Participation, Protection and Patriarchy: An International Model for the Role of Women in ISKCON

Radha Devi Dasi

[continued]

We can now examine the presumptions that are prevalent in ISKCON against the standard Shrila Prabhupada has articulated.  My perception, and others may disagree, is that we have a presumption against women’s participation in ISKCON.  That presumption does not mean that women do not participate in our movement.  However, we begin by presuming that women should not participate, and then place the burden on women or their supporters to show why women should be included.  This presumption needs to be reversed if we are to give women equal encouragement to develop in their spiritual lives and serve Shrila Prabhupada’s mission to the best of their abilities.  We should have a presumption of equal participation for both genders. The burden then should be on those who argue that the role of women should be circumscribed, for reasons of etiquette or social custom, to articulate why and how such restriction relates to our goal of spreading Krishna consciousness.

When we examine our treatment of women in a logically rigorous manner, many of our practices appear unreasonable.  For instance, we often speak of "protecting" women whenever we are accused of gender discrimination.  Disparate practices are held to be necessary and even beneficial to women on the grounds that women need special forms of protection.[xix]   However, this justification for discriminatory practices is incomplete.  Those who would use it must define what it is that women are being protected from.  Current ISKCON practice supports best the argument that women are being protected from participating.  Moreover, we must also decide what the form of that protection should be. For instance, American law requires that restrictions that limit rights must relate to an important governmental purpose and be as narrowly defined as possible.  ISKCON could use similar principles in its treatment of women, requiring that restrictions on their participation be related to the goal of spreading Krishna consciousness and that these limits be as narrow as possible.

We must first ask what Shrila Prabhupada intended ISKCON to protect women from. For this, we can consult his writings on the subject.  The most obvious context in which Shrila Prabhupada discussed protection occurs in the first chapter of the Bhagavad-gita.  Arjuna tells Krishna that when irreligion is prominent, women are prone to degradation.  Arjuna informs Krishna that such women may bear unwanted children to the detriment of society.  In his purport to this verse, Shrila Prabhupada says that women are prone to being misled by irresponsible men and that the cause of their fall down is mixing too freely with men.[xx]  If that is the kind of protection we are discussing, then I do not understand how the dearth of women on the Governing Body Commission (GBC)[xxi] or discouraging women from accepting management positions in our movement protects us from sexual exploitation.  Such an argument requires a belief that the men we would be working with under such circumstances are irresponsible men.  The rules ISKCON uses in this context do not appear rationally related to the purposes Shrila Prabhupada has described for us. 

The next question is what form should this protection take? In ISKCON, we have an unspoken assumption that protection means restriction.  We protect women by telling them "you can’t" and taken to its extreme form this instruction becomes, "you can’t leave the house."[xxii]   Even in slightly less restrictive contexts which permit women to attend worship at ISKCON temples, making flower garlands for the deities is sometimes seen as the most suitable service for a woman.  There is some similarity between the protection model currently applied to women in ISKCON and the techniques I use in raising my children.  I give my children crayons and colouring books and protect them by instructing them to sit quietly and colour.  Women in ISKCON get colourful bundles of carnation blossoms along with tapestry needles and string.  We are instructed to sit quietly and make flower garlands.  In ISKCON, the current perception seems to be that women are comparable not only to children, but to very young children. 

Participation, Protection and Patriarchy: An International Model for the Role of Women in ISKCON

Radha Devi Dasi

[continued]

We can now examine the presumptions that are prevalent in ISKCON against the standard Shrila Prabhupada has articulated.  My perception, and others may disagree, is that we have a presumption against women’s participation in ISKCON.  That presumption does not mean that women do not participate in our movement.  However, we begin by presuming that women should not participate, and then place the burden on women or their supporters to show why women should be included.  This presumption needs to be reversed if we are to give women equal encouragement to develop in their spiritual lives and serve Shrila Prabhupada’s mission to the best of their abilities.  We should have a presumption of equal participation for both genders. The burden then should be on those who argue that the role of women should be circumscribed, for reasons of etiquette or social custom, to articulate why and how such restriction relates to our goal of spreading Krishna consciousness.

When we examine our treatment of women in a logically rigorous manner, many of our practices appear unreasonable.  For instance, we often speak of "protecting" women whenever we are accused of gender discrimination.  Disparate practices are held to be necessary and even beneficial to women on the grounds that women need special forms of protection.[xix]   However, this justification for discriminatory practices is incomplete.  Those who would use it must define what it is that women are being protected from.  Current ISKCON practice supports best the argument that women are being protected from participating.  Moreover, we must also decide what the form of that protection should be. For instance, American law requires that restrictions that limit rights must relate to an important governmental purpose and be as narrowly defined as possible.  ISKCON could use similar principles in its treatment of women, requiring that restrictions on their participation be related to the goal of spreading Krishna consciousness and that these limits be as narrow as possible.

We must first ask what Shrila Prabhupada intended ISKCON to protect women from. For this, we can consult his writings on the subject.  The most obvious context in which Shrila Prabhupada discussed protection occurs in the first chapter of the Bhagavad-gita.  Arjuna tells Krishna that when irreligion is prominent, women are prone to degradation.  Arjuna informs Krishna that such women may bear unwanted children to the detriment of society.  In his purport to this verse, Shrila Prabhupada says that women are prone to being misled by irresponsible men and that the cause of their fall down is mixing too freely with men.[xx]  If that is the kind of protection we are discussing, then I do not understand how the dearth of women on the Governing Body Commission (GBC)[xxi] or discouraging women from accepting management positions in our movement protects us from sexual exploitation.  Such an argument requires a belief that the men we would be working with under such circumstances are irresponsible men.  The rules ISKCON uses in this context do not appear rationally related to the purposes Shrila Prabhupada has described for us. 

The next question is what form should this protection take? In ISKCON, we have an unspoken assumption that protection means restriction.  We protect women by telling them "you can’t" and taken to its extreme form this instruction becomes, "you can’t leave the house."[xxii]   Even in slightly less restrictive contexts which permit women to attend worship at ISKCON temples, making flower garlands for the deities is sometimes seen as the most suitable service for a woman.  There is some similarity between the protection model currently applied to women in ISKCON and the techniques I use in raising my children.  I give my children crayons and colouring books and protect them by instructing them to sit quietly and colour.  Women in ISKCON get colourful bundles of carnation blossoms along with tapestry needles and string.  We are instructed to sit quietly and make flower garlands.  In ISKCON, the current perception seems to be that women are comparable not only to children, but to very young children. 

Participation, Protection and Patriarchy: An International Model for the Role of Women in ISKCON

Radha Devi Dasi

[continued]

We can now examine the presumptions that are prevalent in ISKCON against the standard Shrila Prabhupada has articulated.  My perception, and others may disagree, is that we have a presumption against women’s participation in ISKCON.  That presumption does not mean that women do not participate in our movement.  However, we begin by presuming that women should not participate, and then place the burden on women or their supporters to show why women should be included.  This presumption needs to be reversed if we are to give women equal encouragement to develop in their spiritual lives and serve Shrila Prabhupada’s mission to the best of their abilities.  We should have a presumption of equal participation for both genders. The burden then should be on those who argue that the role of women should be circumscribed, for reasons of etiquette or social custom, to articulate why and how such restriction relates to our goal of spreading Krishna consciousness.

When we examine our treatment of women in a logically rigorous manner, many of our practices appear unreasonable.  For instance, we often speak of "protecting" women whenever we are accused of gender discrimination.  Disparate practices are held to be necessary and even beneficial to women on the grounds that women need special forms of protection.[xix]   However, this justification for discriminatory practices is incomplete.  Those who would use it must define what it is that women are being protected from.  Current ISKCON practice supports best the argument that women are being protected from participating.  Moreover, we must also decide what the form of that protection should be. For instance, American law requires that restrictions that limit rights must relate to an important governmental purpose and be as narrowly defined as possible.  ISKCON could use similar principles in its treatment of women, requiring that restrictions on their participation be related to the goal of spreading Krishna consciousness and that these limits be as narrow as possible.

We must first ask what Shrila Prabhupada intended ISKCON to protect women from. For this, we can consult his writings on the subject.  The most obvious context in which Shrila Prabhupada discussed protection occurs in the first chapter of the Bhagavad-gita.  Arjuna tells Krishna that when irreligion is prominent, women are prone to degradation.  Arjuna informs Krishna that such women may bear unwanted children to the detriment of society.  In his purport to this verse, Shrila Prabhupada says that women are prone to being misled by irresponsible men and that the cause of their fall down is mixing too freely with men.[xx]  If that is the kind of protection we are discussing, then I do not understand how the dearth of women on the Governing Body Commission (GBC)[xxi] or discouraging women from accepting management positions in our movement protects us from sexual exploitation.  Such an argument requires a belief that the men we would be working with under such circumstances are irresponsible men.  The rules ISKCON uses in this context do not appear rationally related to the purposes Shrila Prabhupada has described for us. 

The next question is what form should this protection take? In ISKCON, we have an unspoken assumption that protection means restriction.  We protect women by telling them "you can’t" and taken to its extreme form this instruction becomes, "you can’t leave the house."[xxii]   Even in slightly less restrictive contexts which permit women to attend worship at ISKCON temples, making flower garlands for the deities is sometimes seen as the most suitable service for a woman.  There is some similarity between the protection model currently applied to women in ISKCON and the techniques I use in raising my children.  I give my children crayons and colouring books and protect them by instructing them to sit quietly and colour.  Women in ISKCON get colourful bundles of carnation blossoms along with tapestry needles and string.  We are instructed to sit quietly and make flower garlands.  In ISKCON, the current perception seems to be that women are comparable not only to children, but to very young children.