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N
E W S July
31, 2003: Amritsar, India
This is a new development in the long-running controversy over the denial of women by Darbar Sahib management to perform palki seva. Although this discrimination had been in practice for decades, the issue exploded when two Amritdhari women from the U.K., Mejindarpal Kaur and Lakhbir Kaur, were forcefully removed from the palki seva queue.
An Amritdhari Sikh woman who also experienced this discrimination and watched non-Sikh men carrying the palki stated that her concern was not that non-Sikhs should not be allowed to do the seva, but that women should be allowed to do the same. She expressed that seva should be open to anyone who desired to do it. The SGPC had set up a committee to address the women's seva issue earlier this year. The committee of five, including two women, was expected to make its recommendation in mid May of this year, but missed the deadline which was imposed two months earlier. Nothing has been heard publicly on the issue since. Sources close to committee members, however, indicate that a report has been completed and sent to the SGPC. The report is said to include recommendations on measures that Darbar Sahib management should take to ensure women are more inclusive and equal participants in performing various kinds of seva, including palki seva. Sources say that the report will be made public soon, although a date was not given. In the meantime, Sikh women are watching themselves being excluded in new ways from being a part of the seva experience. Copyright
©The Sikh Sentinel 2003 This story highlights the further erosion
of the faith by the very people charged with maintaining its fundamental
tenants - Guru Nanak Dev Ji isisted on the equality of women...if it was
good enough for him 500 years ago, why do we in the 21st century find
the very same principle so hard to follow? This attitude of those men in The Temple
in Amritsar of not letting women do seva says they do not hold women with
respect even in religion-it's that culture they live in,uneducated,illitrate
bunch. Those things don't happen in the west/christian culture Sikhs in
Canada, USA enjoy it more. Reference to your news item 'Women's Seva
Sinks Lower' the Darbar Sahib management should be ashamed of such practices.
I think they should be kicked out of the darbar sahib and no sikh should
associate with them. These people are worse than Brahmins. They should
take these practices and practice somewhere else. The "Not allowing Sewa by Sikh Women
issue" is a disgrace for all the Sikhs. The Jathedars and SGPC are
proving that they do not follow the teachings of the Sikh Gurus including
Sri Guru Granth Sahib Not allowing women equal rights is downright
shame for the SGPC. We were told that in Sikh religion women have equal
rights so why this descrimination. I distinctively remember last year when this
issue erupted and I had commented that Sikh women should be welcomed,
what to say of barring, to perform any type of Seva at any Gurdwara including
Darbar Sahib. It is shocking the way SGPC is functioning; it is over a
year and still the so called committee's recommendations are nowhere in
sight. It is worse than a governmental committee where at least extension
is asked for, given and reported in the media. And there is no repotage
of the progress of this committee even in the official organ of SGPC-Gurmat
Prakash of which i am avid reader. When the SGPC will rise above the petty
politics of its sister organisation Akali Dal and do its main functions
of Gurdwaras' Management? Not surprising Tohra was seen yesterday along
with Badal meeting Central ministers to curry favour for for whom? Certainly
not for Sikh matters and it was not expected of a Chief of a religious
body to curry favour for any individual politician. We need some action no more of talks. If
we(men) really think that women should be treated same then, men and women
need to protest out side the darbaar sahib and if necessary boycott seva
all together. There are many ways to do seva other then Palki seva. By
reading your article I feel that sevaddars (men) are not afraid of the
GURU ji at all. Those in charge of the Gurdawaras are not
Sikhs because they do not accept the position of women as equal and they
should be removed because they are practicing Hinduism.The only way for
women is to set up their own Gurdawaras and practice true Sikhism. God
is every where and we do not need the 68 places of pilgrimage or the Golden
temple or gurdawaras where women are being discriminated.. The true pilgrimage
is within. hi, i am rahul i would like to inform that
what ever u r doing to the Sikh women are not right cuz every 1 have the
right to do parkesh or what ever parkesh is it does not mater jap sahib,
japji sahib or what ever path. who ever give this tough have to be sorry
or his idea will be panish in prison or live i am a proud Sikh to be representing
a Sikh man around the world i would like to always come to the golden
temlple. and 1 more thing it also does not say or written in the guru
grant shaib (the holly bibble) as we say wahegru ji ja khalsa wave guru
ji ki feteh is my pleasure to stand for all the Sikh women no matter what
recs there are. There are unofficial reports that the main
reason women are not allowed in the procession on the walkway is to avoid
stampede injuries and stopping sexual harassment. These are unconfirmed
reports though... This is outrageous. The Sikh men should never
forget that it was Guru Nanak Dev Ji who sang a hymn in praise of women.
He said that all men are born from the women, only a woman can give birth
to a woman, only woman is the mother of a king, then how can we ignore
her existence. That was in the beginning of the 15th century. I would
have never thought of such a discrimination in the 21st century. The management
must be fired and a new group of persons who believe in equality should
be elected. The present management reminds me of a story about "dog's
tail". Does not matter how long it has been kept in a straight tube,
it will be crooked as soon as it is pulled out. Thanks for giving me the
chance to speak my heart out. |
In
a recent visit to Darbar Sahib, a Sikh man and his sister arrived early
in the morning for the parkash ceremony. As the doors opened to the walkway
leading to the Harmandir Sahib, the Sikh man's sister was made to stand
out of the walkway. All women were prevented from following the palanquin
(palki) down the walkway, even if they were far behind the crowd. Women
were asked to move into the narrow median between the incoming and outgoing
paths of the walkway, or were made to stand in the outgoing path. 
But
not allowing women to even stand in the walkway behind the procession
had not been reported before. To make matters worse, pictures of the parkash
ceremony show non-Sikh men, wearing scarves, holding the palanquin or
waiting in queue. This is a blow to Sikh women who have been struggling
for equal rights to do seva.