Navaratri, Domestic Violence and Gender Injustice

The festival of Navaratri, currently celebrated by Hindus throughout the world, is a special opportunity for honoring the divine with the symbols and images of femininity. In a beautiful sequence of verses in the Devimahatmya, a text recited on the occasion of this beautiful festival, the Goddess (Devi) is praised repeatedly as the One residing in all beings (ya devi sarvabhteshu). She is present within us all as strength, forgiveness, peace, faith, beauty, compassion and tenderness.

Our festivals are unique opportunities for us to examine and critique our social practices in the light of religious ideals and teaching. Without this work, the religious life becomes compartmentalized and irrelevant to the task of transforming society.

Navaratri is a powerful reminder that that we cannot honor the Goddess in elaborate and costly ritual and dishonor women in daily life. We must turn the searchlight of Navaratri on the many ways in which gender inequality and injustice are prevalent in our world.

Navaratri is a fitting occasion to highlight the problem of domestic violence that is estimated to affect 1 in 3 (35%) of women worldwide. Approximately 38% of all murders of women are committed by intimate partners (WHO). Ahimsa (non-harming), the cardinal principle of Hindu ethics, is violated in violence and injustice against women.

The victims and perpetrators of domestic violence are members of our congregations and we have a religious obligation to educate about recognizing the symptoms of domestic violence, to empower women and to foster dialogue about gender inequality. Our obligation to work for the overcoming of violence against women does not stop at the boundaries of our own communities, but must be extended to women everywhere. Hindus must be at the forefront of national conversations and the work of overcoming violence against women. The fact that the Hindu tradition does not hesitate to represent the divine as feminine makes this a sacred responsibility (nitya karma).

We cannot honor the Goddess (Devi) on the occasion of Navaratri, the One who dwells in all (ya devi sarvabhuteshu), and remain silent on the many ways that She is dishonored in gender violence and injustice. Let us praise her also with our actions in the world.

Shubh Navaratri to all my friends.

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