Pearson Edexcel Level 3 Advanced GCE in Religious Studies – Anthology
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From t he Sikh sc ript ural perspec t ive, pollut ion is an inner realit y, a st at e of
mind, and not the produc t of any natural birth. Female inferiorit y is dismissed:
‘How c an we c all her inferior from whom kings are born?’ asks Guru Nanak
poignantly (GG: 473). The Sikh Guru strongly questioned the legitimac y and
purpose of devaluing women on the basis of their reproduc tive energy. Set upon
Guru Nanak’s egalit arian vision, Sikh sc ript ure c ont inually erases negative
c onnotations assoc iat ed wit h women’s bodies.
It also draws attention to the exploitative customs of purdah and sati. Guru
Nanak’s passages depic ting Babur’s invasion c arry profound empathy for Indian
w o me n. Muslim and Hindu women from different sec tors of soc iety are graphic ally
depic t ed as vic t ims of pat riarc hal inst it ut ions:
Hindu, Turk, Bhatt and Thakur women –
Some have their veils from head to toe,
Others make the crematorium their abode. (GG: 418)The Sikh Guru’s c ompassion extends to both Hindu and Muslim women –
equally for t hose who prac t ic e purdah (Muslim) and for those who prac tic e sati
(Hindu). The straight horizontal sequenc e of his verse bridges any c hasms that may
segregate women – ‘Turks, Hindus, Bhatts and Thakurs’. T hey are all vic t ims,
irrespective of religious or soc iet al hierarc hies. Wit h a radic ally feminist sensibilit y,
Guru Nanak tells us how the veils of Muslim women are ripped from head to toe by
the invaders.
...Engage Directly with the Text
Everybody needs to read and understand the text from their individual perspec t ive.
There has been no disclosure of feminist possibilities because it has only been the
male elites who have served as intermediaries. Their one-sided, androcentric
approac h has dominated interpretation and c ommentaries. In Gurdwaras,
c ongregations hear interpretations of the Guru Granth from gyanijis (Sikh
int ellec t uals), who speak in a male voic e and from a male point of view. It is t heir
voic e that is broadc ast around the world through radio and television. Similarly,
Sikh sc holarship has been dominated by males, with the result that female images
are neglected, sometimes even misinterpreted, and their feminist import is
invariably lost. The Book was hailed as the Guru (by the Tenth Guru in 1708
(precisely to promote a personal relat ionship. It is imperative that men and women
ac c ess their sc riptural Guru on their own, without relying on male theologian,
exegetes and scholars.
...