More than two-and-a-half millennia ago, Mahapajapati Gotami, the Buddha’s aunt, set a precedent for women’s rights. After men were ordained into the new "religion" which came to be called Buddhism, Mahapajapati approached her nephew, the Buddha, directly asking and arguing that women could and should also be ordained as monastics. It was a bold move on her part since her gender were not permitted to be fully ordained monastics and , generally, women were not in the equal position as men.
Hearing her out, the Buddha concluded she was right and she received ordination directly from the Buddha becoming the first female bhikkhuni. Shortly after her ordination, the Buddha ordained another 500 women creating the world's first order of female monastics.
Hearing her out, the Buddha concluded she was right and she received ordination directly from the Buddha becoming the first female bhikkhuni. Shortly after her ordination, the Buddha ordained another 500 women creating the world's first order of female monastics.
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