were not excluded from the Worships. Their training in hymn singing led to much greater self-respect, at least in theory, than in the other three religions.

We have clearly seen the essential dichotomy in the patriarchal religions towards women. Women depended on men for life support, even if men themselves imposed this dependence. The interpreters of the religious principles were largely mature men who found that the greater propensity of women to acquisitiveness and their in-gratefulness towards their husbands made them obstacles in the path for renunciation and spiritual progress of men. There is an urgent need to reconcile these views with the principles of democracy - the modern universal religion of advanced and educated world. Otherwise, the other greater achievements of the Scriptures may be discarded along with the iniquities against women.