VERSION|0.5.1|SUBJECT|Akhandadhi Das, a Vaishnav Hindu teacher and theologian  |CONTENT|[b]Rating[/b] 4 out of 5 (Highly platitudinous)

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What is really, really important here is that we don't blame Hinduism for the endemic misogyny in India. India is a huge country with a diverse range of cultures and traditions, which are mostly Hindu and mostly treat women very badly. This is why it is so important to emphasise that Hinduism has nothing to do with it. No true Hindu would ever treat a woman as property or as a second class citizen, which just goes to show how very few true Hindus there are.

Now some Hindu leaders have contributed to this problem in the past. It's important to be open about this, to acknowledge it and to ensure that we remain in charge once things change. Some Hindu texts also seem to imply that women have fewer rights than men, but ultimately the texts say "Treat women equally." From this, we learn that women should be treated equally and it is this bit, the bit that is consistent with modern, secular thinking, that I wish to emphasise.

There was a time when India was more advanced in its treatment of women - about the year 900. Since then things haven't got much better. At the same time, India's constitution is very advanced in its treatment of women, it's just that no one pays much attention to it.

Ultimately, women are totally equal to men when they're floating as ghosts in invisible la-la land, so their plight while their spirits are inside women isn't as important as you might think. Nevertheless, remember, no matter what some texts say or some religious leaders have said, Hinduism says be nice to women, so you should be.

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