Unveiling the Truth: Misrepresentation of Women's Role in Ancient Hindu Culture
A 60-minute session on how women's place in ancient Hindu culture gets told and retold: the goddesses we pray to, the heroines we grew up on, the rituals at weddings and funerals, and the rules at home. Did the old ways honour women, restrict them, or both, and who gets to say? Twelve independent cards; open three or four.
The opening question
In the house you grew up in, who looked like they were in charge, and who was actually in charge?
Everyone in the room answers this in one line before any card is opened. Write the answers down; you will come back to them.
The cards
12 ways into the topic
Each card is independent. Your group votes on which to open, and four or five is plenty for an hour. Behind every card sit three prompts, one at a time, that only appear once it is opened on the board. Unopened cards keep for next time.
- 1
Goddesses And Everyday Women
Everyone bows to a fierce goddess during the festival. Little girls are fed and worshipped. A week later, your sister is told to stop talking back.
- 2
Women In Ancient India
A message in the family group says women in ancient India were scholars, poets and sages. Your cousin replies that it's a pretty story.
- 3
Quoting Scripture In Family Arguments
You want to try something new. An elder says, “It's written in the scriptures, you can't.” You've never read them. You suspect they haven't either.
- 4
Sita Or Draupadi
One heroine stays calm and patient through terrible unfairness. The other stands up in front of everyone and demands answers.
- 5
Fasting For Your Husband
All day, no food and no water. In the evening, she waits for the moon before she can eat. She says she loves it. Her cousin says it's unfair.
- 6
Giving Away The Bride
At the wedding, the father places his daughter's hand in the groom's. Everyone cries. The priest calls it the greatest gift a father can give.
- 7
Rules During Periods
When your period starts, you're told not to enter the kitchen or touch the pickle jar. Your grandmother says it's so you can rest.
- 8
Daughters Performing Last Rites
A father dies with no son. The relatives start asking which nephew will perform the rites. His daughters say, “We will.” The room goes quiet.
- 9
Women As Priests
The priest for your cousin's wedding turns out to be a woman. She explains every step in plain words. Your great-aunt refuses to sit down.
- 10
Sindoor And Mangalsutra
You're newly married. Your mother-in-law notices you've stopped wearing sindoor. Your husband wears nothing that shows he's married, and nobody minds.
- 11
Childhood Stories About Women
As a child you watched the epics on TV, read them in comics, or heard them at bedtime. The women were goddesses, devoted wives, or villains.
- 12
Why Old Customs Protected Women
In the old days there were rules: home before dark, a brother along to the market, the family choosing the groom. Today people call that control.
The line to leave with
Which story about the women in your own family have you been telling one way all your life, and how would they tell it?
More boards,more ways in.
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