Date of Award

2012

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Newman, John

Keywords

Sikh, Punjab, Sikhism, India, Gender, Feminism

Area of Concentration

Religion

Abstract

This work aims to add to the Western scholarship on the Sikh religion, which I have found valuable but as of yet narrow in scope. It is vital that we raise awareness about who Sikhs are and what they believe if we wish to reduce the amount of violence and prejudice Sikhs face, which has historically been large. In this work, I speak particularly to the lives of female practitioners, because I see their situation as unique but also highly reflective of a current trend in religious scholarship�the emergence of feminist theory within and surrounding religious traditions. The information we have surrounding women's involvement in the Sikh tradition is dissonant at best, and undeniably sparse as well. Issues of women's participation in Sikh practice have only recently begun to be explored in scholarship, and thus women's voices are only beginning to be heard. While Sikhism was founded upon profoundly egalitarian principles, there is as of yet a great disparity between the egalitarianism of Sikh scripture and the enactment of these ideals. I identify three main factors as contributing to this disparity: the patriarchal culture of India, concerns of economy, and the political realm. Additionally, I propose that militarism and extremism have had a profound impact on the field of Sikh studies, both in India and in the West. In writing this work, I relied heavily on Sikh history, scripture, and the testimonies of Sikh women whose interviews I collected as part of my research.

Rights

This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.

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