**6. Conclusions**

According to the women I interviewed, each type of *seva* has the same value and importance from a religious point of view. However, in social practice, the *Guru seva* becomes a device of maintenance and a ffirmation, within the Sikh community in northern Italy, of a power based on gender, and is generally controlled by first-generation migrant *amritdhari* men. This control by male *sevadars* is based

other members of the *sangat*, in some way reversing the power dynamics which are inherent in the research process. On the subject of reflexivity, see also (Singh Brar 2015).

on two implicit and tacitly accepted rules, which define symbolic thresholds of inclusion/exclusion: Being *amritdhari* and being able to deal with the Guru Granth Sahib, with little concrete possibility on the part of the women, even if *amritdhari*, to be able to learn the rituals in their gestural and material aspects, precisely because they are scarcely involved in their direct practice. In fact, some women already perform these same religious rituals at home because they have created a domestic gurdwara where they take care of the Guru Granth Sahib or the "Pothi Saroop"<sup>18</sup> every day, performing *Prakash* and *Sukh Asan,* and reciting *Ardas* and all other prayers. Therefore, in practice, these *amritdhari* women may perform *Guru seva* within the family and in the privacy of their home, but rarely in the gurdwara. If this does take place, it is usually between women and not in mixed groups. As noted earlier, women are also more involved in this type of *seva* in small gurdwaras, recently opened and still relatively unstructured, because in this context, their participation is essential for the performance of religious functions. There is instead an almost total absence of women in covering more institutional managemen<sup>t</sup> roles. In no gurdwara I visited in Italy so far have I ever met a woman who served as *granthi*.

As in other contexts of the Sikh diaspora (Myrvold 2011; Jacobsen,2011; Qureshi 2013), in Italy questions highlighting inconsistencies between Sikh ideals and Sikh practices concerning the status of women appear to be of significant concern, especially among young women. In this paper, I have described some outcomes that emerged during my exploratory research. They raise numerous other questions which deserve further analysis. For example, all the Sikh women who contributed to the study showed some interest in women's engagemen<sup>t</sup> in religious practices. Therefore, I have not dealt directly with those who have no interest in participating in religious activities because they wish to avoid the conflict that would then arise through questioning some social and religious customs. My sample did not include those women who think that Sikhism is a marginal aspect of their identity, or who believe that to integrate fully into the host society they must adopt a secular behavior, one that might be considered more compatible with the general Italian lifestyle. However, as far as I could see, the local social environment was an essential factor in defining women's religious engagement. For example, speaking about the importance of getting involved in *Guru seva* by women, one of my female interlocutors said:

The teaching [of our gurus] is: "women and men [are] equal. We now come here to a society where we are asked for this, whether in your [Indian] society this happens or not ... ".

#### (H. K., 23 year-old *amritdhari* woman, interview)

In this case, the perception of the Sikhs by Italian society is evoked instrumentally to carry forward the desire for a change. According to the interpretation of this young woman, it is not so much the abandonment of religious identity but rather its fulfilment (for example, being able to put religious dictates into practice by overcoming cultural boundaries) that would allow Sikh women to be in tune with "Italian culture", considered fairer in the male/female relationship than the Punjabi one. This result would also confirm the prevailing narrative on Sikhism which was mentioned at the beginning of this essay and that is normally promoted in Italian public discourse by Sikhs, according to which Sikhism is respectful of both men and women, and, considered equal by God.

<sup>18</sup> The "Pothi Saroop" is the Guru Granth Sahib published in two volumes.

Another question that deserves further research is whether the *amritdhari* identity may promote a stronger feminist consciousness among Sikh women. The fact that among my female participants there is a greater number of *amritdhari* women might sugges<sup>t</sup> that this is the case. However, as I noted earlier, many differences also emerged within this group regarding the desire to actively engage in *Guru seva* and the meaning that was attributed to this devotional act. On the other hand, at least three of the non*-amritdhari* women who joined in the research expressed a strong feminist awareness and a critical attitude concerning the role of women in Sikhism. However, it can also be safely said that when young *amritdhari* women did manage to participate in *Guru seva,* the support (and authorization) of the first-generation migrant *amritdhari* women was a decisive factor.

A few weeks after the end of my fieldwork in some of the gurdwaras that I visited, the involvement of women in the act of *Guru seva* seems to remain on an occasional basis. In one of them, the *granthi* has changed. The new *granthi* appears to be open to women's religious training, though this training has not ye<sup>t</sup> begun. According to one 18 year-old *amritdhari* girl, "the *granthi* is very good and he is also kind, but among women none has the courage to start new things." Yet, another young *amritdhari* woman attending the gurdwara of Covo asserts that "the [*Guru*] *seva* ... continues very well ... slowly we girls ... are routinely trying to do as much *seva* as possible, so as to learn more and more, therefore [on Sunday we are practicing in] mixed groups. Then it always depends ... on when we are [in gurdwara] or not."

If only concrete results were looked at, it would seem that little has changed, or that each gurdwara is acting on its own terms. Thus, according to each specific context, women's desires to be involved in the *Guru seva* find different degrees of realization. However, from the perspective of lived religion and women's agency, it is clear that these forms of agency are not intended as rebellion or action in the strictest sense, regardless of the relational and identity repercussions on the people involved, but instead as varied positions and negotiations that come to the fore through religious practices. These are slow changes that are only gradually accepted and implemented. They derive from a female awareness that is contextual, progressive, and subject to continual reinterpretations.

**Funding:** This research received no external funding.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.
