FEMINIST THEOLOGY AND BEING A TRUE DISCIPLE OF JESUS
First of all, I
would like to admit that women are the lifeline and backbone of the family and
society. They come across to us as our mothers, wives, sisters, lovers, friends
and daughters in our family circles and as teachers, nurses, religious sisters
and in many other roles in our society. Moreover, women play a vital role in
our concept of God. The powerful God icons like Mother Mary, Kaali,
Lakshmi, Parvathi etc are deep in the religious sentiments of the
people of India. Women in politics, science, multinational companies,
education, health, police, army etc play very crucial role.
However, in
India, I come across the paradox of women being the most vulnerable group. They
same womanhood which is elevated to the level of the divine is crushed,
tampered and totally annihilated by the patriarchal society of India. It is
very rightly said that women are dehumanized from womb to tomb. But why this
contradiction is prevailing in India even after 60 years of its independence?
If we analyze
the situation of women we can enumerate numerous crimes against women and these
crimes are committed because they are often objectified as a source for sexual
pleasure, treated as weak as they are physical weaker to men and are made to
wander as they are dependent on different man at various stages of life. Often,
with very few exceptions, women are dependent on men financially, for basic
necessities of life, for education, for security. Politically hardly they have
a say. Religious dogmas especially in Hinduism propagate the idea that women
are less than men and her complete dependency and surrender to men all through
her life. She has been discriminated thoroughly and denied her rights for
education and employment. Islam too treats women as second only to man. Women
are not allowed to enter into the mosques where men pray. In Christianity, the
women are portrayed as unequal to man. Patriarchal interpretations of the women
in the Scripture have been rather humiliating as in the case of the Samaritan
Woman (Lk. 4).
Human beings
are created in the image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26). Being created in the
image and likeness of God, both men and women share equally the responsibility
for the wholeness and for the well-being of the whole world. The well-being of
men and women is in their involvement in the welfare of society, so that he/she
can be alive, active and develop his/her God-given talents. Also their rights
to food, shelter, clothing, health, education, etc, are derived from their
human dignity which flows from their being created in the image and likeness of
God. So in the eyes of God man and woman are equal and are precious.
As a disciple
of Jesus, I should look into the life of Jesus to see how he dealt with women.
In the life of Jesus we see that Jesus treated women with utmost respect and
love. He recognized in them their human dignity, which were manifested in many
human values they possessed. His association with Martha and Mary, his dealings
with the Samaritan woman, his sympathy to the woman caught in adultery,
compassion for the woman with bleeding, his appreciation for the poor widow and
more than these, his unfailing obedient love to his mother all show that he
possessed a very balanced and rich love and respect for women.
The course on
Feminism has widened my understanding of women, their dreams and aspirations.
It has taught me how important it is to feel with the women in general,
commiserate with the oppressed women, and to think of a world where male-female
equality is maintained and women’s dignity and honor is truly acknowledged and
upheld. Many feminists say that the greatest injustice and sin of humanity is
male-female inequality and the oppression and exploitation of women. I do agree
with this as it is completely against the will of the creator.
The course has
inspired me to follow the path of Jesus in a more profound and humane way. I am
inspired to inculcate these values of Jesus to become a better person. The
course has taught to me how important it is to respect the understand women
without being oppressive and judgmental. It has inspired me to realize the
importance of the numerous roles the women play in our society. Women in
general inspire men in matters of faith and religiosity. As a religious I am
inspired and at the same time imbibe many of these feminine qualities into my
personality. Jesus possessed many feminine qualities in him such as love,
sympathy, compassion, forgiveness, affection, service mindedness, forbearance,
love for children and sacrifice. These feminine qualities made his life and
mission more effective and transforming. Jesus, I would say, felt more with a
woman’s heart.
However, the
course has left me with a lot of challenges. It is my observation that men
religious have different attitudes towards the women in general. Many of them
just keep women away and their relationship with women are very functional i.e.
yes or no type. They avoid coming in contact with women in social sphere but
satisfy them through other modes of entertainment. There are others who relate
with women too much that women feel them a burden. There are others who get
caught up with one or two they ignore others. But still others maintain a very
mature relationship with all and they experience freedom in relating to all. At
the same time the women also feel happy to relate and collaborate with them.
Today, I have
to accept the fact that women are part and parcel of our life whether we are
religious or not. We cannot just ignore the fact that women are collaborators
in whatever we do. So, it is a challenge for me personally to learn to relate
with women in such a way that the collaboration becomes a witnessing of the
values of the Kingdom. Interdependence between man and woman is needed for all
of us to succeed in our life. The dealings should be sincere, transparent and
based on pure love which is motivated by the example of Jesus. Prudence is
another key virtue to make harmonious relationship with women in general else
we pave way for gossips and jealousy.
When we are too
much with patriarchal mind, we not only ignore half of humanity but at the same
time, we fail to live our own life completely. Women complement man in various
ways thus enriching our life to its fullness. The challenge for me is to accept
this truth and change my attitude and my manner of dealing with women. So I
have to treat women as equal to man, respect them and deal with them with
utmost respect and dignity.
My concern is that all that is feminine is on the
verge of complete destruction; be it the environment, the trees, forests,
rivers, the earth itself, is abused and misused. Today the crime against women
is also on the increase. My prayer is that God who is father and mother may
grant us the grace to see the truth and underlying goodness in everything that
is life affirming and life supporting. Let all creation live life in its
fullness in harmony, interdependence and co-operation.
