What did Sikhs think about women?

Answer 1

Sikhs have great respect towards women. Sikhism is the only religion where any woman or man is treated equal for all religious or political matters.

Guru Nanak dev Ji was the first one, who stood up against the dis-respect of women and said.

"So kyon manda aakheai, jit jameh rajaan."

means: why should we dis-respect a women, or have bad feelings about her ? She is the one who gives birth to Kings and rulers.

So she should be repected more than a King.

In Sikhism every woman has equal rights to participate in all religious and political matters.

Answer 2

Equality is a crucial factor in Sikhism, be it between different races, sexes, castes, religions, and even ages, as the 8th founder was a child. This is because the founder of Sikhism stated that all beings are created by one God.

In reference to sexism, the founder of Sikhism, Guru Nanak Dev Ji, clearly stated that it makes no sense to be discriminatory to women because they are the ones who give birth to the world, the third founder made great contribution to stopping the regular ritual in India at the time, of burning a wife on her husband's pyre and claimed anyone who did/thought along these lines should never call themselves a person of God. The tenth founder stated that anyone who harms a baby because she is a female (another regular practice) is one of the worst beings and should not be associated with.

The tenth founder also allowed women to fight alongside men - and even lead in battles (this is still not allowed in the UK) and historically Sikhs have been noted to not partake in any form of rape in wars when almost every other war has evidently consisted of great numbers of rapes.

Every instruction/guideline given to males in Sikhism has also been given to females so really there is not much space for discrimination. Guru Nanak Dev Ji is considered to be a great feminist and the holy prayers/scriptures written by the founders of Sikhism are almost all from the perspective of a woman. There is all the evidence for this and most of it can be found in the holy writings by the founders themselves. Sikhs do not believe in covering the face for women (or men) but encourage that every person should live honestly and modestly.

Despite all this, many people who call themselves Sikhs very much partake in and confuse the Panjabi culture with the religion; the culture being pretty much the opposite to what the religion says.

Answer 3

The Gurus of Sikhs actively encouraged the participation of women as equals in worship, in society, and on the battlefield. They encouraged freedom of speech and women were allowed to participate in any and all religious activities including reading of the Guru Granth Sahib

Answer 4

Gurbani says - "So kiyu manda akhiye jitt jameh rajaan" it means that why we adopt bad attitude about women because these are the women who born even Kings