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Kaur ((パンジャーブ語:ਕੌਰ)) in Sikhism (meaning: "Princess") is a mandatory last name for all baptized female Sikhs. However, it is often used as a middle name though it is supposed to be a last name.〔''(The Sikhs by Khushwant Singh )''〕 ==History== Kaur is a name used by Sikh women as a last name. It can be regarded as a true surname. The tenth guru of Sikhs, Guru Gobind Singh, made it mandatory for Sikh females to use the name Kaur and for Sikh males to use the name Singh, when he administered Amrit (baptism) to both male and female Sikhs. All female Sikhs were asked to use the name Kaur after their forename and male Sikhs were to use the name Singh. (Since 'Kaur' means "Princess", the name acts as a symbol of equality among men and women.) This custom further confirmed the equality of both genders as was the tradition set by the founder of Sikhism, Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji. It was intended to give women a sense of self-respect. Singh is also used by some women because Singh can be a last name. It is the most common last name used by Sikhs. Kaur provides Sikh women with a status equal to all men. This was also intended to reduce the prejudice created by caste-typing based on the family name. Prejudice based on caste was still rampant during Guru Gobind's time (17th century). This particularly affected women who were expected to take their husband's family name upon marriage.〔Dr. McCleod, Head of Sikh Studies, Department of South Asian Studies, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada〕〔Khushwant Singh, ''A History of the Sikhs, Volume I''〕 The British required women to take on their husbands' names. Sikh principles believe that all men and women are completely equal. Therefore, a woman is a princess and can lead her own life as an individual, equal to men. She does not need a man's title to raise her own status. Saying this would go against the principles stated in the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the religious text of Sikhism. Guru Nanak Dev Ji states: Also, Gurbani (the text from Guru Granth Sahib) addresses every individual (irrespective of gender) as female. And combining from the above defined excerpt from Guru Granth Sahib 〔Guru Granth Sahib, page 473〕 it can be easily concluded the temporal status of woman is higher than of man and they are equal only spiritually. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kaur」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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