Women's Empowerment and Restriction Through Divine Creativity

Hinduism

Empowering

Indigenous Religions

Hinduism

Restricting

Hinduism

Buddhism

Indigenous Religions

Intro

It is usually the role of women to act as spiritual caretakers, performing the rituals and standing as spiritual heads of the household, but in a lot of religions. Why?

Women's worth comes from their ability to give birth (excludes women who can't/don't want to and trans people)

Portraying women/femininity as divine

Earth is the Mother, everything was created by female Divine Creator

Relationship to Feminism

Societies mostly matrilineal, women as respected spiritual leaders with equal rights to men

Identities other than straight and cis are celebrated

WR, pg 37

WR, pg 38

"Sometimes men in their own secret ceremonies even try to mimic women's menstrual bleeding by subincision of the penis to make it bleed" WR, pg 39

Men trying to emulate women as a form of worship and respect

WR, pg 39

Female power and rage

Comparison between Oya (WR, pg 41) and Kali

Buddhism

Relationship to Feminism

"... the soil will bear fruit only if women are the farmers, for it is they who have the generative power and the most intimate relationship with the earth." WR, pg 44

Menstruation as an example of women's power

WR, pg 47

"Haven't we still our uteri?" WR, pg 46

Responsibility of religious preparation every day falls to women

Shakti (divine creativity inherent to women)

Shown through dance

WR, pg 13

If a woman's husband sins, she is blamed for not being able to stop him (very similar belief in Victorian England actually, which is very interesting)

Women can't be ordained

Religious and spiritual rituals are firmly the responsibility of women

WR, pg 52

Female genital surgery

Reasons of chastity, enhancing beauty, or improved hygiene or control over bodies. Also sometimes seen as preparation for pain of childbirth

WR 54