The parties may be different, but when it comes to their priority, all women candidates in the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) elections are united — it’s womanhood! And given the fact that it is a religious body the agenda is being set for, the issue that represents
equality for them is the right to perform kirtan at Harmandar Sahib, and, if deserving, the possibility of becoming head priest.
Their argument: the Sikh religion stands for equality to all, including women. What men can, women can.
Of the total 170 seats at stake in the election, 30 are reserved for women. The reservation started in the 1996 elections.
Now the women want it to deliver something substantial for them — equality in all religious matters, and, going beyond that, religion to be leveraged to bring them on a par with men in all social matters. They are demanding a proactive role of the SGPC in spheres such as health and education too.
Bibi Jagir Kaur, a former president of the SGPC who is again contesting the election on the SAD ticket from the Begowal constituency, was the first to formally raise the demand for the right to perform kirtan at Harmandar Sahib. She goes a step ahead: "Why can’t women be part of the Sikh clergy and even head of a Takht?" However, she agrees, anyone aspiring for such a post has to deserve it first.
Two other SAD candidates, Paramjeet Kaur from SAS Nagar and Harjinder Kaur from Chandigarh, have similar views. "I think we need to first convince the Sikh masses to accept the idea. But one thing we all know, the Gurus never discriminated against women," Harjinder Kaur says.
Read more:http://www.hindustantimes.com/Women-seek-right-to-do-kirtan-in-Golden-Temple/Article1-745231.aspx
