Women’s crucial role in Sikh Empire is challenging gender roles, equality

PTC News Desk: Sikh community has been a longtime advocate of equality and liberty for all people, regardless of gender, caste, or social identity.

A source underlined that women have recently assumed a more prominent and active role in the Sikh community. They are now challenging traditional gender stereotypes and positively impacting politics, activism, and social justice.

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Historically, Sikhism has emphasized equality between men and women, as the Guru Granth Sahib also contains hymns written by both men and women and acknowledges the importance of gender equality in all spheres of life, the author writes.

The evolving status of Sikh women in recent decades is evidence of the tenacity and bravery of women who have defied patriarchal expectations. Now that Sikh women actively participate in politics, activism, and social justice, a daring new story of bravery, self-expression, and resistance is emerging.

Women's advancement, however, had been hampered by past patriarchal social systems, which restricted their positions in the community to those related to the home and family.

The involvement of Sikh women in politics and activism in the present has drawn attention to a broader trend of women's empowerment in the Sikh community. Women are emancipating themselves from patriarchal conventions and reclaiming their voices, identities, and futures.

Notably, #NoKaur movement was started in 2017 by a group of Sikh women activists with the intention of empowering Sikh women and amplifying their voices throughout the community.

The campaign encouraged Sikh women to assert their identities and speak out against prejudice by questioning traditional gender norms and the constrained roles given to Sikh women. 

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