Sikh Women Diaspora in Malaysia: The Reality of their Role and Status in the Religious Domain

Abstract

This article aims to examine how the Sikh women diaspora from two generations exercised their rights within the religious domain in Malaysia. Sikhism has a unique world view of gender ideology; from a gender perspective, God is symbolically described as a husband to all of humanity, whereby all humans, irrespective of gender, are perceived as having the status of wives to God. Since the Sikh religion focuses on the concept of the spirit rather than the physical body; therefore, the position of God and mankind should be cognized from the viewpoint of transformation of spirit. Most significantly, every human being, be they male or female, is held in equal importance, with each individual being conferred the same position, status, rights and opportunity to live this life as God has ordained. In fact, tenets of life that define practices as being praiseworthy, or to be avoided, are not gender specific. This makes the philosophy of gender equality of the Sikh religion particularly interesting and worthy of academic scrutiny. To what extent is it true that women have equal status with men? The authors discovered that patriarchal cultural practices have clearly dominated Sikh women’s views about their roles in daily life, as well as in the perception of their own status. This article concludes with specific recommendations to uplift and strengthen gender equality among the Sikh community in the religious domain.

Disempowerment of Women: The Experience of Indian States

“…5 Studies observed that different religions have diverse effects on people’s economic attitudes, and some religious groups tend to be more provincial and less friendly to women’s right (Guiso et al, 2003; Klingorova & Havlicek, 2015). Sikhism has different ideologies towards women’s status, which segregates them from other states of the northern parts of India, inspired by their doctrine of Guru Grantha Saheb (scriptures) (Dyson & Moore, 1983; Kaur & Gill, 2018; Kaur, 2014). Men and women have equal rights in entering the gurdwara and can participate in various religious activities like participation in community kitchen ( langar ) (Kaur & Gill, 2018).…”

“…Sikhism has different ideologies towards women’s status, which segregates them from other states of the northern parts of India, inspired by their doctrine of Guru Grantha Saheb (scriptures) (Dyson & Moore, 1983; Kaur & Gill, 2018; Kaur, 2014). Men and women have equal rights in entering the gurdwara and can participate in various religious activities like participation in community kitchen ( langar ) (Kaur & Gill, 2018). Given this backdrop, we apply the Fairlie decomposition method to assess the contribution of Sikh religious identity to the difference in disempowerment of women in the two neighbouring states.…”

Malaysian Sikh Youths’ Perception of Diverse Sexual Identities

“…All in all, the biological distinctions have no significance, as they are seen simply as the ingenuity and the rule of God besides separating the identity of man and woman (Kaur, 2012). While it is evident that the appearance of men and women is different, both are similar in spirituality (Kaur & Gill, 2018). The scripture is therefore considered to be reliable and authentic, which for the Sikhs has become an important source of daily guidance.…”

“…Cultural norms and values are defined in relation to manhood, masculinity and male domination. According to Kaur and Gill (2018), within dominant cultural spaces, including gurdwaras, the women are relegated to a secondary position due to male domination, while men enjoy their privilege in the public realm. Being socialized, the cultural ideals and attitudes of men and women were often governed by biological explanations.…”

“…13 In its fair approach, disregarding social standing (nondiscrimination on the basis of caste, creed, class, religion and gender), upholding social justice (that guarantees equal rights and opportunities) and worshipping the unique creator (the One God) are the basic values that are still being practised by Malaysian Sikhs (Kaur & Gill, 2020). The gurdwara became an important social institution 14 to exercise Sikh doctrines such as equal rights, responsibilities, opportunities and status between genders, 15 ethnicities or other social categories (Kaur, 2012;Kaur & Gill, 2018;Singh, 2005). Similarly, the Sikh philosophy does not emphasize the afterlife phenomenon, thereby rejecting the idea of heaven and hell.…”