For generations women have been thought of and treated as personal possessions. Such treatment has been meted out at the hands of religious, social and cultural members of societies.
Not surprisingly, many females have objected to those behaviours and ways of thinking, and have fought tirelessly for the right to be recognised as much more than a piece of property. In fact, a large number of women do not see themselves as anyone’s possession at all and would dare one to prove otherwise.
It defies logic that a woman should have to fight for the right, in the first place, to be recognised as more than property. For certainly one can agree that anatomical, physiological and whatever other differences abound do not offer any reason to justify seeing women as any more than persons deserving of fair treatment and mutual respect.
Most unfortunate is the reality that there is no universal religious view of women as it pertains to being treated as property. On the surface, some religions purport to offer equal opportunity for advancement for women within their ranks. Below the surface, however, this is more often than not met with resistance, resentment and disdain from the male community within the establishment.
We may find that quite a few persons believe that it ought to be a privilege for women to be treated and seen as anything more than possessions, and certainly not a right.
In other instances, religious groups remain determined to control their women: what they say, how they dress, what roles they are able to fill in service to that religious body, and so on. This demeaning way of categorising women only serves to strengthen the voices of opposition.
When the world’s various faiths do some introspection, we may come to discover that women are even more capable of embracing and exercising the values that make us humane than the men who have for so long been pulling the proverbial strings.
– Dexter Wharton
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