"A godly person covets not any women except his legal wife.
His relations with other women are governed by profound respect."
(Guru Granth Sahib)

Women and their rights have been ignored for too long. Any approach to solve problems of social justice and the environment must be sensitive to women's concerns, and must include women as equals.

Often piece-meal solutions to environmental problems focus on limiting population growth and family planning programs. Most family planning measures end up abusing women's rights and should be rejected on those grounds alone. Meanwhile they spread mistrust of family planning among women.

Guru Nanak and other Sikh Gurus in their life advocated equality and dignity to women and took steps to implement these principles. Guru Nanak denounced the idea that spirituality was only for men, and not for women. The first Sikh Guru in his preaching and writings made direct statements emphasizing that women were no less than men:

"After the death of one's wife, one seeks another,
and through her social bonds are cemented.
Why should we condemn women who give birth to leaders and rulers?
Everyone is born of a woman and a woman alone.
Nobody is born otherwise.
God alone is an exception to this rule."
(Guru Granth Sahib, page 473)

Guru Amardas strongly opposed the custom of Sati in the sixteenth century and also advocated widow marriages. Sati was the Indian practice whereby widows burned themselves with their husband's corpse at cremation. Guru Amar Das appointed and ordained a large number of women preachers, and at least one bishop - Mathura Devi, four hundred years ago. The Sikh Gurus also raised their voice against the Purdah or veil. Guru Amardas did not even allow the Queen of Haripur to come into the religious assembly wearing a veil.

The immediate effect of these reforms was that women gained an equal status with men. Those who lived as groveling slaves of society became fired with a new hope and courage to lift themselves to be equals of the best in humanity. The spirit of the Sikh woman was raised with the belief that she was not a helpless creature but was a responsible being endowed with a will of her own with which she could do much to mould the destiny of society.

Women came forward as the defenders of their honor and dignity. They also became the rocks that stood against tyrants. Without the burden of unnecessary and unreasonable customs, Sikh women became the temporal and spiritual supporters of men, often acting as the 'conscience of men.' Sikh women proved themselves as the equals of men in service, devotion, sacrifice and bravery.

Since the late nineteenth century Sikh community organizations have made efforts at expanding educational opportunities for all. Individual Sikhs, men and women, in various cities and towns, took the initiative to start and operate women's colleges and schools. Women's education was part of the drive to improve education among the Sikhs, initiated by Sikh organizations in the 1920s. In towns and villages in the Punjab and in cities with significant Sikh populations there exist schools and colleges operated by Sikh organizations.