Do Indian men lack respect for women?
By leoudtohan
It has been reported that India is unsafe for women.
I am not Indian, but Ive had read about female infanticide, dowry demands, high-profile rape cases and other forms of violence and abuse against women in India. As of lately, media reports said that violence is not limited to Indian women but also to other foreign nationals who travelled to India. In fact, an American woman was gang-raped by three men in India in June 2013.
Since it sees no color, race and religion, violence against women is not only happening in India but also in other countries as well.
Growing up with many women in the family, it hurt me to know such abuse in Indian women. My heart goes to the victims who suffer tremendously and I know the horrors they go through are unspeakable.
But why is this happening to India? Didnt India have a female Prime Minister like Indira Gandhi? Do Indian men lack respect for women?
I do believe that India is rich in traditions, values and morals. They have gender laws but are hardly enforced. If the people will not change their mindset that all human beings have equal rights to live safely and independently with dignity, then the lives of Indian women remain dangerous.
It is on this state of bewilderment that it is good to revisit sacred quotes from Hinduism to know how they see a woman:
Ansuya (Rishi Atri's wife) said to Sita:
"A woman is impure by her very birth; but she attains a happy state by serving her lord (husband)". Tulasi Ramayana Aranya Kanda, 5 A-B
A wife, obedient to her husband, renowned, light-footed, eloquent in speech, sympathetic to the patients, attains to happiness when she lives peacefully with her husband, and nicely cooks the food highly efficacious, and grown through rain, conducive to our physical growth, brought daily in use, and relished by our ancestors. Yajur Veda Chapter XXXIII, Verse 59
Rama (addressing Bharata) said: "Do you keep your womenfolk pacified? Are they duly protected by you? I hope you do not repose excessive faith in them and do not confide your secrets to them." Valmiki Ramayana Ayodhya Kanda, 100.49
Krishna said: "For, taking refuge in Me, they also who, O Arjuna, may be of sinful birth--women, vaisyas as well as sudras--attain the Supreme Goal." Bhagavad Gita, Ch.9, Verse 32
[Commentary by Swami Shivananda, Rishikesh:
"........Women and Sudras are debarred by social rules from the study of the Vedas. ...."]
Men must make their women dependent day and night, and keep under their own control those who are attached to sensory objects. Her father guards her in childhood, her husband guards her in youth, and her sons guard her in old age. A woman is not fit for independence. Manusmriti 9.2-3
They (women) make a lie appear as truth, and a truth appear as a lie. The Mahabharata Anusasana Parva, Section XXXIX
Addressing Shakuntala, Dushmanta said:
"Women generally speak untruth" The Mahabharata Adi Parva, Section LXXIV
Yudhishthira (addressing Bhishma) said:
Women in particular, the Rishis have said, are false in behaviour. Women in particular have been declared in the ordinances to be false. In the very Vedas one may read that women are false. The Mahabharata Anusasana Parva, Section XIX
Women do not care for beauty, nor is their attention fixed on age; (thinking), '(It is enough that) he is a man,' they give themselves to the handsome and to the ugly. Through their passion for men, through their mutable temper, through their natural heartlessness, they become disloyal towards their husbands, however carefully they may be guarded in this (world). Knowing their disposition, which the Lord of creatures laid in them at the creation, to be such, (every) man should most strenuously exert himself to guard them. (When creating them) Manu allotted to women (a love of their) bed, (of their) seat and (of) ornament, impure desires, wrath, dishonesty, malice, and bad conduct. For women no (sacramental) rite (is performed) with sacred texts, thus the law is settled; women (who are) destitute of strength and destitute of (the knowledge of) Vedic texts, (are as impure as) falsehood (itself), that is a fixed rule. Manusmriti 9.14-18
For women there is no ornament more valuable than their husbands. Valmiki Ramayana Sunder Kanda, 16-26
A damsel whose menses begin to appear (while she is living) at her father's house, before she has been betrothed to a man, has to be considered as a degraded woman: by taking her (without the consent of her kinsmen) a man commits no wrong. Vishnusmriti 24.41
"Lord Indra himself has said, 'The mind of woman cannot be disciplined; she has very little intelligence.' " Rig Veda 8.33.17
Sage Ashtavakra said:
Women can never be their own mistresses. This is the opinion of the Creator himself, viz., that a woman never deserves to be independent. There is not a single woman in the three worlds that deserves to be regarded as the mistress of her own self. The father protects her while she is a maiden. The husband protects her while she is in youth. Sons protect her when she is aged. Women can never be independent as long as they live. The Mahabharata Anusasana Parva, Section XX
Even if destitute of virtue, or seeking pleasure (elsewhere), or devoid of good qualities, a husband must be constantly worshipped as a god by a faithful wife. Manusmriti 5.154
Arjuna said:
When irreligion is prominent in the family, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt, and from the degradation of womanhood, O descendant of Vrishni, comes unwanted progeny. Bhagavad Gita, Ch.1, Verse 40
Women are powerless, have no inheritance, and speak more humbly than even a bad man. Krishna Yajur Veda Taittiriya Samhita 6.5.8.2
Addressing sage Ashtavakra, the old Lady said:
The very deities of wind and fire and water, or the other celestials, O regenerate one, are not so agreeable to women as the deity of desire. Verily, women are exceedingly fond of sexual congress. Among a thousand women, or perhaps, among hundreds of thousands, sometimes only one may be found that is devoted to her husband. When under the influence of desire, they care not for family or father or mother or brother or husband or sons or husband's brother, but pursue the way that desire points out. ...Verily, in pursuit of what they consider happiness, they destroy the family to which they belong by birth or marriage, even as many queenly rivers eat away the banks that contain them. Even women that are aged are tortured by the desire of sexual union. The Creator himself had said this, quickly marking the faults of women. The Mahabharata Anusasana Parva, Section XIX & XXI
Lakshmana (addressing Sita) said:
It is the nature of women all over the world to be vicious, fickle, and sharp-tongued and to sow seeds of dissension. Valmiki Ramayana Aranya Kanda, 45.29
A discarded wife is one who has no son. ... For a wife that is without a son, is possessed with Nirriti (destruction, calamity). Shatapatha Brahmana 5.3.1.13
It is the nature of women to seduce men in this (world); for that reason the wise are never unguarded in (the company of) females. For women are able to lead astray in (this) world not only a fool, but even a learned man, and (to make) him a slave of desire and anger. One should not sit in a lonely place with one's mother, sister, or daughter; for the senses are powerful, and master even a learned man. Manusmriti 2.213-215
Bhishma said:
Women have one eternal duty in this world, viz., dependence upon and obedient service to their husbands, and as such, this one duty constitutes their only end. The Mahabharata Anusasana Parva, Section LIX
End violence against women and children now!!!
Source: Do Indian men lack respect for women? - CNN iReport
You hypocritical douche-bags had the temerity to question the status of woman in Islam when you are eons behind yourself. You can't sympathize enough with a Muslim woman who covers herself yet look at these divine gems of wisdom from your books which completely demonize feminism. Is it any wonder that women are being raped with such frequency in India. Shocking!!
By leoudtohan
It has been reported that India is unsafe for women.
I am not Indian, but Ive had read about female infanticide, dowry demands, high-profile rape cases and other forms of violence and abuse against women in India. As of lately, media reports said that violence is not limited to Indian women but also to other foreign nationals who travelled to India. In fact, an American woman was gang-raped by three men in India in June 2013.
Since it sees no color, race and religion, violence against women is not only happening in India but also in other countries as well.
Growing up with many women in the family, it hurt me to know such abuse in Indian women. My heart goes to the victims who suffer tremendously and I know the horrors they go through are unspeakable.
But why is this happening to India? Didnt India have a female Prime Minister like Indira Gandhi? Do Indian men lack respect for women?
I do believe that India is rich in traditions, values and morals. They have gender laws but are hardly enforced. If the people will not change their mindset that all human beings have equal rights to live safely and independently with dignity, then the lives of Indian women remain dangerous.
It is on this state of bewilderment that it is good to revisit sacred quotes from Hinduism to know how they see a woman:
Ansuya (Rishi Atri's wife) said to Sita:
"A woman is impure by her very birth; but she attains a happy state by serving her lord (husband)". Tulasi Ramayana Aranya Kanda, 5 A-B
A wife, obedient to her husband, renowned, light-footed, eloquent in speech, sympathetic to the patients, attains to happiness when she lives peacefully with her husband, and nicely cooks the food highly efficacious, and grown through rain, conducive to our physical growth, brought daily in use, and relished by our ancestors. Yajur Veda Chapter XXXIII, Verse 59
Rama (addressing Bharata) said: "Do you keep your womenfolk pacified? Are they duly protected by you? I hope you do not repose excessive faith in them and do not confide your secrets to them." Valmiki Ramayana Ayodhya Kanda, 100.49
Krishna said: "For, taking refuge in Me, they also who, O Arjuna, may be of sinful birth--women, vaisyas as well as sudras--attain the Supreme Goal." Bhagavad Gita, Ch.9, Verse 32
[Commentary by Swami Shivananda, Rishikesh:
"........Women and Sudras are debarred by social rules from the study of the Vedas. ...."]
Men must make their women dependent day and night, and keep under their own control those who are attached to sensory objects. Her father guards her in childhood, her husband guards her in youth, and her sons guard her in old age. A woman is not fit for independence. Manusmriti 9.2-3
They (women) make a lie appear as truth, and a truth appear as a lie. The Mahabharata Anusasana Parva, Section XXXIX
Addressing Shakuntala, Dushmanta said:
"Women generally speak untruth" The Mahabharata Adi Parva, Section LXXIV
Yudhishthira (addressing Bhishma) said:
Women in particular, the Rishis have said, are false in behaviour. Women in particular have been declared in the ordinances to be false. In the very Vedas one may read that women are false. The Mahabharata Anusasana Parva, Section XIX
Women do not care for beauty, nor is their attention fixed on age; (thinking), '(It is enough that) he is a man,' they give themselves to the handsome and to the ugly. Through their passion for men, through their mutable temper, through their natural heartlessness, they become disloyal towards their husbands, however carefully they may be guarded in this (world). Knowing their disposition, which the Lord of creatures laid in them at the creation, to be such, (every) man should most strenuously exert himself to guard them. (When creating them) Manu allotted to women (a love of their) bed, (of their) seat and (of) ornament, impure desires, wrath, dishonesty, malice, and bad conduct. For women no (sacramental) rite (is performed) with sacred texts, thus the law is settled; women (who are) destitute of strength and destitute of (the knowledge of) Vedic texts, (are as impure as) falsehood (itself), that is a fixed rule. Manusmriti 9.14-18
For women there is no ornament more valuable than their husbands. Valmiki Ramayana Sunder Kanda, 16-26
A damsel whose menses begin to appear (while she is living) at her father's house, before she has been betrothed to a man, has to be considered as a degraded woman: by taking her (without the consent of her kinsmen) a man commits no wrong. Vishnusmriti 24.41
"Lord Indra himself has said, 'The mind of woman cannot be disciplined; she has very little intelligence.' " Rig Veda 8.33.17
Sage Ashtavakra said:
Women can never be their own mistresses. This is the opinion of the Creator himself, viz., that a woman never deserves to be independent. There is not a single woman in the three worlds that deserves to be regarded as the mistress of her own self. The father protects her while she is a maiden. The husband protects her while she is in youth. Sons protect her when she is aged. Women can never be independent as long as they live. The Mahabharata Anusasana Parva, Section XX
Even if destitute of virtue, or seeking pleasure (elsewhere), or devoid of good qualities, a husband must be constantly worshipped as a god by a faithful wife. Manusmriti 5.154
Arjuna said:
When irreligion is prominent in the family, O Krishna, the women of the family become corrupt, and from the degradation of womanhood, O descendant of Vrishni, comes unwanted progeny. Bhagavad Gita, Ch.1, Verse 40
Women are powerless, have no inheritance, and speak more humbly than even a bad man. Krishna Yajur Veda Taittiriya Samhita 6.5.8.2
Addressing sage Ashtavakra, the old Lady said:
The very deities of wind and fire and water, or the other celestials, O regenerate one, are not so agreeable to women as the deity of desire. Verily, women are exceedingly fond of sexual congress. Among a thousand women, or perhaps, among hundreds of thousands, sometimes only one may be found that is devoted to her husband. When under the influence of desire, they care not for family or father or mother or brother or husband or sons or husband's brother, but pursue the way that desire points out. ...Verily, in pursuit of what they consider happiness, they destroy the family to which they belong by birth or marriage, even as many queenly rivers eat away the banks that contain them. Even women that are aged are tortured by the desire of sexual union. The Creator himself had said this, quickly marking the faults of women. The Mahabharata Anusasana Parva, Section XIX & XXI
Lakshmana (addressing Sita) said:
It is the nature of women all over the world to be vicious, fickle, and sharp-tongued and to sow seeds of dissension. Valmiki Ramayana Aranya Kanda, 45.29
A discarded wife is one who has no son. ... For a wife that is without a son, is possessed with Nirriti (destruction, calamity). Shatapatha Brahmana 5.3.1.13
It is the nature of women to seduce men in this (world); for that reason the wise are never unguarded in (the company of) females. For women are able to lead astray in (this) world not only a fool, but even a learned man, and (to make) him a slave of desire and anger. One should not sit in a lonely place with one's mother, sister, or daughter; for the senses are powerful, and master even a learned man. Manusmriti 2.213-215
Bhishma said:
Women have one eternal duty in this world, viz., dependence upon and obedient service to their husbands, and as such, this one duty constitutes their only end. The Mahabharata Anusasana Parva, Section LIX
End violence against women and children now!!!
Source: Do Indian men lack respect for women? - CNN iReport
You hypocritical douche-bags had the temerity to question the status of woman in Islam when you are eons behind yourself. You can't sympathize enough with a Muslim woman who covers herself yet look at these divine gems of wisdom from your books which completely demonize feminism. Is it any wonder that women are being raped with such frequency in India. Shocking!!
