Podcast explores advances in gender equality in India

First on Brown Pundits

I highly recommend checking out this podcast as it delves into gender equality advancements deep in rural India (Bihar- site of an upcoming temple). It sheds light on grassroots efforts, including how the birth of a girl child is perceived differently from a boy child, and the barriers girls and women face in education and beyond.

Full disclosure I’m a Bahá’í, but I’m sharing this for informative purposes, not evangelisation. Education for all is crucial and still not as widespread as it should be. There are questions about education’s structural nature (access to elite institution / systemic bias etc), but that’s likely higher on Maslow’s hierarchy (getting the basics presumably).

I find the Bahá’í Faith suitable for those from Zoroastrian or Abrahamic backgrounds, but adjustments may be needed for those of Dharmic heritages. Idol worship and other customs might need consideration for serious traction; otherwise, Bahá’í Faith might just become Abrahamification. Also while the Bible & Quran are eminently relied upon in Bahá’í exegesis (there is heavy discussion of Zoroastrianism), there simply isn’t the available corpus to deal with Hindu & Buddhist texts in sufficient detail.

It’s remarkable how the Christian community (presumably Catholic) in Chennai, and across Asia, incorporates Marian and Saint worship to localize Christianity (Santhome is one of a handful of places to have Apostolic remains).

Religious transformation should enrich existing identities rather than erase them (for instance DLV’s family Hinduism deeply strengthened my own Faith & both religious strains interweave seamlessly). In a fairer world, there would be more equitable approaches to handling overlapping Houses of Worship.