Answer

In Jain Dharma, the idea that “only men can attain moksha” is not accepted by all Jain traditions.

There are two main traditional views:

• Śvetāmbara tradition: Women can attain moksha. They accept that women are spiritually capable of liberation.
• Digambara tradition: A soul in a female body cannot attain moksha in that same birth; it must first be reborn in a male body.

So, it is more accurate to say: some Jain traditions teach this, while others do not.

Explanation

Jain Dharma teaches that the soul itself has no gender. Gender belongs to the body, not to the soul. Every soul has the potential to become liberated by destroying all karmas through right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct.

The difference between Śvetāmbara and Digambara views comes mainly from their understanding of the final stage of renunciation and monkhood.

• Digambara view: Complete non-possession includes giving up all clothing. Since women cannot follow this form of nudity according to Digambara practice, they hold that a woman cannot reach the final stage of liberation in that body.
• Śvetāmbara view: Complete spiritual purity does not require a male body or nudity. Therefore, women can attain keval-jñān and moksha.

Spiritual Understanding

From the deeper Jain perspective, the soul is beyond male and female. The true obstacles to moksha are not gender, caste, status, wealth, or birth, but:

• attachment,
• aversion,
• passions,
• ignorance,
• and karma.

Jain Dharma honors many great women renunciants and spiritually advanced women. Their lives show that sincere practice, purity, discipline, and detachment are spiritually powerful.

Takeaway

Jain Dharma does not teach that the soul is inferior because of gender. The soul is pure and capable of liberation. The question of whether a woman can attain moksha in the same birth is a difference between Jain traditions, especially Śvetāmbara and Digambara understandings.