Women of significance!

International women’s day was celebrated around the world on 8th March to acknowledge womanhood and shower them with love and respect for who they are. The Bible with the best explanation of man’s creation portrays man and woman as coheirs and equally responsible towards building of the family, ruling the created universe, and be part of God’s mission. In the Bible, the first book Genesis states, “So God created man in his own image: he created him in the image of God; He created them male and female. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and every creature that crawls on the earth.”

When God created male and female, He did not mean to glorify men and demean women, as if helper somehow meant lesser. Sarah E. Fisher in her website explains, “And so God created woman to be an ezer to man. But this word, translated as helper, is not about making brunch and darning a man’s socks. This word means an ally or rescuer, someone who comes running when the people cry out for help. An ezer drops everything to save those in need… An ezer is a hero.”.

God created humans — men and women together — as the pinnacle of all creation, crafting both in His very image. He created them with distinct and complementary attributes, inclinations, and gifts that make them indispensable to one another and to His plan for filling the earth with His glory.

Today, it may look as though women around the world are fighting for identity because they have low self-esteem and suffer from inferiority complex, which is not true. Women all through the ages are victims of oppression and abuse of many kinds, yet they stand tall today for who they are. 8^th March is not the only day where they need to get recognition but every single day. They need to be intentionally respected and loved.

With all sincerity, I am still struggling to comprehend why women in some religious scriptures are looked down and specific commands are contradictory to the constitution, human dignity and abuse. Let me quote few examples from different scriptures as given below:

Sura 4:34 it says Husbands may hit their wives even if the husbands only suspect highhandedness of their wives.

Sura 4:129 “A husbands may simply get rid of one of his undesirable wives.”

Manusmiriti 9:94  it states “A man thirty years old shall marry a charming maiden twelve years old; or one twenty four years old, a damsel eight years old; in the event of his duties suffering, he may do it sooner.”

Mahabharata 13.44.14 “A person of thirty years of age should wed a girl of ten years of age called nagnika. Or, a person of one and twenty years of age should wed a girl of seven years of age.”

Manusmiriti 8:299 states, “The wife, the son, the slave, the servant and the uterine brother shall be beaten with a rope or a split bamboo, when they have committed a fault.”

Manusmriti 9:18 “Giving education to lower caste is like loving a poisonous snake”

I intended to bring to your attention the various discrepancies in religion to logically analyze the truth so that we do not fall for the hatred and conceit. Religion can be so man-made because in most cases it is not about God at all. A true God is the creator of the universe and will only seek human dignity whether it is male or female. Jesus was the true embodiment of love who summarized his whole teaching to love God with true expression and allow the same love to overflow to one another. Can we acknowledge the presence of women who are surrounding us- our mothers, our sisters, our wives our daughters and make them feel special?  Wishing  all women to excel in dignity and significance.  

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