Cults & Society
Department: Group Report

Hare Krishna: women

11/12

[continued]

Conclusion

There are three points that are essential to any policy that would permit ISKCON to ensure appropriate roles for women.[xxx]   First, as I mentioned before, there should be a presumption against limiting women’s access to spiritual resources.  Where women’s access is limited, policy makers must provide a written justification for their decision, articulating how their policy is necessary to increase the spread of Krishna consciousness.   

Second, we need women in leadership roles from the highest levels down to the local temple communities.  We need women in leadership roles in significant numbers to prevent these leaders from being isolated or marginalised by male administrators.  One aspect of this issue of female leadership that we have not yet addressed is the extent to which men get a significant amount of informal support in rising up through the ranks in ISKCON.  This phenomenon is not necessarily a sign of malice on the part of our leaders.  Rather, men develop intimate relationships with men in our society, as they should.  However, anyone in an intimate relationship with a leader has access to a great deal of support and resources.  Women do not have that opportunity and will not have that opportunity until we have significant numbers of women at high levels.  Thus, ISKCON has a duty to foster the development of women leaders.  It is not sufficient for ISKCON’s management to say, find some qualified women and bring them to us.  ISKCON has the duty to find women who can lead and also to find women who have the potential to be leaders and to give these women the same opportunity to develop that is given to similarly qualified men. 

When we have done these two things, we can progress to the final prong, developing substantive policies, more effectively.  We must identify the needs of the women so that we can do two further things.  We must empower the women to meet some of their own needs and we must develop structures that will provide women with the resources and facilities they need. The focus of the Women’s Ministry has been, in large part, on providing women with a forum for working together to meet their own needs.  The recent "Vaishnavis in ISKCON"conference embodied that philosophy, involving women from across North America who worked together under the direction of Sudharma Devi Dasi to organise what His Holiness Hridayananda Swami described as an historic event which could vastly improve our movement. 

Finally, we must all work together as a movement to develop the structures and policies which will provide women with the substantive rights they need for their protection and in order to meet our goals of advancing Krishna consciousness.  However, we will work most effectively together if we increase participation roles for women in ISKCON.

  1/12 < > 12/12

Cults & Society
Department: Group Report

Hare Krishna: women

11/12

[continued]

Conclusion

There are three points that are essential to any policy that would permit ISKCON to ensure appropriate roles for women.[xxx]   First, as I mentioned before, there should be a presumption against limiting women’s access to spiritual resources.  Where women’s access is limited, policy makers must provide a written justification for their decision, articulating how their policy is necessary to increase the spread of Krishna consciousness.   

Second, we need women in leadership roles from the highest levels down to the local temple communities.  We need women in leadership roles in significant numbers to prevent these leaders from being isolated or marginalised by male administrators.  One aspect of this issue of female leadership that we have not yet addressed is the extent to which men get a significant amount of informal support in rising up through the ranks in ISKCON.  This phenomenon is not necessarily a sign of malice on the part of our leaders.  Rather, men develop intimate relationships with men in our society, as they should.  However, anyone in an intimate relationship with a leader has access to a great deal of support and resources.  Women do not have that opportunity and will not have that opportunity until we have significant numbers of women at high levels.  Thus, ISKCON has a duty to foster the development of women leaders.  It is not sufficient for ISKCON’s management to say, find some qualified women and bring them to us.  ISKCON has the duty to find women who can lead and also to find women who have the potential to be leaders and to give these women the same opportunity to develop that is given to similarly qualified men. 

When we have done these two things, we can progress to the final prong, developing substantive policies, more effectively.  We must identify the needs of the women so that we can do two further things.  We must empower the women to meet some of their own needs and we must develop structures that will provide women with the resources and facilities they need. The focus of the Women’s Ministry has been, in large part, on providing women with a forum for working together to meet their own needs.  The recent "Vaishnavis in ISKCON"conference embodied that philosophy, involving women from across North America who worked together under the direction of Sudharma Devi Dasi to organise what His Holiness Hridayananda Swami described as an historic event which could vastly improve our movement. 

Finally, we must all work together as a movement to develop the structures and policies which will provide women with the substantive rights they need for their protection and in order to meet our goals of advancing Krishna consciousness.  However, we will work most effectively together if we increase participation roles for women in ISKCON.

  1/12 < > 12/12

Cults & Society
Department: Group Report

Hare Krishna: women

11/12

[continued]

Conclusion

There are three points that are essential to any policy that would permit ISKCON to ensure appropriate roles for women.[xxx]   First, as I mentioned before, there should be a presumption against limiting women’s access to spiritual resources.  Where women’s access is limited, policy makers must provide a written justification for their decision, articulating how their policy is necessary to increase the spread of Krishna consciousness.   

Second, we need women in leadership roles from the highest levels down to the local temple communities.  We need women in leadership roles in significant numbers to prevent these leaders from being isolated or marginalised by male administrators.  One aspect of this issue of female leadership that we have not yet addressed is the extent to which men get a significant amount of informal support in rising up through the ranks in ISKCON.  This phenomenon is not necessarily a sign of malice on the part of our leaders.  Rather, men develop intimate relationships with men in our society, as they should.  However, anyone in an intimate relationship with a leader has access to a great deal of support and resources.  Women do not have that opportunity and will not have that opportunity until we have significant numbers of women at high levels.  Thus, ISKCON has a duty to foster the development of women leaders.  It is not sufficient for ISKCON’s management to say, find some qualified women and bring them to us.  ISKCON has the duty to find women who can lead and also to find women who have the potential to be leaders and to give these women the same opportunity to develop that is given to similarly qualified men. 

When we have done these two things, we can progress to the final prong, developing substantive policies, more effectively.  We must identify the needs of the women so that we can do two further things.  We must empower the women to meet some of their own needs and we must develop structures that will provide women with the resources and facilities they need. The focus of the Women’s Ministry has been, in large part, on providing women with a forum for working together to meet their own needs.  The recent "Vaishnavis in ISKCON"conference embodied that philosophy, involving women from across North America who worked together under the direction of Sudharma Devi Dasi to organise what His Holiness Hridayananda Swami described as an historic event which could vastly improve our movement. 

Finally, we must all work together as a movement to develop the structures and policies which will provide women with the substantive rights they need for their protection and in order to meet our goals of advancing Krishna consciousness.  However, we will work most effectively together if we increase participation roles for women in ISKCON.

  1/12 < > 12/12