Aparana Tharmakulasingam
Student ID #: 20514301
Professor: Dr. Patricia Campbell
RS 203 Hinduism
Monday, February 16, 2015
Gender Roles In Hindu Families: Then And Now
Introduction
Hinduism is very similar to other religions when it comes to gender roles. The religion is predominantly male dominated. Traditionally, family is considered to be the heart and central focus of a Hindus’ daily life. In a Hindu family, Dharma is deemed to be a very significant factor driving a persons life. Males and females, both have a particular dharmic duty that they must complete. The term Dharma can be defined as “that which sustains” and this is essentially the central Brahmin concept including meanings ranging from “order” to “ability”, “role”, “duty” and …show more content…
He would be the earner, providing his family with financial support. He was also expected to be faithful to his wife and had the choice of either helping with household chores. Being a male, his dharmic duty was and still is to take care and provide for his family by working. The Role of Authority has to express himself and is considered supreme in social, economic and religious matters (Raghuvir 179). In the modern Hindu family, there isn’t an immense difference between the husband role from the past and the present. Today, Hindu husbands take on a strong role in their families but they do not take on the responsibilities alone. In most educated families the husband and wife are very much equally responsible for taking care of the financial component of their household and other duties that are similar to …show more content…
Being a male he is entitled to take care of his kids by giving them the opportunity to become well educated and getting them married into respectable families. The males in a Hindu family are usually given the right to look and find the most suitable partners for their children. In comparison to present day fathers, there is no significant difference about providing their children with education and getting them married to suitable partners. The ideal situation in a modern Hindu family now is that children are being allowed to find their own suitable life partners. The father still has a say in whether he approves or not but it is a lot more lenient than it was in the past.
This goes hand in hand with the ideal role of a male elder, such as a grandfather. In the past, the eldest male had all rights to deny any sort of decision made by anyone else in the family. There is no difference when this is compared to a present day Hindu family. In a Hindu household, male elders are considered to be much more wiser than everyone else and are expected to give advice and guidance to the younger generations. The passing of such knowledge and enlightenment will most likely remain the same in future
Student ID #: 20514301
Professor: Dr. Patricia Campbell
RS 203 Hinduism
Monday, February 16, 2015
Gender Roles In Hindu Families: Then And Now
Introduction
Hinduism is very similar to other religions when it comes to gender roles. The religion is predominantly male dominated. Traditionally, family is considered to be the heart and central focus of a Hindus’ daily life. In a Hindu family, Dharma is deemed to be a very significant factor driving a persons life. Males and females, both have a particular dharmic duty that they must complete. The term Dharma can be defined as “that which sustains” and this is essentially the central Brahmin concept including meanings ranging from “order” to “ability”, “role”, “duty” and …show more content…
He would be the earner, providing his family with financial support. He was also expected to be faithful to his wife and had the choice of either helping with household chores. Being a male, his dharmic duty was and still is to take care and provide for his family by working. The Role of Authority has to express himself and is considered supreme in social, economic and religious matters (Raghuvir 179). In the modern Hindu family, there isn’t an immense difference between the husband role from the past and the present. Today, Hindu husbands take on a strong role in their families but they do not take on the responsibilities alone. In most educated families the husband and wife are very much equally responsible for taking care of the financial component of their household and other duties that are similar to …show more content…
Being a male he is entitled to take care of his kids by giving them the opportunity to become well educated and getting them married into respectable families. The males in a Hindu family are usually given the right to look and find the most suitable partners for their children. In comparison to present day fathers, there is no significant difference about providing their children with education and getting them married to suitable partners. The ideal situation in a modern Hindu family now is that children are being allowed to find their own suitable life partners. The father still has a say in whether he approves or not but it is a lot more lenient than it was in the past.
This goes hand in hand with the ideal role of a male elder, such as a grandfather. In the past, the eldest male had all rights to deny any sort of decision made by anyone else in the family. There is no difference when this is compared to a present day Hindu family. In a Hindu household, male elders are considered to be much more wiser than everyone else and are expected to give advice and guidance to the younger generations. The passing of such knowledge and enlightenment will most likely remain the same in future