VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN

Violence against women can take many forms. It is not limited to physical violence but also includes sexual, emotional, psychological and economic abuse and discrimination. It is widespread in South Asian society, including in the church. The perpetrators are not only men; women may also abuse other women.

Violence at Every Turn

The violence against women begins before birth, for many female foetuses are aborted, in defiance of the law. If a girl child is born, there is far less celebration than there would be for the birth of a boy.

The newborn and her mother may be blamed and rejected. The result is that there are some sixty million fewer women in South Asia than would be expected if both sexes were treated equally.

Those girls who survive infancy often grow up in an atmosphere of rejection, deprivation and neglect. The home, which should be the safest and happiest place, is often stained by verbal, emotional, sexual and physical abuse. This brutality is physically and emotionally dehumanising and damages all the children in the home, thus perpetuating these crimes in the next generation.

As the girl child matures, her problems increase. She may be forced to undergo circumcision, in which her genitals are mutilated.

She may be bartered for other women, money or land. Many are robbed of the freedom to choose their career or husband. Should a girl attempt to choose for herself, she may be killed by her brother or some other male relative to “protect the honour” of the family.

Despite this societal stress on the honour of the family, many young girls are raped and sexually abused in their own homes, usually by their own relatives and friends of the family. Many are sold into commercial prostitution or the devadasi system of temple prostitution.

When the girl marries, she may simply be exchanging one abusive home for another. Despite legislation forbidding it, family harassment for dowry payments is not uncommon, and a young wife may be killed if the payments are deemed inadequate. Studies also show that in some regions fifty-one per cent of men and fifty-six per cent of women consider it appropriate for a husband to beat his wife if she is suspected of neglecting household chores or disrespecting her inlaws.

The divorce laws also strongly favour men.

The woman’s situation becomes even worse if her husband dies. Sati (the practice of the widow dying on the funeral pyre of her husband) was banned in 1829, but it is still practised in some villages.

Because widows (and sometimes older unmarried women) are considered to bring bad luck, they are often forbidden to participate in celebrations like marriages. They are often left destitute. In some languages like Bengali, the word meaning “young widow” is the same as the word meaning “prostitute”, indicating their only option for survival.

The reason women have no resources of their own is that their labour is devalued, so that they receive little or no pay for their work in the home or in the community. Additionally, some women do not have the right to their own income or to money and property given them by their parents. It all goes to the husband and his family.

Women continue to live in these abusive situations because they lack financial independence and education. If they try to return to their parental home, they will be reproached by the family and friends for not accepting a woman’s lot. Their unmarried siblings will find it difficult to find marriage partners.

Women are not even safe from harassment in public places or on the streets. The Hindu, an Indian newspaper, condemned what is called “eve-teasing” as “an act of terror that violates a woman’s body, space and self-respect … denies a woman’s fundamental right to move freely and carry herself with dignity.”

Turning to the police for protection from abuse or harassment is risky, for violence against women occurs even in police stations where women are teased, shamed, sexually molested and even raped by those supposed to guard their safety.

Most cultures train men and women for stereotyped gender roles.

Men learn domination and control and woman learn subordination and unhealthy dependence. Consequently women grow up with low self-esteem and a sense of weakness, and need physical, intellectual, economic and social protection. But what does God have to say about this situation? What do the Bible and the church teach?

A Biblical Perspective

Violence against women was never part of God’s plan for his creation.

He created both men and women in his image (Gen 1:27). Hence women are not to be treated as possessions. Everyone should be

treated with respect and dignity. In 1 Peter 3:7 husbands are told to treat their wives with respect lest their prayers not be heard.

Women’s oppression began after the “fall” (Gen 3:16) but redemption in Jesus Christ overtakes the fall, and rules out any acceptance of domination or manipulation of women by men. Jesus demonstrated this in the way he treated women in the Gospels. He commended Mary for her desire to learn (Luke 10:38-42) and engaged the Samaritan woman in a theological and intellectual conversation (John 4).

The Lord hates violence (Mal 2:15-16). His picture of the home is a place of refuge, safety and peace (Job 21:8-9). He commands those in authority to speak out on behalf of the weak (Prov 31:8) and to provide for their needs (Deut 24:19-21; 26:12-13) and makes it clear that he is on the side of widows and the oppressed (Deut 27:19; Ps 68:5).

Though the Bible clearly and repeatedly stresses the equal status of women with men, and the worth of women in God’s sight, the church’s voice is far too feebly heard above the cries of violence.

Abuse is even tolerated in Christian homes. It may even appear to be endorsed by pastors who misinterpret Paul’s words in Ephesians 5:24 as meaning that a woman must accept a husband’s abuse of herself and her daughters.

Thankfully, there are organisations in South Asia that have sought to protect the rights of women, provide them with education, and raise their position and status by legislation. They seek to raise awareness and to find new avenues for women to use their abilities and achieve their potential. The task is daunting, but the church must add its voice to theirs and work to create the types of home and society that God desires.

Ellen Alexander