Display for IDERD

[CdnSikhGirl]

As part of a military event, I have gotten the Gurdwara involved to do a table / display.  We will have posters (mostly Sikh in WW1-WW2 etc. And some pamphlets on what Sikhi is.  I also have an extra kirpan, gatra, simrana, kara, kanga etc.  I will bring for the table.  

My question is, would it be a bad idea to bring a nitnem gutka? Keeping in mind the public (DND military personell and their families) will be there.  On the one hand, I worry about people handling it  but on the other hand if they can see for themselves what is contained in the banis, it goes a LONG way to understanding and seeing that Sikhi is not in any way violent etc.  (since we all know that Sikhs are often wrongly misunderstood in this area).  The one I have extra here is the Sacred Nitnem one with transliteration and English along with the Gurmukhi.  

IDERD = International Day For Elimination of Racial Discrimination

[IJJSingh]

Setting up a display is a wonderful idea, and thanks for taking the initiative.  To avoid hurting feelings of some Sikhs who may think it would be sacrilegious for somebody to handle a gutka without proper decorum(covered head, no shoes, etc.), I have some suggestions:

• How about preparing a pamphlet with gurbani verses highlighting some key messages, and offering USB drives with nitnem for the ones interested in further reading
• You can also place a tablet or a laptop on the table allowing people to browse nitnem.

If you are interested in getting some USB keys with nitnem, please send me a pm and I can arrange to get them delivered to you.

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa, Waheguru ki ki Fateh

 

[CdnSikhGirl]

The display is tomorrow.  

Everyone will have shoes and at least the military members will have headdress so their heads will be covered.  I could do it so that if they want to see I can hold the page open for them to see, instead of letting them handle it themselves.  Of course that might cause more negative feelings... the idea is to show all the positives and educate the public. 

After all the conversations on here, I don't know what to answer when they will ask the inevitable question about men / women and equality.  I want to say yes. And most websites say Sikhi sees both as equals. That there are no extra restrictions on women, nothing reserved for only men etc. But then after conversations on here, it's apparent that at least some Sikhs see women as inferior, including impurity with menstruation wrt seva, disallowing women to be one of Panj Pyaras, telling wives they must see their husband as 'God' (parmeshwar) and that the husband has higher status than the wife. That wives must be obedient (but husbands never have to be obedient to their wives). etc.  Limitation of seva at Darbar sahib etc.  So I don't know really what to say and being female I know I will be asked especially being a convert. I used to declare very confidently that yes men and women are seen as equals, until I started seeing that other Gurdwaras and specific groups do not treat women as equal at all.  It's even been suggested on here that being born in a female body is a punishment for karma and is considered a 'downgrade' to a male body. So what do I say when people ask??  Do I continue to confidently say women and men are equal in Sikhi - Do I say that Gurbani and Sikhi teach that we are all equal but *some* do not practice it? Or do I say that it's a misnomer that Sikhi sees everyone as equal and instead women are seen in a lower position to men? 

 

 

[dalsingh101]

58 minutes ago, CdnSikhGirl said:

The display is tomorrow.  

Everyone will have shoes and at least the military members will have headdress so their heads will be covered.  I could do it so that if they want to see I can hold the page open for them to see, instead of letting them handle it themselves.  Of course that might cause more negative feelings... the idea is to show all the positives and educate the public. 

After all the conversations on here, I don't know what to answer when they will ask the inevitable question about men / women and equality.  I want to say yes. And most websites say Sikhi sees both as equals. That there are no extra restrictions on women, nothing reserved for only men etc. But then after conversations on here, it's apparent that at least some Sikhs see women as inferior, including impurity with menstruation wrt seva, disallowing women to be one of Panj Pyaras, telling wives they must see their husband as 'God' (parmeshwar) and that the husband has higher status than the wife. That wives must be obedient (but husbands never have to be obedient to their wives). etc.  Limitation of seva at Darbar sahib etc.  So I don't know really what to say and being female I know I will be asked especially being a convert. I used to declare very confidently that yes men and women are seen as equals, until I started seeing that other Gurdwaras and specific groups do not treat women as equal at all.  It's even been suggested on here that being born in a female body is a punishment for karma and is considered a 'downgrade' to a male body. So what do I say when people ask??  Do I continue to confidently say women and men are equal in Sikhi - Do I say that Gurbani and Sikhi teach that we are all equal but *some* do not practice it? Or do I say that it's a misnomer that Sikhi sees everyone as equal and instead women are seen in a lower position to men? 

 

 

You might find people aren't as obsessed with these things as you might think. 

[Ragmaala]

Just now, dalsingh101 said:

You might find people aren't as obsessed with these things as you might think. 

Agree

1 hour ago, CdnSikhGirl said:

Do I continue to confidently say women and men are equal in Sikhi

I would say , stay away from controversial or debatable topics & focus on the positive.  This is a good event. Wish you all the Best! I dont think many people will ask you about it unless you choose to bring it up.

[CdnSikhGirl]

Actually due to the fact that many confuse us with Muslims it HAS come up. I did this event last year and was asked why I converted when women are treated inferior... They assumed Sikhi was a sect of Islam. But even outside of mistaken identity we have our own issues with gender equality and I know it will come up. Because they genuinely want to know how I could covert to a religion where I would have less rights and equality than *supposedly* Christianity (if only they knew what the bible says about women)... Anyway I can't avoid it. All I can do is answer that the religion does teach equality and equal rights but not everyone practices it (due to culture influence etc) 

[dalsingh101]

5 minutes ago, CdnSikhGirl said:

Actually due to the fact that many confuse us with Muslims it HAS come up. I did this event last year and was asked why I converted when women are treated inferior... They assumed Sikhi was a sect of Islam. But even outside of mistaken identity we have our own issues with gender equality and I know it will come up. Because they genuinely want to know how I could covert to a religion where I would have less rights and equality than *supposedly* Christianity (if only they knew what the bible says about women)... Anyway I can't avoid it. All I can do is answer that the religion does teach equality and equal rights but not everyone practices it (due to culture influence etc) 

It's the same situation with all the casteist w***ers in the panth too. All the talk of equality and then you have all manner of bullsh1t going on. lol

I think in the end, as a Sikh we have to have a strong personal attachment to that within Sikhi that we find beautiful and pure. The things that resonate with us. If my faith was based on my social interaction with people, I'd probably have run off a long time ago. Thankfully, I see so much that is beautiful and fascinating with Sikhi, that I now know that no amount of bumping heads with any of the tossers out there (and there are many!) will ever shake that.   

[CdnSikhGirl]

Yes I have seen this too... recently even. My friend is Ramgarhia background and her Father really wanted her to marry another Ramgarhia.  Why? If caste was removed then why does it matter?  Good thing my husband's family was not into this thinking at all. Or else I'd be considered untouchable  having no caste LOL. Actually his family treat women as equal too. There is no expectation of men having higher status or respect.  And even Panj Pyaras where we took Amrit declared women too can do any position men can in Sikhi (including Panj Pyaras).  I am thankful Kashmir Sikhs seem to be very open and inclusive. 

I'll just say the truth... Sikhi TEACHES equality of everyone including gender. Some don't follow it however...

[kdsingh80]

17 minutes ago, CdnSikhGirl said:

Yes I have seen this too... recently even. My friend is Ramgarhia background and her Father really wanted her to marry another Ramgarhia.  Why? If caste was removed then why does it matter?  Good thing my husband's family was not into this thinking at all. Or else I'd be considered untouchable  having no caste LOL. Actually his family treat women as equal too. There is no expectation of men having higher status or respect.  And even Panj Pyaras where we took Amrit declared women too can do any position men can in Sikhi (including Panj Pyaras).  I am thankful Kashmir Sikhs seem to be very open and inclusive. 

I'll just say the truth... Sikhi TEACHES equality of everyone including gender. Some don't follow it however...

The reason people prefer their own caste , because with caste their are culture and customs associated , many times people find customs in another caste different and sometimes they don't like it .So in arrange scenario people prefer their own caste rather than searching out of caste.

[CdnSikhGirl]

Here is news story on the event...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/canadian-forces-culture-1.3501122

[Ragmaala]

2 hours ago, CdnSikhGirl said:

Here is news story on the event...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/nova-scotia/canadian-forces-culture-1.3501122

good stuff! So did anyone ask about equality issue ?

[CdnSikhGirl]

51 minutes ago, Gunahgar said:

good stuff! So did anyone ask about equality issue ?

Unfortunately... yes LOL. But I knew they would. When I started to tie a turban in uniform, a lot of guys would ask me about my 'hijab' and why did I become Muslim.  When you tell them that Sikhi is entirely different religion than Islam, the next question is always about how Sikhi differs from Islam regards to treatment of women and if Sikhi has equality.