Women Hold up Half the Sky

There is no excuse that will ever justify the status that the Bible has placed upon women of being denied equality with men. No matter how much good people say the Bible has done to elevate women’s roles from those of non-Christian nations, and supposedly how much better they are treated than their non-biblical counterparts, women are still relegated to “second place” in Scripture. It’s on par with saying “it’s okay to have slaves as long as they are treated well”…I say: NO it’s not okay to own another human being no matter how well they are treated by their masters.

If the Constitution of the United States, written by men has contained within its declarations that “All men are created equal” (which I know had to be worked out to get into men’s heads that the words All Men meant both men and women), I see no reason why a book that is supposed to be inspired by God, could not have had within it pages an equally powerful statement. Instead what do we find at its very beginning? A decree from its god that men are to rule over women…Gen.3:16 “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.”, that tells me that the founders of this country had much higher standards than what was attributed to the biblegod.

The harm that has befallen women because of the license that the Bible has given men to dominate them and own them as property is beyond measure. History would have taken an entirely different course if men and women could have stood side by side as partners developing ideas that would shape a common future. Instead of allowing women to choose their own path and make their own choices, the Bible gives men the right and free reign in running women’s lives and since it tells men exactly what they want to hear in terms of having power and control they adamantly say it must be from god. An old Chinese proverb says that “Women hold up half the sky”, it is time that the female gender rightfully take their place as equals beside men, and that men acknowledge a woman’s rightful place as their equal in all areas of life.