Short answer: Jainism holds that every soul is absolutely equal and genderless. The debate you mention is not about the worth of women, but about what external discipline is required for final liberation in our present era. The two main traditions explain that discipline differently.

How the two traditions view this

• Digambar: For a monk to reach kevalajñāna and moksha in the present time, total non‑possession must include being without clothing (ācelakatva). They teach that women, while fully capable of the same inner purity, do not practice public nudity as a religious discipline. Because this external practice is considered indispensable for the last stages today, Digambar texts conclude that a woman would complete the path after a subsequent male birth. This is presented as a rule of monastic conduct and era‑specific discipline, not a statement about a soul’s inferiority. The soul has no gender; the restriction concerns ascetic procedure.
• Shvetambar: External nudity is not required for liberation. What is indispensable is internal non‑attachment (aparigraha) and perfect conduct; therefore women can attain kevalajñāna and moksha in a female body. Shvetambar tradition even reveres Mallinātha as a female Tirthankara, underscoring that women can reach the highest goal.

“Isn’t that sexist?”

• Jain doctrine begins from the axiom that jīva is genderless and identical in capacity for liberation. Both traditions affirm this.
• The disagreement is about means, not capacity: Digambar emphasizes a specific outward form of non‑possession for the final stages that women do not observe; Shvetambar emphasizes that the inner vow of non‑possession is the essence, so clothing does not bar liberation.
• In practice, both traditions honor women as capable of profound spiritual attainment, strict vows, and advanced stages of the path.

“Why can’t women be nude in the same essence as a man?” (Digambar rationale)

• In the Digambar code, mendicant nudity is a carefully regulated discipline meant to minimize possessions and social entanglements for male monks. For women, going nude is held to create unavoidable social disturbance and risks that conflict with core vows like carefulness, modesty, and protection from harm. Hence Digambar Āryikās wear simple clothing and pursue very high spiritual stages, completing the last step after a male rebirth.
• In Shvetambar, since nudity is not required for anyone, both monks and nuns wear white robes; liberation depends on inner non‑attachment and perfect conduct.

Essence to keep in mind

• The Jain position about women is not about lesser spiritual capacity. It is a question of discipline-interpretation in this time cycle. Every soul—woman or man—can attain right faith, right knowledge, and right conduct and progress to the highest states; the two traditions differ only on whether the very last step requires a male birth under a nudity‑based discipline.

If you’d like a simple overview of the two sects’ positions and core vows, you can explore this short primer on our site: