My Stance on Feminism
There are varying definitions that
have been given to feminism. There is no one agreed definition for the term
FEMINISM. The term feminisme was coined in late nineteenth century
France and spread into other languages. The fight to emancipate women and ensure
that they have equal opportunities just like males dates as far back as 195 BC
when Roman women demonstrated at a forum against the anti-female Opian
law.
There are a lot of women who although
fight for the rights of women would not want to be associated with feminism. I
do understand them because I think the word has been so abused and over used. As
it stands, currently, it is women versus men when it comes to fighting for the
rights of women. Men are represented as the oppressors and subjugators of women.
They appear to be the originators of the woes of women. In order to achieve
equality the female is sometimes forced to let go of her femininity. She pursues career rather than having a family. She
chooses to be a lesbian so that she does not have to submit in marriage to a
man.
I do know and recognise that the
female gender has been misunderstood and maltreated for centuries and
yes females do have issues that cannot be ignored or taken for granted.
However, I believe the approach to solving the concerns of women to ensure that
their humanity and essence are recognised by all is rather lacking. Feminism
does not offer lasting solutions to problems females all over the world go
through. It has rather brought a division between women. This is because what a
woman in the west needs is totally different from what another needs who is an
Asian, African or Hispanic. This divide makes it difficult for feminism to
formulate a holistic approach in resolving the problems facing women. Race and
their different social milieu make it impossible to grasp each other’s unique
needs as women.
In order to solve the female problem
we need to go back to God and discover who He has purposed for a woman to be and
also who He has destined for a man to be. Man means both male and female. Man is
not simply male but both sexes. It is in knowing our identities as male or female
and living according to it that we can solve all our issues. THE FEMALE’S
PROBLEM IS NOT THE MALE but rather sin. The desire of man to hurt and suppress
can only be taken care of when a man is born again. It is when he accepts Christ
Jesus as his Lord and personal saviour. It is in Christ that he can love the
female as he loves himself. It is in unconditional love and the rebirth of our
spirits that we can do away with our urge to hurt and discriminate against each
other. The solution is not in pointing out every horrible experience women go
through but in recognising that we cannot solve these on our own. If we could
have done that then there should be no need for feminists to exist in the 21st
century because all the issues of women should have been dealt with by now. We
should be living in a world where both sexes have equal opportunities and are
treated and regarded as equals. This, unfortunately, is not the case because
since the time of Mary Wollstonecraft, Germaine Necker de Stael and Simone de
Beauvoir’s till date the same issues are being discussed. The emancipation of
the female does not lie with feminism but in Christ Jesus.
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