Article: Monopolization of the Robe. For some reason the robe has been traditionally associated with male monks only. Some people have gone as far as to claim that it is blasphemous for a woman to wear the robe.

When Ven.Bhikkhuni Voramai Kabilsingh was fully ordained in 1970s, people who were unhappy with her ordination blamed her and suspected that she would soil the robe (with menstruation) and hence make the sacred robe unclean. The association of menstruation to impurity has no place in Buddhist belief and practice. Menstruation is only a monthly flow of blood for women who are in fertile age. Should the robe get soiled, it needs to be washed. Unlike Hinduism, there is neither stigma nor taboo around menstruation in Buddhism.

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Many countries in southeast Asia only men have access to ordination. Men have enjoyed this opportunity and ...

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