[Buddha-l] women & , er, religion

[jkirk]

Jimmy Carter has finally left the Southern Baptist church.
Article is here:  http://tinyurl.com/nwxf8r 

Things not much better in Buddhism around the world. Only in
China or Taiwan and in some Tibetan lineages, can women be fully
ordained nuns, (is that right about Tibetans? I'm thinking of
Pema Choedron, for ex.). The Thai sangha and Sri Lankans claim
the bhikkhuni ordination was lost, so that is that. Dr. Chatsuman
Kabilsingh in Thailand, in 2003, was finally ordained a full
bhikkhuni in Sri Lanka, the first Thai woman to be ordained in a
Theravada monastic lineage (wikipedia).  Today she runs a
monastery for women and has ordained several, but the official
Thai sangha continues to discredit her.
Meanwhile, in Buddhist majority countries, Buddhist women still
get the hind tit in many other ways besides being refused
ordination.  
That someone as pious as Carter finally has made this move says a
lot for how his consciousness has purified over the years.
Joanna
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
Losing my religion for equality
Jimmy Carter 
July 15, 2009

I HAVE been a practising Christian all my life and a deacon and
Bible teacher for many years. My faith is a source of strength
and comfort to me, as religious beliefs are to hundreds of
millions of people around the world. So my decision to sever my
ties with the Southern Baptist Convention, after six decades, was
painful and difficult. It was, however, an unavoidable decision
when the convention's leaders, quoting a few carefully selected
Bible verses and claiming that Eve was created second to Adam and
was responsible for original sin, ordained that women must be
"subservient" to their husbands and prohibited from serving as
deacons, pastors or chaplains in the military service.

This view that women are somehow inferior to men is not
restricted to one religion or belief. Women are prevented from
playing a full and equal role in many faiths. Nor, tragically,
does its influence stop at the walls of the church, mosque,
synagogue or temple. This discrimination, unjustifiably
attributed to a Higher Authority, has provided a reason or excuse
for the deprivation of women's equal rights across the world for
centuries. 

At its most repugnant, the belief that women must be subjugated
to the wishes of men excuses slavery, violence, forced
prostitution, genital mutilation and national laws that omit rape
as a crime. But it also costs many millions of girls and women
control over their own bodies and lives, and continues to deny
them fair access to education, health, employment and influence
within their own communities.

The impact of these religious beliefs touches every aspect of our
lives. They help explain why in many countries boys are educated
before girls; why girls are told when and whom they must marry;
and why many face enormous and unacceptable risks in pregnancy
and childbirth because their basic health needs are not met.

In some Islamic nations, women are restricted in their movements,
punished for permitting the exposure of an arm or ankle, deprived
of education, prohibited from driving a car or competing with men
for a job. If a woman is raped, she is often most severely
punished as the guilty party in the crime.

The same discriminatory thinking lies behind the continuing
gender gap in pay and why there are still so few women in office
in the West. The root of this prejudice lies deep in our
histories, but its impact is felt every day. It is not women and
girls alone who suffer. It damages all of us. The evidence shows
that investing in women and girls delivers major benefits for
society. An educated woman has healthier children. She is more
likely to send them to school. She earns more and invests what
she earns in her family.

It is simply self-defeating for any community to discriminate
against half its population. We need to challenge these
self-serving and outdated attitudes and practices - as we are
seeing in Iran where women are at the forefront of the battle for
democracy and freedom.
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