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REFLECTION

The theme for our reflection is ” a broken woman”. To be broken means to be damaged or to suffer emotional pain that is so strong that it changes the way you live, usually as a result of an unpleasant event. A broken woman is a victim of injustice. The story is told of a concubine of a Levite who was given in place of the Levite to be raped and abused by a group of homosexual men who hail from the tribe of Benjamin. The abused lady died as a result of the ordeal she went through. To make known the abominable act committed by the Benjamites to the other tribes of Israel and to seek justice, “When the Levite reached home, “he took a knife and cut up his concubine, limb by limb, into twelve parts and sent them into all the areas of Israel. Everyone who saw it was saying to one another, “Such a thing has never been seen or done, not since the day the Israelites came up out of Egypt. Just imagine! We must do something! So speak up (Judges 19:29-30)

Women are among one of the most vulnerable groups in the world. Women who are most vulnerable are the ones in less enlightened societies where primitive culture still plays a dominant role in people’s lives. This is not to say all primitive cultures make women vulnerable, there are few exceptions. It is important to understand that in the ancient culture of the Israelites, apart from the legal wife or wives a man marries, he is also allowed to take a concubine whose status is lower than that of his legal wife or wives. The role of the concubines is to give birth to a child and more preferably a male child when the wife or wives of a man are found to be barren or unable to give birth to male children. Again, the concubine is kept for sexual pleasure and also to produce more children as a workforce for the man’s farm. A concubine had less legal protection because she was not recognised as a wife. That is why in Judges 19:22-25, between the virgin daughter of the old man who hosted the Levite and the concubine of the Levite, the concubine was the more preferred choice to be thrown at the wicked and promiscuous homosexual Benjamites to be raped and abused.

In the Twenty-first century, women continue to be broken in our world through rape and other forms of abuse, especially in male-dominated societies and in countries with pro-male legal regimes. Africa is not an exception, we are still far behind in protecting the rights and human dignity of women because we still have most societies in Africa that are male-dominated. Girls continue to be victims of early marriage and sexual abuse. Young ladies with prospects of a brighter future are being forced into marriages where they become second, third or even fourth wives. Regardless of the many associations and organizations of women activists, some governments have done little concerning the issue of equality, affirmative action, justice and promotion of equal access to education for girls and women in deprived African communities. Apart the from unsatisfactory Government interventions, especially in most African countries, I believe Christians have an essential role to play in championing the rights and dignity of women in Africa. Women form the majority in terms of numerical strength in most African Churches and play important roles in sustaining the Church in Africa although not in prominent leadership roles but mostly in monetary contributions and services. The church must continually be concerned about issues that render women broken psychologically, emotionally, economically, physically and spiritually.

Christ, our Saviour, is particularly concerned about a just society that protected women. This is evident when the women who had been accused of adultery run to Jesus for help, Jesus said to the men, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. ¹⁰ Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:7-11) The Church must preach a transformational Gospel that liberates women and encourage them to live their full God-given potential. The Church with the power of the Gospel must deconstruct ideologies and beliefs that view the bodies of women as sexual objects that must be exploited by men for pleasure. God has given the Church the pulpit as a tool to overcome social vices and to speak against all manner of evils in society, the abuse of women and their dignity is no exception. The church is a very important stakeholder in building an inclusive society where women and men have equal rights and equality of opportunities to thrive and mutually contribute to the growth or development of the nation. Shalom.

PRAYER

Dear Lord, empower the Church to continually be an agent of transformation in preaching and maintaining a just and equitable society.