Women & Leadership
The Importance of WomenThe role and respect towards women in Hinduism was and still is very important today. There are women deities, historical or mythological figures, political activists, and saints and spiritual leaders. One Saint is Saint Mirabai. Her story is that she was married to a man she didn't love, yet cheating was a sin so she stayed with him. As he died and she refused to perform "proper" services, the husband's family tortured Saint Mirabai, to which she luckily survived. She left the palace and began to live the life of a wandering saint by singing and dancing in public without any worries. saint Mirabai's songs and poems are still chanted today by her followers.
source and image from: http://hinduism.iskcon.org/tradition/1211.htm |
It is a man's duty to not only protect his wife, but for his daughter(s) and elderly mother as they are females and deserve respect whether married or not.
http://www.hinduwebsite.com/hinduism/h_women.asp |
A wife in Hinduism is also considered as "saha-dharma-charini" which is someone who has an equal share of the husband's duties. A man and woman are seen as each a half, that make a whole; so with no woman, a man is not complete and vice versa.
http://pushti-marg.net/bhagwat/woman.htm |