There were three news reports in the newspaper last week which troubled my conscience.

First, The editor

Ravindra Kumar and publisher Anand Sinha oI The Statesmen`, a Kolkata based old English Indian
newspaper, were punished Ior reproducing an article because it hurt the religious sentiments oI Muslims.
The original article was written by a Journalist, Johann Hari in The Independent`. Second, Pakistan
accepted the Shariat` law in the swat valley and declared cease Iire with Tehrik-e-NiIaz Shariat
Muhammadi (TNSM), a militant group oI Taliban` nature. Third, an autobiography oI a nun Amen` was
released recently which revealed many hidden Iacts oI mal-practices in Kerala catholic churches. All oI
these stories are very much connected with the religion and gender bias.
I browsed through a Iew pages oI history oI some major religions and tried to Iind out the state oI women in
diIIerent religions. I Iound that women are apparently subsided in most oI the religions. Every religion talks
about the highest place oI women in the scriptures but contrary to it, women`s conditions are pathetic and
palpable in practice.
Islam, which is considered the most unIavorable religion Ior women. The pages oI history speak this in
details. Johann Hari writes in his article that it exists Irom the days oI Prophet Mohammad, who married a
nine-year old girl and had sex with her. It is said that she was not abused child but blessed` child, iI you ask
some mullah Ior clariIication. One must read the book Jewel oI Medina` written by Iamous journalist
Sherry Jones Ior details. In a recent case in Saudi Arabia a ten year old girl was married to a 58 year old
man. When the mother oI a girl reached to the court then court discarded the plea and said that her mother
could not Iile the case and even, child could not Iile the case until she reaches puberty.
Have you heard that a rape victim was punished and convicts were leIt Iree? Yes, it happened. A gang rape
victim in Saudi Arabia was sentenced to 200 lashes and six months in jail because she was moving around in
a car with the man who was not her relative, Guardian reported this news on November 2007. Mukhtaran
Mai was punished to be gang raped in a southern Punjab village in Pakistan by village council called jirga;
BBC reported the news in 2004.
What kinds oI religion suggest these atrocious acts? Women are thrashed, abducted, molested, raped, beaten,
murdered in Taliban ruled states and some parts oI the Middle East countries. The reason was as simple` as
that because they started moving Ireely, joined jobs Ior their livelihood, started studying or they were not
wearing hijab. Mrs. Shirin Ebadi, noble peace prize winner, also expressed concern about the Iact that
certain Islamic countries still did not oIIicially recognize women`s rights, particularly those oI wives.
Now, I would like to come to my own religion, Hinduism. Here also, women are suIIering Irom the male
chauvinism Irom mythological age to the 21st century. Sita went through Agnipariksha in Satyug and
women were burnt Ior centuries because oI Sati pratha. In 1987, Roop Kunwar, a young bride Irom
Rajasthan immolated herselI on her husband`s pyre Iollowing the religious practice oI Sati pratha. Her
brother justiIied her act by saying that she would become the goddess then. Hindu widows were alienated
Irom the Hindu society Irom centuries and when, Deepa Mehta tried to show that in her Iilm Water` then
Hindu extremists came on the streets, protested and shooting has to be stopped in Varanasi in 2000. She had
to complete the shooting in Sri Lanka. For many years, Iemale Ieticides and inIanticide were practiced in
India. And the reason was as stupid as that who will perIorm the last rites oI the elderly people` or how the
Iamily lineage would enhance`.
In a recent case oI Mangalore, Women were beaten by Hindu male chauvinists because Indian culture does
not allow women to go pubs but the same time does it allow molesting and beating oI women in public
place`. The answer by these idiots possibly would be: No. They did that because it was necessary Ior saving
the culture oI the land or saving the religion. As, they are the only people leIt on earth to do the same.
Another major religion in the world is Christianity. It is considered the most advanced and liberal religion.
Yes, it in true in many aspects. The silver lining in dark clouds is that hardcore malpractices are not in this
religion. Child marriage, Sati Pratha, IorceIul gentle mutilation or Iemale circumcision, atrocities Ior having
relation with opposite sex, and honor killing do not exist. But, gender bias exists in some other Iorms.
Women priests are not appreciated, they can work as nun and serve the male priest but they can not be
elevated usually as bishop or pope in religious hierarchy.
Sister Jesmi, who was a nun Irom Congregation oI Mother Carmelite (CMC) until August 2008, writes in
her book Amen`, `At a retreat Ior novices, I noticed girls in my batch were unsettled about going to the
conIession chamber. I Iound that the priest there asked each girl iI he could kiss them. I gathered courage
and went in. He repeated the question. When I opposed, he quoted Irom the Bible which spoke oI divine
kisses,'` she writes. Sister Jesme revealed that another time; a nun Iorced her to have sex with her.
I know that religious issues are always surrounded by electric Ience and iI any one would try to pass it then
s/he will surely get the shock. Salman Rushdie, Deepa Mehta, MF Husain and Tasleema Nasreen are Iew
victims. But these issues must be raise and challenged Ior the sake oI reIormation in the ideas and ideologies
Ior our Iuture generations. All the above mentioned malpractices in diIIerent religion are like Iungal diseases
and Irom the ages, these are the reason oI deep scourge on existence oI womanhood`. I don`t have
disrespect in my mind and heart Ior Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity or Ior that matter, Ior any religion.
But we need to look in to reIorm it Ior the better development oI all, not only Ior one section oI society.
None oI the religion is made to oppress any one. It is made Ior better Iunctioning oI society and to make
people god-Iearing so they don`t commit crimes. Ironically, misinterpreted religions are used Ior oppressing
the people in the name oI god and religion. All the religion in the world deserves respect and I do respect all
oI them. Religion and religious guru, mullah, and priests should accept the rational questions and it will
elevate the stature oI religion in the eyes oI the common people.
!!!Amen!!!

Sexism - Gender Discrimination

Sexism, or gender discrimination, is a reality women Iace all over the world.

Sexism, or gender discrimination, is present everywhere, in every culture, in every country. The terms
sexism` or gender discrimination` basically means the prejudicial treatment oI a group or a person due to
their gender or sex. It involves a reinIorcement oI behavior and attitude on the basis oI traditionally
stereotypical roles people have in the society we live in. Gender discrimination can involve a whole gamut
oI issues, Irom unequal pay to women being portrayed as sexual objects in the media to wives being beaten
up by their spouses. While in theory gender discrimination can aIIect both men and women, however, it is
women who have been at the receiving end through the ages and across cultures, since most cultures in the
world are patriarchal, or male dominated.

A stark and recent example oI sexism is Hillary Clinton being judged according to the clothes she wears and
her looks, thereby belittling what she stands Ior intellectually, as she makes a bid Ior the President`s oIIice in
the U.S. And there you have it, despite the emancipation oI women in the West, there has not been a single
woman president yet what can be more telling! Sexism is a mindset that has the potential oI aIIecting
practically every aspect oI women`s lives, preventing them Irom accomplishing their Iull potential.

Sexism in the Workplace: From being sexually harassed by male colleagues to women getting paid less Ior
the same jobs to preIerential treatment given by male bosses to more compliant women, whom they don`t
consider a threat, to stronger Iemale colleagues being undercut Ior openly challenging the conventional
gender roles they are supposed to conIorm to, to discussing Iemale colleagues or making jokes about them in
a denigrating manner, gender discrimination exists to some degree in most workplaces.

According to the United Nations, there is not a single society where women are not discriminated against, or
have equal opportunities as men. Even in countries in the West where women`s emancipation has bettered
the lives oI countless women, they still experience the unIairness oI the glass ceiling`, wherein women just
do not get promoted beyond a certain level. According to the Glass Ceiling Commission in the U.S., about
95-97 oI the senior managerial posts in country`s largest corporations are held by men.

Gender Discrimination and Religion: Practically all religions in the world are male dominated, and most
gender discrimination have their roots in these religions, with women being relegated to a much lower level
than men. She is regarded as unclean when she menstruates, she becomes untouchable aIter childbirth until
she undergoes a ritual cleansing, she is described as a temptress or a whore in the scriptures, she has to cover
herselI Irom head to Ioot in order not to weaken the man`s purity oI resolve, she is supposed to have been
created by God Irom Adam`s rib, and that too as an aIterthought, and God is a man oI course! From being
burnt at the stake accused oI being witches to honor killings that still continue in places like India, Pakistan,
and other Islamic countries, to undergoing Iasts Ior the well-being oI her husband all religions have always
discriminated against women and continue to do so.

Gender Discrimination in Developing Countries: II women in the emancipated West are still continuing
Ior justice and equal rights Ior women, the girl-child and woman in developing countries have a plethora oI
discriminatory practices which continue to keep them trammeled. From being sold into the sex-traIIicking
trade, to rape, to child abuse, to sex-selective abortion, to inIanticide, to neglect, to dowry deaths and honor
killings, discrimination against Iemales is a stark reality that aIIects large portions oI the society across these
countries.

Women the world over are still regarded as passive or weak or sexual objects. There is still a long way to go
to attain gender parity. Women continue to Iight Ior respect, justice, and equality. Gender discrimination has
to be resisted wherever it exists. Whereas in the developing world it can be achieved by widespread
education and economic independence, in the developed world, women must continue to break all the glass
ceiling barriers, to achieve equal parity with men in every Iield, while continuing to sensitize men about the
issues oI sexism and gender discrimination.
By Rita Putatunda