The Ramayana tells of how Sita, Lord Rama’s beloved, was kidnapped by an asura king named Ravana and brought back to his kingdom. It took several years before Ram could find and rescue her back, slaying the demon king. After the rescue, Sita was delighted to be reunited with her love. Ram, however, felt shame, and told Sita that she could not return as his wife, as she had lived under the roof of another man all this time. Shocked, Sita insisted that nothing happened between her and Ravana, and that she was still loyal to him. Rama refused. Sita, angry, insisted upon proving her purity by walking through a fire, “if I come out alive, then this will prove myself”. As she turned to walk through the fire, every step that she took, the flames calmed and flowers followed her footsteps. She came out alive.

It is through this story that the practice of sati, or widow immolation, was so commonly practiced. Widowed women were expected to jump into their deceased husband’s funeral pyres because it was believed that women had no purpose without their husbands.

This story touches on difficult issues surrounding women, more specifically the necessity of “purity” and unwavering loyalty to their husbands, and the concept of the ideal, self-sacrificing wife. Today, the practice of sati is banned, however women in South Asia (here specifically India) continue to suffer at the hands of violent patriarchy. However, this story is powerful as well, depicting Sita defying, talking back to, and arguing with her husband, the divine Lord Rama. Indeed, through this story, and through the continued history of women fighting back, we can remember that we will not burn.