Women around the world today are facing a very serious dilemma. A dilemma of identity. Many women, Christian women inclusive are struggling to discover who they are and where they stand in the scheme of things. They are seeking to understand their roles in the community, Nation, family, body of Christ and the world in general. In some Nations of the world in this day and age women are still being side tracked and side lined. They are considered as second class citizens with no rights or privileges. Men around the world still have their own opinions about the place of a woman and generally do not understand the role and functions of a woman, therefore they are unable to offer the needed support. God in the book of Genesis 2 v 18 created woman as a helpmeet (I.e a help to meet a need) for a man, but sadly in some cases the man, due to ignorance, arrogance, ego or deception turns out to be a tool in the hands of the devil being used to abuse, pull down and ultimately truncate the glorious destiny of the woman in his life. I dare say the world is in confusion about the place and worth of a woman. This is why it becomes imperative that a woman must not be in confusion about exactly who The Almighty God has created her to be. The confusion about the role and functions of a woman manifests itself powerfully in a variety of ways and voices. We have the voice of the feminists, according to them a woman’s place is defined by her role in a meaningful vocation. Her career becomes her ‘god’. They hammer on the rights of a woman and even if domestic conflicts arise as a result of career demands, a woman is free to walk out of her marriage and home to pursue her dreams. This voice paints the marriage institution as a captivity that has the ability to hold in bondage a woman who otherwise could become a high flying executive and a top player in the chosen career path. Secondly we have the voice of culture and tradition. This voice seeks to define the woman in terms of her traditional and cultural role as wife, mother and home maker. This voice tells the woman that her desire must be to her husband and if she seeks to make anything of her life outside the home, then she becomes a threat to the authority figure of her husband. Of course the voice of tradition and culture varies around the globe of the earth from Country to Country, there is however a common denominator, this voice tends to devalue the worth of woman and rob her of her dignity. In some places it is so bad that women are regarded as mere instruments of pleasure for the sensual gratification of men and sometimes domestic servants or slaves.
(to be continued).
SHALOM. (Busola Olotu)
Busola Olotu's Blog 