Editing Feminist theology (section)

===Hinduism===
{{See also|Feminism in India#Hindu community|Kalavati tantra}}
Within Ancient Hinduism, women have been held in equal honour as men. The [[Manusmriti]] for example states: ''The society that provides respect and dignity to women flourishes with nobility and prosperity. And a society that does not put women on such a high pedestal has to face miseries and failures regardless of how so much noble deeds they perform otherwise.'' Manusmriti Chapter 3 Verse 56.

Within the [[Vedas]] the Hindu holy texts, women were given the highest possible respect and equality. The [[Vedic]] period was glorified by this tradition. Many [[rishis]] were women, indeed so that several of them authored many of the slokas, a poem, proverb or hymn, in the Vedas. For instance, in the Rigveda there is a list of women rishis. Some of them are: [[Ghosha]], [[Godha]], [[Gargi]], Vishwawra, Apala, Upanishad, Brahmjaya, [[Aditi]], [[Indrani]], Sarma, Romsha, [[Maitreyi]], [[Kathyayini]], [[Urvashi]], [[Lopamudra]], Yami, [[Shashwati]], Sri, Laksha and many others. In the Vedic period women were free to enter into [[brahmacharya]] just like men, and attain [[salvation]].

During [[Hindu marriage]] ceremonies, the following slokas are uttered by the grooms, yet in recent years their importance is understood less frequently with no active desire to analyze them in depth to come to the conclusions that was being portrayed:

"O bride! I accept your hand to enhance our joint good fortune. I pray to you to accept me as your husband and live with me until our old age. ..." ''Rigveda Samhita'' Part -4, sukta 85, sloka 9702

"O bride! May you be like the empress of your mother-in-law, father-in-law, sisters-in-law and brothers-in-law (sisters and brothers of the groom). May your writ run in your house." ''Rigveda Samhita'' Part -4, sukta 85, sloka 9712

This sloka from the Atharvaveda clearly states that the woman leads and the man follows: "The Sun God follows the first illuminated and enlightened goddess Usha (dawn) in the same manner as men emulate and follow women." ''Athravaveda Samhita'', Part 2, Kanda 27, sukta 107, sloka 5705.

Women were considered to be the embodiment of great virtue and wisdom. Thus we have: "O bride! May the knowledge of the Vedas be in front of you and behind you, in your center and in your ends. May you conduct your life after attaining the knowledge of the Vedas. May you be benevolent, the harbinger of good fortune and health and live in great dignity and indeed illuminate your husband's home." ''Atharva Veda'' 14-1-64. Women were allowed full freedom of worship. "The wife should do agnihotra (yagna), sandhya (puja) and all other daily religious rituals. If, for some reason, her husband is not present, the woman alone has full rights to do yagna". ''Rigveda Samhita'', part 1, sukta 79, sloka 872.

Moving on towards the Monotheistic era of Hinduism when such ideals such as [[Shaivism]] and [[Vaishnavism]], a specific deity for feministic worship was brought about under the [[Shaktism]] branch. From a Hinduism point of view women are equal in all measures to men in comparison, historical texts have stated this and is the basis of Hinduism, recognizing women as valuable and interconnected between men and women. Shakti, the name meaning power and referring to the female counterpart of Shiva, possesses connected powers that do not belong to just male or female but rather works together, equally dependent upon the other. Hindu feminist scholars also go beyond the reconstruction of texts but also the reestablishment of society and Hinduism in practice.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sugirtharajah |first1=Sharada |title=Hinduism and Feminism: Some Concerns |journal=Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion |date=2002 |volume=18 |issue=2 |pages=97–104 |jstor=25002442 }}</ref>