Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
ISKCON's founder A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada openly appreciated, encouraged, and supported his female disciples in their diverse roles within ISKCON – females led kirtans, gave public classes and public lectures, managed temples, served as priests, went as missionaries to "ISKCON's unchartered territories," headed his Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, and personally served him as secretaries, cooks, and photographers. He even recommended two women to be named founding members of ISKCON's highest international ecclesiastical and managerial body, the Governing Body Commission (GBC). Prabhupada defended the active involvement of his female followers in ISKCON's spiritual and managerial activities from critics, which included some traditional Gaudiya Matha members and other orthodox followers of Hinduism in India.