'Women play a special role in religious life.' How far is this true in relation to any religion you have studied?

The first 200 words of this essay...

Chance Divinity Essay 2004 Jaspreet Kular L5a

'Women play a special role in religious life.' How far is this true in relation to any religion you have studied?

This essay will be examining the role and status of women in Sikhism and whether they do indeed play a special role in religious life. I personally believe that women do play a special and even important role within religious life, from my own experience at least within my own religion (Sikhism).

Nevertheless the role and status of women in Indian society has been somewhat ambivalent. While women enjoyed a high status in Vedic society as equal partner of man in all walks of life, her position deteriorated in the years to come. In later Vedic periods women were relegated to the background and came to be treated as inferior to man with her role confined to the four walls of the household. Manu, the first codifier of the Hindu law, wrote:

"From cradle to grave, a woman is dependant on man- in childhood on her father, in youth on her husband and in old age on her son."

Her position suffered a further