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Anand Shah | Prof. Ulrike Stark 6.8.18
Jainism: Parity and the Patriarchy
Scholars of Jainism and Jains have, for decades, espoused with pride the gender parity of
Jainism. In the especially patriarchal context from which it comes from, gender equality in
Jainism has several markers: high female literacy rates, positive widow narratives, complex
characterizations of women, and high female mendicant rates are just a few we will analyze in
this paper. To evaluate the status of women in the Jain community, we will split the analysis into
two segments: Jain theory and Jain practice (both as they pertain to women). We conclude that,
while Jainism still certainly plays host to the patriarchy that stains Indian traditions, it places
women comparatively more equal than the surrounding Indian landscape.
Jainism in a Nutshell
While Jains situate themselves in an eternal universe and, as such, understand Jainism as
an 'eternal religion, the age of the Jain tradition continues to be debated. Jain 'gods' are not
supreme beings in the normal sense of the word, and this contributes to why Jains are often
called the atheists of India. The 'gods' of Jainism, here on referred to as Thirthankars, are
twenty-four supreme personalities that positively transformed their communities by espousing
the nature of the soul and the importance of nonviolence and non-possessiveness. While they
may be naturally understood as prophets, the Thirthankars are notably not beings that can grant
wishes or favors, instead, they are illuminary souls that have achieved liberation in a way that is
to be emulated and admired. In this time cycle, the last Jain thirthankar was Mahavir Swami.
Born in 599 BC, he established what is called the Chaturvidh Sangh: the four-fold order of
shravaks (laymen), shravikas (laywomen), sadhus (monks), and sadhvis (nuns). Jains believe in
