THE
ADVOCATE FOR WOMEN
The recent Delhi
gang rape incident which dominated media coverage for weeks unleashed discourse
on various issues ranging from women’s freedom, rights and protection to
insensitive netas, chauvinistic gurujis and lack of political will. With
justifiable anger, the common man questions the delay in meting out justice to
the female victim and is furious over insensitive comments made by politicians
and self-styled swamis who think that avoiding western wear or chanting the
saraswati mantra would help. This brings us to the issue of gender inequality
which is a cause for concern especially in countries like India where
patriarchy is the voice of society and in its name, violence and discrimination
is oft justified.
From ancient times,
our country has seen practices which have little regard for women- immolation of women on the pyres of their
husbands which nullify women's individuality, identity and right to life sans
husband. Widows and girls a financial burden and thus female infanticide. Astronomical
dowry rates leading to suicide or murder of brides. Honour killings where the
honour lies mostly in the woman's hands.
Sex selection, nutritional prejudice, wage disparities, forced nude marches,
under-representation in parliamentary positions, you name it. Similarly exist
cultures across the world which in their own way are entrenched in
discriminatory practices against women.
As an ideology, feminism
has often challenged established religions, and originally being a western
tradition, some feminisms see Christianity as one of the prime reasons which
promote patriarchy and hence suppress women. This might be true in the case of
misinterpreted or misunderstood religion. But what does the bible actually say
about gender equality? Let’s take the example of Jesus and see what he thought.
John
8:1-11
Jesus was uber
modern for his time and a perfect gentleman and advocate for women! When the
woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus by the teachers of law and the
Pharisees, who suggested that she be stoned to death as per the Law of Moses, Jesus
only said "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw
a stone at her." Jesus knew that it takes two to tango and thus recognised
that letting the male partner go scot-free while the woman alone is punished
would be grave injustice. Today we see plenty of cases where when a couple is
caught in live-in relationships, it is the woman who is forced to face the
wrath and consequences. And then there are other cases where even when it is
not the woman's fault, it is still she who is forced to carry the blame. For
example, the law and society turns a blind eye to male molestors while the
female victim is plagued for wearing "inappropriate" clothes, is
tormented or killed by kin for bringing dishonour to the "family
name" by becoming the victim of sexual abuse.
John
4:4-26
Even in this
postmodern age, there are Dalit women who on a large scale face severe
suppression and lead miserable lives as they bear the brunt of being a woman
and a Dalit, creating a system of oppression where classism, casteism and
sexism are inextricably linked together. Going back to the period of Jesus, John
4:4-26 shows that Jesus spoke with the Samaritan woman by the well despite her
status being almost like that of a Dalit woman's. During a time when men hardly
spoke to women in public, Jesus taught the woman who was considered an
outcaste, forgave her and offered a new life of hope.
Mark 5:
25-34
According to certain
religions, women aren’t allowed to enter places of worship during their
menstrual cycle. Some cultures in India even today practice the custom of
secluding girls and women who are menstruating. They would be given food in a
separate plate, wouldn’t be allowed to enter puja rooms or in some cases, not
even allowed to come out of their rooms as their physical association with the
others would ‘pollute’ them. Let’s call it temporary untouchability. The woman
in Mark 5 suffered from chronic bleeding. Her temporary untouchability lasted
for 12 long years! The Jews in those days too believed in the ‘unclean’ status
of a women during her cycle and thus prohibited all physical contact. People
wouldn’t have touched the bleeding woman in Mark and probably she suffered from
not just physical weakness and financial distress, but loneliness, frustration
and embarrassment. Her desperation and faith in Jesus made her risk being
caught for breaking the laws. But her social unacceptability didn’t bother
Jesus whose love for her made him heal her. With affection he called her
daughter, restoring her to her community and to a new life.
Luke
7:36-50
When Jesus showed a
gender-blind love to the prostitute who inarguably turned over a new leaf by
showing great humility and faith, it raised many brows. The Pharisee and
probably many others shunned the woman and treated her with disdain because of
her trade. Being a woman, and a prostitute too, it was a feat to meet Jesus, a
man. She showed great courage and faith knowing full well that she will be
received with contempt and rejection by the guests at the table, who probably
threw her dirty looks all along, while she used a glorious part of her body to
wipe Jesus’ dusty feet. It would have been terribly frightening to face a
judging lot who clearly condemned her, but she evidently saw meeting Jesus a
more pressing task than being put off by people's hostility. And Jesus saw no
difference between her or the Pharisee who had invited him and instead points
out the irony that the woman had outdone the Pharisee through her act of love.
The New Testament is
peppered with instances where Jesus associated with women, both in public and in
private. Mary Magdalene, Martha, Joanna and Susanna accompanied Jesus during
his ministry trips and also helped serve him (Luke 8:1-3). Women haven’t been
denied spiritual gifts either as is seen in Joel 2:28-29 nor discriminated when
it came to doing ministry either- Phoebe was a minister, Priscilla a co-worker
in Christ, Lunia an apostle, Euodia and Syntyche were evangelists, Deborah a
prophetess (from old testament) and Dorcas, a Christian disciple. The status of
women during the time of Jesus was decidedly inferior to that of men. For
example, women could be easily divorced without any legal rights which would
have created such insecurity in them! According to a website, it was
traditional for Jewish rabbis to begin synagogue meetings with the words “Blessed art thou, O Lord, for thou has not made
me a woman." Being an
androcentric society, power, prestige and privileges were (and still is) doled
out to men and people were expected to conform to such societal norms. But
Jesus chose not to adhere to the social conventions and treated women as
individuals deserving respect, rights and love.
Jesus came down to
seek the lost and to associate with all kinds of people irrespective of differences.
Jesus clearly desires to save, accept, forgive and love both men and women
equally, for God is beyond gender.
Unlike so many other religions where spiritual privileges, prayer and
worship are reserved largely for men only, in Christ, there is such
exhilarating freedom and comforting hope for a fresh start which is freely
given to both men and women as is clearly seen in Galatians 5:13 and Galatians
3:28. God loves women and Jesus who bridged the gap of inequality between men
and women, demonstrated the love. And we who have received the infinite and indiscriminatory
love are expected to share it with our fellow beings as freely as it was given
to us.
