Blessed among Women

Photo: Amerindians from Kumo village in Rupununi

The dignity and respect for women has become a constant subject in the wake of recent happening in this nation. Women have been invariably going to the streets with placards in order to picket against male dominated authorities. Does anyone hear their desperate cry for justice? Even if anyone hears their, the authorities seems to calm them down with few sweet talks. Are women really free in this 21^st century, where women have gone to the leaps and bounds of the society? I want every woman to ask this question today, do women feel that they are also equal to men or even stronger than men, in regards to intelligence, talents, gifts, power and more importantly love?

Are women really free? When a husband in the flare of the anger sticks a gun against his wife’s forehead, is she really free? What will be her experience with that husband? This is an extreme example of violence against women. In the beginning of this year, Savitri Palmer, a hardworking taxi driver was sexually assaulted and killed near Timheri. Has justice been done to this person, even if justice is done, can anyone bring Savitri to life. I can keep citing incidences in which women have been victimized because of the violence against women. Every women reading this article will have some story to share, if not a nasty story, at least an experience of being teased or whistled at the street corners when you walk your way. If you have such experiences, then why are you silent? Who are you waiting on? Time has come, for you to show that you are no inferior to men. Let us try to break the chain of thought that goes on to think women are feeble and fragile. Let us break the popular understanding that men are the head and women are body or faculties. Men and women are complementary to each other.

NCN presenter, Mrs Bibi Narine asked me a question in an interview on the topic violence against women, how do you see man as the hard drive and women are the other programmes that won’t function without hard drive? I think that was a fantastic question. Jesus Christ is the foundation and head of the Church and we are his body. Jesus as the head showed a noble act of caring for women particularly the marginalized. One such caring gesture is, Jesus at the well with the Samaritan Woman. Jesus knew that as a male Jew not allowed approaching Samaritan woman, but He does an extraordinary act of care, love, compassion and life. He gives hope in life for the woman. Jesus Christ as the head showed love and compassion for the woman sent to the fringe of the society. Another incidence, in which, Jesus rebukes the men who wanted to stone the adulterous woman to death. Jesus protects her from the violent male dominated beasts who needed to clear a splinter from their eyes first before they could point a speck in someone else’s eye. Hence, our Head, Jesus Christ showed how to be compassionate towards women.

Pope John Paul II, in his Apostolic Letter, Mulieris Dignitatem, says, “the hour is coming, in fact has come, when the vocation of women is being acknowledged in its fullness, the hour in which women acquire in the world an influence, an effect and a power never hitherto achieved…women are the gift of God, what he, as Creator and Redeemer, entrusts to women, to every woman…the Church gives thanks for the mystery of woman and for every woman – for that which constitutes the eternal measure of her feminine dignity, for the great works of God.” Every human person is a gift from God, temple of God and God’s spirit is in each one of us. No one has the right or privilege to destroy that temple or the spirit of God. If one does destroy, it is clearly we are destroying God himself. If women are the temple of God, no man should destroy that temple of God. The temple, which is sacred in which God, lives, hence every one should respect that sacredness of a woman. In fact, women are gifts from God and they become co-creators in God’s noble act of creation, and if anyone tries to snatch that noble act of creation from a woman through violence, we are in serious problem in our world.

St. Paul speaks in Ephesians 5:22-33, wives must submit themselves to their own husbands, as they do to the Lord. Husbands must love their wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant Church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.

Man and woman cannot live in domination to each other, but rather as complementary to each other. Both have to coexist to continue God’s creation in this universe. They both have myriad gifts to offer to each other and to the society. Let us make our women feel good in our families, in our work place, in our Churches, in our streets and everywhere. Let them know that we love them because we are blessed among women.