,woman under the                        
,ethnic ,religions4                     
,,by                             ,,mrs4 
,,moses ,,smith4                        
,,chicago1 ,,ill4                       
,woman's ,board of ,missions of the     
,interior4                              
#ahih4                                  
,woman ,under the ,ethnic ,religions4   
,,by ,,mrs4 ,,moses ,,smith4        7,a 
paper read before the ,world's ,congress
 of ,missions1 in ,art                  
,institute1 ,chicago1 ,october #d1      
#ahic47      ,for two weeks we have been
 listening to the presentation of       
religions4  ,we have heard philosophies 
of religion profound and subtile1 to    
some  minds fascinating in their grace  
and mysticism4 ,it may be wholesome1  if
 not so agreeable to have our attention 
now called to the practical  workings of
 some of these religions and their      
effect on the life and  destiny of man4 
,moreover1 as missionary workers1 it is 
wise for us to  know not only the       

present needs of the people1 but the    
religious forces  which long centuries  
have wrought into every tissue of their 
thought1  feeling and action4           
,without question religion is the       
supreme force in history4 ,religion     
creates the ideals and aspirations1 and 
so chisels the character of  mankind4   
,in the order of nature the worshiper   
becomes like the being  worshiped4 8,as 
a man thinketh in his heart1 so is he40 
,the world has known many religions1    
some of them eminent for the  tremendous
 power with which they have held        
millions in their sway over  centuries  
of time2 eminent also for profound      
philosophy1 lofty ideals1  and sometimes
 a high morality4 ,our ,lord ,jesus     
,christ gave us the test  for ,himself  
and ,his teaching3 8,by their fruits ye 
shall know them40 ,the  conditions of   
society1 temporal and spiritual1 are the
 fruits by which  any religious system  
may be known4    ,in the nature of      
things the factor that most universally 

moulds society  is woman4 ,the boy is   
father of the man1 but the woman is     
mother of  the boy1 hence the study of  
the teaching of any religion concerning 
woman1 and of her character and place in
 society as the result of that          
religion1 is vital both to the correct  
understanding of the system and  of what
 it has wrought for the world4    ,the  
most venerable and possibly the most    
powerful ,ethnic religion  is           
,brahmanism4 ,rising in ,india when that
 was the land of literature  and art1   
the home of the cultured ,aryans1 for   
fifteen centuries this  religion wrought
 unhindered on the people4 ,at first a  
simple nature  worship1 it degenerated  
into a pantheon in which all the powers 
of  nature were gods4 ,on this was built
 a sacerdotalism with caste and  idol   
worship4 ,it became an oppressive       
tyranny4 ,at this juncture1 #ejj  years 
before ,christ1 a new and forcible      
factor entered the life of  the people  
in the birth of a king's son1 ,gautama  

,buddha1 known in  history as the great 
,reformer of ,brahmanism4 ,i have not   
time to speak  of the fierce theological
 war that ensued 7#djj years71 or of the
 bright  coup d'etat of the ,brahmans in
 finally accepting ,buddha as the  ninth
 incarnation of ,vishnu4    ,each of    
these systems evinces profound thought  
and lofty ideals1  ,buddhism a high     
morality4 ,each contains elements of    
truth1 and each  has been a tremendous  
power in the history of the race4       
,striving for  supremacy on the same    
field1 the result was a coalition4      
,together  they enter the stream of     
history under the name of ,hinduism4    
,the time  has been long enough1 the    
field favorable and broad enough for the
  completest results1 and the present   
condition of society in ,india  affords 
an opportunity to see the results4      
,sir ,monier ,williams1 the             
distinguished ,sanscrit scholar of      
,oxford1  says3 8,although ,india in the
 early periods of ,brahmanism was a land

  of literature and science1 the present
 characteristics are poverty1  ignorance
 and superstition4 ,whatever profound   
thoughts lay about the  roots of        
,hinduism1 it held and still holds the  
#bhj1jjj1jjj of ,india  in the bondage  
of degradation1 cruelty and immorality40
 8,the average  income per individual is
 less than that of any other civilized  
country1  barely #ac4ej per year1       
against #bj even for the ,turks1 #afe   
for every  ,englishman1 and #bjj for    
every man1 woman and child in the       
,united  ,states40#a ,dr4 ,john ,short1 
,surgeon ,general of ,india1 long       
resident  among the people says3        
8,wherever the ,hindu religion          
predominates1 there  immorality and     
debauchery run riot40      #a ,rev4 ,n4 
,g4 ,clark1 ,d4 ,d4    ,sidenote3       
,teachings4    ,the ,code of ,manu is   
the highest religious authority among   
the ,hindus4  ,you ask a ,hindu about   
the date and age of his great law-giver 
and he  quickly replies1 8,he was son of

 the self-existent ,brahm40 ,manu's     
whole  teaching about woman is based on 
the assumption of her impurity4 ,for    
instance1 a ,brahman is enjoined 8to    
suspend reading the ,veda if a woman    
comes in sight40 ,her ear is not pure   
enough to hear what the vilest  man may 
read4 8,though unobservant of approved  
usage1 or enamoured  of another woman1  
or devoid of good qualities1 yet a      
husband must  constantly be revered as a
 god by a virtuous wife40#b      #b     
,dharma ,sastra1 chap4 #e1 page #aed4   
8,let the wife who wishes to perform    
sacred oblation wash the feet of  her   
husband and drink the water1 for the    
husband is to the wife greater  than    
,vishnu40 ,again1 8,women have no       
business with the text of a sacred      
book1 and having no evidence of law1 and
 no knowledge of expiatory  texts1      
sinful women must be foul as falsehood  
itself1 and this is a  fixed rule40#c   
,and it has remained fixed for          
forty-three centuries4      #c ,dharma  

,sastra1 chap4 #e1 page #aee1 #aef4     
,sidenote3 ,seclusion4    ,the modern   
,brahmans like to claim that the present
 custom of immuring  their wives in     
prison-like rooms had its origin in     
,mohammedan invasion4  ,this is         
certainly not the whole truth1 for in   
the unalterable law of  ,manu1 written  
#ijj years before ,christ1 we read1 8,a 
woman is not allowed  to go out of the  
house without the consent of her        
husband1 she may not  laugh without a   
veil over her face or look out of a door
 or a window40  8,it may be that when   
the ,mohammedans came1 some fifteen     
centuries after  these laws had been in 
force1 they put the crown on the arch   
already  waiting for them4 ,they may    
have tightened the chains by which woman
  was already enslaved10#d but the      
teachings of ,manu are sufficient to    
account for all we see in ,india to-day4
      #d ,wilkins' ,modern ,hinduism1   
page #cbf4    ,sidenote3 ,child         
,marriage4    ,the people of the        

,western ,world have long wondered why  
the ,hindus were  so tenacious of their1
 to us1 revolting customs of child      
marriage4  ,it is only when we learn    
that it is not simply a custom but a    
part  of their religion that we         
apprehend the reason4 ,the sacred laws  
of  the ,hindu declare3 8,if a daughter 
is married at the age of six1 the       
father is certain to ascend to the      
highest heaven4 ,if the daughter  is not
 married before seven1 the father will  
only reach the second  heaven4 ,if a    
daughter is not married until the age of
 ten1 the father  can only attain the   
lowest place assigned the blest4 ,if a  
girl is not  married until she is eleven
 years of age1 all her progenitors for  
six  generations will suffer pain and   
penalties40#e ,when recently an effort  
was made to induce the ,government to   
raise the legal age of marriage to      
twelve years1 great excitement          
prevailed4 ,the ,brahmans set apart days
  of fasting and prayer4 ,multitudes    

came in processions to the temples1  in 
some cases beating their breasts and    
calling aloud to the gods to  spare them
 from such calamity4      #e ,women of  
the ,orient1 page #ace4    ,the worst   
feature of the system of child marriage 
is seen among the  ,kulin ,brahmans1 the
 highest of all4 ,girls in these        
families must not  marry into a lower   
caste1 and the supply of ,kulins is     
limited1 so  fathers who have not money 
to induce some young men to marry their 
daughters1 are compelled to give their  
little girls to those who make a  living
 by being husbands4 ,thus a child of    
twelve may be given as the  fortieth or 
fiftieth wife of some old man4 ,although
 it is certain she  will soon be a      
widow1 even that is preferable to       
allowing her to remain  unmarried4      
,sidenote3 ,infanticide4    8,the code  
of ,manu forbids a woman to read the    
scripture or offer  prayer by herself4  
,she is to have no individuality4 ,she  
exists only in  her father or her       

husband2 without a husband she is       
soulless40 ,this  doctrine bears its    
legitimate fruit in the custom of       
murdering infant  girls4 ,it is easy    
reasoning1 that it is better to murder a
 soulless  child than not to be able to 
betroth her and so bring disgrace on the
  whole family4    ,sidenote3 ,widows4  
8,the ,hindu sacred books reach their   
climax of cruelty in the  requirements  
concerning the widow4 ,she may have only
 been a betrothed  infant or a child of 
a few years4 ,it makes no difference40  
,the ,shasters  teach that if the widow 
burns herself alive on the funeral pile 
of  her husband1 even though he had     
killed a ,brahman1 that most heinous  of
 deeds1 she expiates the crime4 ,for    
long centuries widows have  been a      
literal burnt offering for the          
redemption of husbands4 ,the  ,english  
,government has prohibited the suttee1  
but being considered  by the family as  
one rejected of the gods1 the widow's   
life is such  a degradation1 such a     

sorrow1 it would seem merciful to let   
her die4  ,manu wrote1 8,let not a widow
 ever pronounce the name of another man1
  for by remarriage she brings disgrace 
on herself here below1 and  shall be    
excluded from the seat of her ,lord40   
,to-day in ,india under  the ,hindu     
religion the widow may not take food    
more than once in the  day4 ,she must go
 without food and water for forty-eight 
hours twice  in the month4 ,at a meeting
 of the highest religious court a few   
years  ago it was gravely decreed that1 
if acting on medical advice1 a widow    
did sometimes take a little water on    
fast day1 the offense might be          
condoned4 ,o1 the burning pathos of the 
,hindu widow's prayer3 8,o ,god1  let no
 more women be born in this land40      
,india has now #ba1jjj1jjj of  widows1  
nearly #ajj1jjj of them under nine      
years4    ,sidenote3 ,the ,nautch ,girl4
    ,hinduism touches its lowest depths 
in the degradation of woman in what  the
 enlightened ,hindu1 ,mr4 ,mozoomdar1   

called in the ,parliament of  ,religions
 8consecrated prostitution0 of the      
,nautch or dancing girls in  the        
temples4 ,the subject is too delicate   
and too horrible for me to  speak of in 
detail1 but as it is a much honored part
 of this religion  it cannot be omitted4
 ,the ,brahmans claim that it is a most 
sacred  service1 having its origin in   
prehistoric ages in a promise made by   
,vishnu himself4 ,in a few words the    
reason and method is this3 ,parents  who
 have a son very ill will vow to some   
god that if the son's life is  spared   
they will consecrate a little girl to   
the temple2 or the parents  believing   
that honor or wealth will be the result1
 consecrate a girl to  the god2 or the  
,brahmans select the most beautiful     
little girls1 the  parents rejoicing in 
the religious honor4    ,from the hour  
of consecration the little thing is     
treated with peculiar  respect4 ,she    
alone of the girls of the family is     
taught to read4 ,when  she becomes ten  

or twelve years old1 her father1 mother 
and nearest  relatives take her to the  
great temple4 ,they go with the priest  
into  the inner shrine4 ,the girl places
 her hand into the god's hand1 the      
priest repeats certain prayers and      
charms4 ,he then hangs a string of      
cowrie shells around the girl's neck and
 the poor little thing repeats  after   
him her marriage vow1 which vow is to   
prostitute herself to  any pilgrim to   
the shrine who demands it4#f ,the       
position of these  religious prostitutes
 in ,hindu society is so highly         
respectable that  no festival or wedding
 is celebrated without their presence4  
,they are  asked to tie the wifely      
ornaments on the neck of the bride4     
,they being  married to a god can never 
be widowed and their touch is lucky4 ,in
  elegant attire with costly jewels and 
perfumes1 charmingly graceful1  they    
lead their wretched lives1 bring great  
sums into the treasury of  the temple1  
and1 as they are religiously taught1    

accumulate a store of  blessing for     
themselves in a future state4 ,john     
,short1 ,m4 ,d41 ,surgeon  ,general of  
,india1 ,member of ,anthropological     
,society1 ,london1 says3 8,the  ,nautch 
girl is recognized and patronized by the
 ,hindu religion40      #f ,prof4 ,t4   
,m4 ,lindsay1 ,university of ,glasgow4  
,there was a time in this fair eastern  
land when women were in a  position of  
respect similar to that among the       
ancient ,hebrews4 ,husband  and wife    
were equal in all domestic1 social and  
religious life4 8,the  ,brahmans have   
themselves preserved the record of women
 engaging in  philosophical discussions1
 and disconcerting their most celebrated
  doctors by the depths of their        
objections40#g ,some of the ,vedic      
hymns were composed by women4 ,by       
degrees the condition of woman has      
deteriorated until by the law of their  
religion she is 8now consigned  to a    
degradation probably without a parallel 
in the history of the  race40 ,it is    

true1 ,buddha1 in the sixth century     
before ,christ1 taught  that men and    
women were equal1 but even his influence
 has never been  strong enough to reform
 the ,brahmanical laws about women4 ,the
 ,hindus  have a saying3 8,education is 
good1 as milk is good1 but milk given to
 a  snake becomes venom1 and education  
given to a woman becomes poison40       
#g ,j4 ,murray ,mitchell1 ,,ll4 ,d4     
,a quotation from the personal          
experience of ,prof4 ,t4 ,m4 ,lindsay1  
,d4 ,d41  so pertinently sums up the    
,hindu creed about women that ,i quote  
it4 8,i  remember asking a learned      
,vedantist1 who had spent two days in   
teaching  me something about his beliefa
 man who had read ,spinoza1 ,berkeley   
and ,hegelwhether he could give me any  
definite proposition which all  the     
people who were ,hindus could accept4   
,he very readily said1 #8,that  woman is
 a wicked animal4 ,that the cow is a    
holy animal4'0 ,no brilliant            
presentation of ,vedic learning1 no     

poetic picture of ,brahman or  ,buddhist
 philosophy so recently heard in the    
,parliament of ,religions1  will prevent
 the world from arraigning ,hinduism for
 cherishing1 in the  sacred name of     
religion1 the grossest vices1 and basely
 degrading woman  and all society4 8,by 
their fruits ye shall know them40       
,sidenote3 ,religions of ,china4    ,in 
the ,empire of ,china1 under a          
government distinguished for its        
stability and justness1 among a people  
spoken of before ,christ as  8,those who
 dwell apart10 and known from the time  
of ,ptolemy as just1  mild1 frugal and  
industrious1 comprising one-fourth the  
human race2  three religions of         
confessed power1 not as rivals1 but as  
co-ordinate  and supplemental1 have for 
many centuries sought to solve the      
problem  of life1 death and immortality4
 ,the time has been long enough1 the    
conditions favorable for a perfect      
experiment4 ,confucianism1 the  oldest  
of the three1 gave what is probably the 

best code of morals man  ever gave to   
men4 ,confucius was himself an earnest  
reformer4 ,the late  ,dr4 ,legge1       
professor of ,chinese in the ,university
 of ,oxford1 says3  8,confucius saw the 
terrible wretchedness of his people and 
set himself  to find a remedy4 ,yet to  
the one principal cause of the misery of
 the  masses1 polygamy and the low      
social condition of women1 he gave no   
thought40 ,in his treatise on human     
relations1 in that of husband and  wife1
 he regards the wife as the servant of  
the husband and enjoins  absolute       
obedience4 ,during all these forty-three
 centuries1 while  ,confucius has done  
much for good government and has set    
some high moral  standards for men1     
women have reaped no benefit from the   
teachings of  the sage4    ,sidenote3   
,taoism4    ,lao-tsze1 the founder of   
,taoism1 a religion of no little power  
in  ,china1 made no effort to elevate   
the people1 and his religious system    
does not recognize the existence of     

woman4 ,in the beginning1 the work  of  
,taoism1 was to repress the passions4   
8,not to act is the source of all       
power10#h was an ever present  thesis4  
,to-day ,taoism is a system of magic and
 spiritism4      #h ,ten ,great         
,religions4 ,james ,freeman ,clark4     
,sidenote3 ,buddhism4    ,much vaunted1 
8gentle ,buddha10 gives to the women of 
,china one only  hope4 ,through its     
doctrine of transmigration of souls1 it 
is possible  that through obedience to  
her husband and his relatives1 and the  
birth of a son1 she may in some future  
aeon have the happiness of  being       
returned to this world a man4 ,if a man 
commits a crime he may  be returned to  
earth a woman4 ,the one fervent prayer  
of the women as  they crowd the         
,buddhist temple is1 that they may be   
returned to earth  as men4 ,when the    
women apply to the priests for          
instruction they are  told 8,when you   
die your soul will pass into the land of
 spirits where  it may remain ages      

before it is allowed to return to earth 
and inhabit  the body of a man4 ,you    
will need money to pay toll on the      
bridges1  and you must fee the ferrymen1
 especially the lily boat to cross the  
lake of blood40#i 7,this fee is #cj47   
,the priests claim to have opened       
communication with the spirit land and  
their drafts are honored there4  ,in one
 part of the temple these drafts are    
sold1 the priests placing  the seal of  
the ,temple on them4 ,of the            
#djj1jjj1jjj annually given for  idol   
worship in ,china1 at least             
seven-eighths is given by women and     
three-fourths of that by women too poor 
to obtain enough of even the  coarsest  
food4      #i ,china and the ,chinese4  
,rev4 ,j4 ,l4 ,nevius4    ,sidenote3    
,marriage4    ,the customs and          
principles of marriage among any people 
are the  exponents of woman's place in  
the social scale4 ,chinese women are    
bought and sold in marriage4 ,the wife  
is forever subject to her husband  and  

his parents2 only when she becomes the  
mother of sons does she  receive the    
respect of the family4 ,divorce is      
practically at the  pleasure of the     
husband1 or he may sell her to another  
man4 ,undesired  at birth1 liable to be 
sold while a child for prostitution1    
never  educated1 her low estate         
naturally leads to the crime of         
infanticide4  ,little wonder that they  
innocently ask1 8,why save the life of a
 girl80    ,what to-day is the place of 
this vast ,empire among the nations8    
,the  combined forces of these three    
religions working for twenty-three      
centuries upon one-fourth of the human  
race has shed no light on the  two great
 foci1 the family into which every human
 being is born1 and  that immortality to
 which every mortal soul aspires4 ,nor  
has any single  ray of light emanated   
for the enlightenment of the other      
three-fourths  of mankind8 ,alas1 a     
nation cannot rise higher than its      
mothers4    ,sidenote3 ,religions of    

,japan4    ,shintoism the primal cult of
 the ,japanese1 has no system of morals 
and  takes little or no notice of       
woman's existence4    ,about the year   
#eeb of the ,christian era1 ,buddhism   
entered the ,mikado's  empire1 and after
 a thousand years of struggle with      
,shintoism1 gained  supremacy4    ,while
 ,japanese women are not so pitiably    
degraded as in ,india or  ,china1 we    
read in their book of 8,instruction for 
,woman10 8,woman is the  creature of    
man40 8,a woman's husband is her ,god40 
,concubinage1 8divorce  if the wife is  
not obedient to her husband's parents0  
or is unkind to  a concubine1 and the   
selling of young daughters for          
prostitution1 tell  the story4    ,the  
,japanese ,buddhist ,bible teaches that 
8the sins of three thousand  of the     
worst men all together do not equal the 
sins of one woman40  ,even in           
8,buddhism's best ,gospel0 among the    
articles given by ,buddha  himself we   
find only this negative hope4 8,although

 a woman may not be  born into ,my      
,country1 yet the woman who hears the   
name of ,amida ,buddha1  and is excited 
thereby to the hatred of the condition  
of woman1 and an  earnest longing for   
the salvation of others1 shall not be   
re-born as a  woman40#aj      #aj       
,muripapiu ,byo4 ,luhhavati ,sutrasl    
,for this crumb of comfort ,japanese    
women are devoted to the worship of     
,buddha4 ,the timbers of the great      
,buddhist temple building in ,kyoto said
  to cost three million dollars1 are all
 hauled to the ground and raised  into  
the structure by ropes made of hair     
which devoted women have cut  off and   
sent for this purpose4    ,among the    
,ainu1 the aboriginal inhabitants of the
 island of ,yesso1 the  women do not    
worship the gods1 even separately4 8,the
 reason commonly  given among them is1  
that the men fear the prayers of the    
women in  general1 and of their wives in
 particular40#aa      #aa ,rev4 ,john   
,bachelor1 ,church ,missionary ,society4

    ,sidenote3 ,mohammedanism4    ,there
 are few more pathetic scenes in history
 than the casting out of  ,hagar and    
,ishmael from the polygamous home of    
,abraham4 8,abraham rose  up early in   
the morning and took bread and a bottle 
of water0 and  gave it unto ,hagar and  
her child 8and sent them away40 ,the    
picture  is realistic2 that erect1 well 
poised figure1 with the bottle on her   
shoulder1 that dark ,egyptian face with 
chiseled lines of sorrow1  illuminated  
now with righteous anger1 as she gives  
one last haughty  look toward ,sarah's  
tent and turns toward the wilderness of 
,beersheba4  ,very soon the curtain     
lifts upon the desert scene4 ,the water 
is spent4  ,hagar places the child under
 the scant shade of a shrub and lifting 
up  her voice1 weeping cries out1 8,let 
me not see the death of the child40  ,at
 this crisis a voice is heard from      
heaven3 8,lift up the lad1 ,i will  make
 of him a great nation40 ,and they dwelt
 in the wilderness of ,paran1  and his  

mother took him a wife out of the land  
of the ,egyptians4    ,the years go by  
and centuries are numbered4 ,we find the
 fulfilled  promise of a 8great nation0 
in a people in whose veins on the one   
side is filtering the blood of the great
 ,abraham1 mingling with the  larger    
proportion of the idolatrous ,egyptian1 
nomadic in habit1 with  a genius for    
conquest1 with a language distinguished 
for softness and  copiousness1 with a   
literature of great antiquity and high  
poetical  merit1 dwelling in the        
,peninsula of ,arabia4 ,of these people1
 in the  fifth century of the ,christian
 era1 ,mohammed1 the founder of ,islam1 
was  born4 ,a youth of great sincerity  
and purity1 his domestic life with his  
wife1 ,khadija1 is as beautiful as could
 be found among a non-,christian        
people4 ,but when at the age of         
fifty-two he sets himself up as a       
prophet1 and becomes the husband of     
eleven wives1 we find him guilty  of the
 grossest crimes1 robbery1 murder1 and  

butchery which rival the  ,emperor      
,nero4    8,judged by the smallness of  
the means at his disposal1 and the      
extent  and permanence of his work1 his 
name is illustrious4 ,by his will  he   
abolished a cherished idolatry and bowed
 to himself the hearts  of his          
countrymen1 and gave to the world a     
creed which has been a  tremendous force
 on the destinies of the nations4 ,to   
the impulse he  gave1 numberless        
dynasties owe their existence4 ,fair    
cities1 stately  palaces and temples    
have arisen4 ,at a thousand shrines the 
voice of  the faithful invokes blessings
 on him40#ab 8,he saw with a correct    
spiritual vision the elemental truth of 
all religion4 ,there is only one        
,god40#ac ,for twelve centuries the     
teachings of ,mohammed have borne  fruit
 in human lives4 ,not only in the land  
of its birth1 but in many  lands4       
#ab ,marcus ,dodd4      #ac ,dean       
,milman4    ,sidenote3 ,koran4    ,we   
turn the pages of the ,koran with eager 

hope that we may find in the  writings  
of this man some teaching that shall    
lead to the uplifting  of woman4 ,the   
most hopeful word the ,koran has for    
woman is in the  second chapter3 8,whoso
 doeth good works and is a believer1    
whether  male or female1 shall be       
admitted to ,paradise40 ,the practical  
exegesis  of a woman's 8good works0 is1 
obedience to the husband4 ,without that 
good work she can not enter ,paradise4  
,again in the fourth chapter1  entitled 
8,women10 we read1 8,men shall have     
pre-eminence above women1  because of   
those advantages wherein ,god hath      
caused the one to excel  the other1 and 
for that which they expend of their     
substance in  maintaining their wives4  
,the honest women are obedient1 careful 
in  the absence of their husbands1 for  
that ,god preserveth them by  committing
 them to the care and protection of the 
men4 ,but those1  whose perverseness ye 
shall be apprehensive of1 rebuke and    
remove them  into separate apartments   

and chastise them40 ,the degraded and   
degrading  practice of scourging and    
beating wives1 having the sanction of   
the  ,koran1 will be1 in the words of   
,dr4 ,jessup1 8indulged in so long as   
,islam as a faith prevails40            
,sidenote3 ,polygamy4    ,note the      
polygamous teaching of the ,koran4      
8,every ,moslem is allowed  four free   
wives and as many concubines as his     
right hand possess20 and  the faithful  
are positively promised that in         
,paradise they shall have  seventy-two  
houris for wives1 besides the wives they
 have here4    ,sidenote3 ,divorce4     
,according to the ,koran1 the husband   
may divorce a wife without  warning or  
assigning a reason4 ,the husband has    
only to say1 8,thou art  divorced40     
,even life may be taken at the will of  
the husband4 ,woman is  practically a   
chattel4 ,a ,mohammedan being asked1    
8,what is the price you  pay for a good 
wife10 replied2 8,about the same as for 
a mule1 twelve or  fourteen pounds40    

,sidenote3 ,estimate4    ,a polite      
,mohammedan would not speak of his wife 
without using the  same apologetic      
formula he would use if he were speaking
 of a donkey  or a hog4 ,indeed so      
degrading is the orthodox ,mohammedan's 
idea of  womanhood1 we cannot mention it
 here4 ,the ,koran says nothing about a 
woman's praying1 therefore she is       
excluded from the ,mosques at the  hours
 of prayer4 ,behold a religion that     
practically excludes one-half  the human
 race6 ,it was not until ,mohammed was  
fifty-eight years of age1  and the      
husband of many wives1 and had under his
 own roof experienced  what the ,moslem 
women of to-day declare1 when there is  
more than one  wife 8there is fire in   
the house10 that he wrote in the ,koran 
the  8ordinance of veil10 that badge of 
jealous subjugation1 which marks  an era
 in the degradation of women in all the 
,orient4 ,the regulation  costume       
shrouds the women from the head to the  
ankle in a cotton or  silk sheet of     

black or white4 ,around the head is tied
 a yard long linen  or cotton veil in   
which before the eyes is a piece of open
 work about  the size of a finger which 
is the only look out and ventilator4 ,no
  part1 not even a hand or an eye1 can  
be seen4    ,see the picture2 with      
fearful foot-steps1 with no hope in man1
 with  little knowledge of the 8,all    
,father10 no knowledge of ,him who said1
  8,come unto me all ye that labor and  
are heavy laden10 for twelve  cycling   
centuries1 an unceasing ghostly         
procession has marched from  birth to   
death4    ,theckla1 a ,christian martyr 
of the first century1 standing in the   
arena at ,antioch1 bemoans in her prayer
 the shame of all women in her          
unclothing4 ,the clothing of woman in   
the veil of the false prophet is  a     
shame to all womanhood4 8,the whole life
 of a ,mohammedan woman is  mirrored in 
that pathetic ,arabic proverb #8,the    
threshold weeps for forty  days whenever
 a girl is born4'0 ,the spider's web    

which once saved the  life of ,mohammed 
has1 as by the hand of a ,vulcan1 been  
forged into a  chain which in this      
nineteenth century in the name of       
religion dares  hold woman1 and through 
her1 #bjj1jjj1jjj of mankind in a       
singularly  hopeless degradation4       
,sidenote3 ,persia4    ,the sacred books
 of ,zoroaster give women a higher place
 than any  other ,ethnic religion4      
,women are given the same religious     
rites as  men1 yet even here 8woman's   
first duty is obedience to her husband1 
and disobedience is a crime so heinous  
as to receive punishment after          
death40#ad      #ad ,the ,vendidas4     
,on the death of a chief in ,central    
,africa hundreds of his wives are       
buried alive1#ae a sacrifice for his    
convenience in the spirit land4      #ae
 ,cameron4    ,miss ,mary ,c4 ,collins1 
who has lived many years among the      
,north ,american  ,indians1 says1 8,the 
,indian is a religious man1 and it is   
his religion  that makes him cruel40    

,the story becomes monotonous4 ,all     
non-,christian religions degrade  women1
 and as woman is1 so is all society4    
,to-day the all-sufficient ,christian   
evidence1 is the immeasurable  contrast 
between heathen and ,christian society4 
8,,the ,,works ,,that ,i ,,do ,,bear    
,,witness ,,of ,,me1 ,,that ,,the       
,,father ,,hath ,,sent  ,,me40,john     
#e3cf4                         99       
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,transcriber's ,notes3     ,text in     
italics is enclosed by underscores      
7italics74     ,punctuation and spelling
 inaccuracies were silently corrected4  
,archaic and variable spelling has been 
preserved4