Compare And Contrast Jainism And Svetambaras

There are two orders in Jainism, Digambaras and Svetambaras. Digambaras believe that women can’t be pure enough for the highest heaven nor can they be impure enough for the lowest hell. They believe that women can’t take clothes off and become naked nor can they be as good as a debater as a man. Women are very inferior in society. There is only one way for a women to be liberated and that is for them to be reborn in a man’s body. The Svetambaras on the other hand believe that women and men can have the same level of spiritual achievements. Svetambaras even say that the nineteenth Tirthankara (teacher in Jainism) was a women. These two orders in Jainism are drastically different in the way they view and treat the women in their culture.