It is not clear in what sense the husband was to rule over his wife, and this been the subject of much debate. Regardless of how Eve's punishment was originally intended, this passage is key to understanding later Biblical teachings about women. The punishments on both Adam and Eve were clearly imposed by God Himself; God did not reduce women to inferior status, nor did He command men to rule harshly over their wives. However, in the course of history, it has sometimes been thought that God's punishment of Eve was justification for degradation and subjugation of women.
By the time of Jesus, women no longer had the freedoms and status they had enjoyed in the Old Testament era. Jewish society had become very much male-dominated. Women were considered to be inferior beings and were assigned almost the same status as slaves. They were not educated, not allowed to take any leadership roles, and confined to mostly domestic duties
Guru Nanak and other Sikh Gurus in their life advocated equality and dignity to women and took steps to implement these principles. Guru Nanak denounced the idea that spirituality was only for men, and not for women. The first Sikh Guru in his preaching and writings made direct statements emphasizing that women were no less than men:
"After the death of one's wife, one seeks another,
and through her social bonds are cemented.
Why should we condemn women who give birth to leaders and rulers?
Everyone is born of a woman and a woman alone.
Nobody is born otherwise.
God alone is an exception to this rule."
Guru Amardas strongly opposed the custom of Sati in the sixteenth century and also advocated widow marriages. Sati was the Indian practice whereby widows burned themselves with their husband's Corpse at cremation. Guru Amar Das appointed and ordained a large number of women preachers, and at least one bishop - Mathura Devi, four hundred years ago. The Sikh Gurus also raised their voice against the Purdah or veil. Guru Amardas did not even allow the Queen of Haripur to come into the religious assembly wearing a veil.
The immediate effect of these reforms was that women gained an equal status with men. Those who lived as grovelling slaves of society became fired with a new hope and courage to lift themselves to be equals of the best in humanity. The spirit of the Sikh woman was raised with the belief that she was not a helpless creature but was a responsible being endowed with a will of her own with which she could do much to mould the destiny of society.
Women came forward as the defenders of their honour and dignity. They also became the rocks that stood against tyrants. Without the burden of unnecessary and unreasonable customs, Sikh women became the temporal and spiritual supporters of men, often acting as the 'conscience of men.' Sikh women proved themselves as the equals of men in service, devotion, sacrifice and bravery.
Since the late nineteenth century Sikh community organizations have made efforts at expanding educational opportunities for all. Individual Sikhs, men and women, in various cities and towns, took the initiative to start and operate women's colleges and schools. Women's education was part of the drive to improve education among the Sikhs, initiated by Sikh organizations in the 1920s. In towns and villages in the Punjab and in cities with significant Sikh populations there exist schools and colleges operated by Sikh organizations.
So it has been said that women are equal within Sikhism as it has been stated by the Guru’s. This is still the case today and women are still thought of as being of an equal status. Unlike other religions in Asia women are seen as equal sex and not lower, however in other religions e.g. Islam girls are looked down upon as some of them may not go to school as they will stay home and learn the roles of which the mother does, she is less likely to receive any inheritance and will most likely be overlooked.
Conclusion
God created both men and women in His own image and made them equal custodians of all His creation. But, because of their disobedience, God punished Adam and Eve and evicted them from the Garden of Eden. Eve's punishment was to suffer pain in childbirth and be ruled over by her husband.
Jesus broke with tradition and treated women in a much more egalitarian way than was normal in the society of that time. The early Christian churches followed Jesus' lead and gave women much higher status and more privileges than was common in the rest of the world. But Paul and other Christian leaders continued to affirm the principle of a husband's family leadership and authority over his wife.
Christians disagree over whether this principle should apply in the modern world. Is the man's authority over his wife and family a great spiritual principle decreed by God for all time, or is it just a reflection of the realities of Biblical-era culture? Today, many Christians believe women should enjoy all the same rights and privileges as men. Other Christians, however, continue to advocate a secondary role for women based on Genesis 3:16 and other Bible passages.