Feminism and Christianity is probably one of the most
controversial and sensitive topics that no one wants to tackle for fear of
offending others. I remember attending the ‘Feminism & Christianity’
session in Mutare when I went for a 2 weeks intensive training on feminism and
leadership. I walked out of that session more confused than ever as the
questions raised by my sisters in that room were not fully answered by the
moderator. So it has always been at the back of my head and it has been an
inner struggle of mine to personally put together these two causes that I hold
close to my heart. I badly wanted them to blend together and make sense.
Now 2 years down the line…after that confusing session in
Mutare until the topic came up about a month ago during a bible study I do with
my girls. The reading was from Genesis 3
we all know the story of Adam, Eve and
the cunning snake in the Garden of Eden right?! So fast forward a bit and get
to the curses part which is from verse 14-19 but my interest is on verse 16 it
says:
“…Your
desire will be for your husband yet he will rule over you.”
And some versions even put it in simple English “…he will
control you.”
<<<<<BOOOOOOOOOOM!!!! This is the root of all this
inequality between men and women. Now please do not get me wrong am not saying
all feminists want is to control men. No. We are fighting for equity.
Justice. No discrimination or violation
based on sex. We are all equal regardless of what you have between your legs. Or
at least this is what feminism means to me and I truly believe as a Christian
God created as as equal and it even says so in the Bible.
But I feel this verse clearly explains to me where this
struggle came from. From my previous blog post which you can read here www.umba040@blogspot.com/2014/06/where-did-we-leave-our-young-men.html?m=1
and I had some pretty interesting comments via my Facebook page which you can
read on here www.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10203522904289556&id=1122732276
I was very interested to hear what men thought about that
post and I had one man who commented through my inbox and whose identity will
not be disclosed but I loved the honesty and sincerity of his response to this,
here it is:
“I
have a very unconventional mind. I love women who are strong willed, visionary
and go getters. I do. Most of my good "girl" friends were exactly
that....unfortunately most of us guys are not comfy with that kinda woman. It is
almost natural to be intimidated by such...for majority of the guys. The flip
side of it, women, should remember to respect their husbands...that's what a
guy wants....dare I say by design...”
So in realizing that this struggle I battle with is from way
back in time from the Garden of Eden it kinda sent chills down my spine as much
as it shed some much needed light and I guess deep down I was always troubled
that these two most important things
that form me somehow were not in sync.
I would love to hear from my fellow feminists on how they
blend the two: religion and feminism. I would truly appreciate feedback J
