Hindu Deities as Feminist Role Models
Feminism is often perceived to be at odds with religion. Some feminists advocate secularism, believing that religion is personal and worship doesn’t have to interfere with rights or activism. Most other feminists, who believe the personal is political (and vice versa), disagree and think that religion becomes a feminist issue as soon as it discriminates or violates women’s rights.
In India where the majority of the population is comprised of Hindus, spirituality and religious traditions can play a major part of people’s lives. Hinduism is a polytheistic religion — a multitude of gods and goddesses are worshipped in India instead of a monolithic, presumed male identity. The religion’s wide pantheon of goddesses are comparable to female superheroines — riding on the backs of tigers, carrying spears, fighting demons and wielding their superpowers.
Many Hindu traditions and customs place women in the forefront — in terms of the customs they follow, the role they play during festivals or religious rituals. For many women, these rituals are a great source of pride and empowerment — providing them a sense of control and command over the happenings of their lives. In this context, many goddesses are seen as ‘pro-women’ and inspirers of ‘women empowerment’.
Hinduism, being the only contemporary religion that has a continuing tradition and practice of goddess-worship is noteworthy for its inclusion on women in religion. This has been the case for centuries, millennia even. Consider how progressive this really was given the time; a time when it was men who wielded all the power. These powerful goddesses do so much good and wield so much power that you can only be in awe of them. It is not surprising to see how they can be good role models for women, especially, who follow the religion.
In fact, Hindu gods and goddesses can teach us many things about our outdated notions about gender. For hindu deities, gender roles are often blurred as femininity is not reserved for the females and masculinity is not reserved for the males. In Hindu mythology, several goddesses are shown partaking in battles and wars — slaying their enemies, displaying aggression, punishing the evil and standing up for justice and what is right. These women are not relegated to domestic roles nor are they excluded from decision-making and action.
Similarly, male gods and mythological figures are seen adorning make-up, jewellery and accessories — traits stereotypically considered feminine. Many of them dance and sing and some are even gender fluid. Ardhanarishvara, a composite of lord Shiva and Parvati, is depicted to be androgynous and Brahma, the creator, is thought to be formless and genderless. Many statues and paintings of gods and goddesses show them in the nude, if not scarcely clothed. These depictions can go a long way in reinforcing body positivity in young men and women alike.
However, it is important to also recognize that such figures are often thin, voluptuous and display ‘perfect measurements’ which can also enforce insecurity in the minds of those who view them — building pressure to look like the religious authorities they worship and prey to. It is surprising to see such portrayals revered, respected and worshipped in a culture where topics like sex, porn and any expression of sexuality are generally shunned and taboo.
Menstruation is another such taboo topic and while a huge percentage of Indians continue to remain reserved about speaking of it, there exists a temple in Assam that celebrates a goddess who menstruates. Kamakhya Devi, the bleeding goddess, seemingly menstruates once a month during the Ashaad month (usually June) as indicated by the redness of the nearby springs and river bodies. The temple remains closed during this time but opens on the 4th day to celebrate the annual fertility festival, Ambuwasi Puja. In this temple, menstruation is revered as a woman’s ability to conceive instead of shushed for being unhygienic. The deity and temple are well known for celebrating the ‘shakti’ within every woman. What remains extremely ironic and ridiculous is that this temple, much like every other temple in the country, women on their periods are not allowed to enter the temple. In India where archaic attitudes continue to deem menstruation as unholy, Kamakhya displays a progressive approach of acknowledging and even reveling womanhood. This approach should strongly be extended to mortal women who aren’t goddesses but human beings going through a natural process. Breaking down outdated notions about menstruation is the first step — and this can be done by letting women enter temples while on their periods. The unfortunate contradiction of worshipping someone you don’t know and can’t see while ill-treating the ones you can has to change.
In September 2013, Mumbai-based ad-agency Taproot launched the “Save Our Sisters” campaign that consisted of portrayals of Indian goddesses bruised and battered with wounds in attempt to raise awareness for domestic abuse. The captions read “Pray that we never see this day. Today, more than 68% of women in India are victims of domestic violence. Tomorrow, it seems like no woman shall be spared. Not even the ones we pray to.” The effectiveness of the campaign is debatable as the media coverage was controversial. One viewpoint was that the campaign was “hard-hitting”, “eye-opening” and “necessary”. An effective manner to capture attention and highlight the grave problems faced by women in society that aren’t spoken about enough. It exposed social hypocrisies too in that everyone took notice only when it was a goddess who is worshipped that was the victim and not an everyday woman. The other viewpoint came from the people who believed that the entire premise of the campaign was an ‘attack on goddesses’ and just ‘cheap tokenism’.
In fact, women in Hindu households have long been compared to goddesses. Bharat Mata– an icon of purity, pristine motherhood and fertility — is often seen as the epitome of a perfect Indian Hindu woman. Sita, wife of lord Rama is also seen as the ideal wife and mother — loyal, devoted, passive and docile. Despite the many injustices she faced whether being banished from the kingdom of Ayodhya or having her loyalty (in the form of sexual purity) questioned, Sita is traditionally known for not speaking up or fighting against the patriarchal standards she was unfairly put through. Modern iterations of the Ramayana seem to realise the deeply rooted patriarchy and books by authors such as Volga (The Liberation of Sita) and Samhita Arni (Sita’s Ramayana) bring in much needed feminist retellings of the age-old classic.
Other goddesses such as Lakshmi, Durga and Kali have fared better. Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth, fortune and prosperity hints at a fortune that arises out of her mere presence. She is part of the holy trinity of goddesses along with Saraswathi and Parvati — the three of them are companions to Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva respectively. The Holy trinity is given equal importance and reverence in terms of worship and reverence and are not reduced to mere companions for the three most significant gods in Hinduism.
Kali is the divine manifestation of “Stri-Shakthi” or “women-power”. The goddess who annihilates evil and fights demons. In recent times, Kali is a popular manifestation of feminist rage. In fact, Kali is reknowned for being the physical embodiment of ‘shakthi’ which is the ‘divine feminine energy’. In this instance, power is feminized because power is seen as a form of creation. Shakthi is therefore responsible for creation just as a mother is responsible for giving birth and bringing life. In the modern context, few feminists are quick to point out that by assigning femininity to power on the basis of this analogy just reduces a woman’s role to procreation and nothing more. Nevertheless, it also highlights the fact that femininity is not seen as a weak suit in some aspects of Hinduism and Hindu mythology.
Hinduism is a diverse religion with innumerable retellings, interpretations, customs and practices that vary from era to era, region to region and community to community. Undoubtedly, there have been many instances and anecdotes that lead us to believe that Hindu gods and goddesses are exemplary modern-day feminist role models worth looking up to. We cannot ignore the ambivalence, however, of the portrayal of these deities and their role in history and mythology. Both positive and negative imagery reinforces and shapes certain attitudes we have towards men and women.
With countless rampant problems for women in India such as dowry issues, female infanticide, rape, unequal pay and representation, it is perhaps high time that Hinduism is used and seen by its followers as a tool for inculcating and spreading feminist values. It doesn’t make sense to worship many goddesses without practicing what they stand for. It doesn’t make sense to pray to a female deity and treat women poorly. Now more than ever, we need feminist iterations of Hinduism that will encourage everyone to empower women, give them opportunities and treat them as equals in society.
Resources:
https://feminisminindia.com/2017/09/19/paradox-goddess-worship/
https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:145363/FULLTEXT01.pdf
https://www.jstor.org/stable/4407322?read-now=1&seq=2#page_scan_tab_contents
https://thediplomat.com/2016/05/in-india-religion-meets-feminism/
https://www.thebetterindia.com/114044/the-legend-of-kamakhya-temple-assam-bleeding-goddess-assam/
