The Sikh Rehat Maryada embodies the Gurus’ teaching that spiritual life is not conditioned by gender, and it translates this principle into concrete norms of religious practice. Men and women are granted equal access to the gurdwara and to all congregational spaces, with no segregation in the sangat. Both are equally entitled to read from the Guru Granth Sahib, lead kirtan, perform ardas, and undertake the prakash and sukhasan of the Guru Granth Sahib. The same holds for roles such as granthi or other forms of religious officiation, which are open to any qualified Sikh without distinction of gender. In this way, the code treats religious function not as the preserve of a particular group, but as a shared responsibility of the entire community.

This commitment to equality extends to initiation and identity. The Rehat Maryada affirms that women and men alike may receive Amrit and enter the Khalsa, under the same vows and the same spiritual obligations. There is no separate standard of discipline or hierarchy of spiritual status based on gender. The naming conventions of Singh and Kaur, while differentiated in practice, both signify dignity and a sovereign spiritual identity within the Khalsa order. Through these provisions, the code makes clear that the path of disciplined Sikh life is fully open to all, without a lesser or secondary place assigned to women.

Within family and social life, the Rehat Maryada reflects this same ethos of parity. The Anand Karaj is framed as the union of two spiritual companions journeying together, rather than as a relationship of ownership or subordination. Practices that imply inferiority or commodification of women, such as dowry, are discouraged, and the emphasis is placed instead on mutual commitment and shared spiritual purpose. In life-cycle observances more broadly, both parents are recognized as participants in the religious upbringing of children, and women are not treated as ritually impure during menstruation or childbirth. The absence of such taboos reinforces the view that biological processes do not diminish spiritual capacity or access to grace.

Taken together, these features of the Sikh Rehat Maryada show a deliberate effort to operationalize the Gurus’ teachings on the equality of all souls. Religious authority, congregational participation, and community service are presented as domains in which men and women stand on the same footing, each capable of leadership, instruction, and seva. Rather than merely asserting equality in abstract terms, the code weaves it into the fabric of daily practice—how Sikhs pray, organize their institutions, form families, and serve one another. In this way, gender equality is not an external ideal imposed on the tradition, but an expression of its own foundational vision of the divine light present equally in every person.