The world dishonors women in many mays. Amazingly, even the governments and organizations that profess to honor women commonly dishonor them.
Women are commonly loaded with more work than is fit.
Among the Tsonga women, an eye witness who lived for many years in their village and spoke their language listed 10 different jobs that keep Tsonga women busy as long as the sun is up. “As for men, their life is far from being as active as that of the women. … We can fairly estimate at three months the time required for the work which they have to do for the village and for the community. The remaining months are devoted to pastimes and pleasure.” (The Life of a South African Tribe, Junod, vol. 1, pp. 337, 340)
Though times have changed in some measure, too often women are given jobs that the Bible gives to men. Male laziness buries many women in a suffocating pile of work. Even in a Western context many women bear the responsibility to work outside the home, prepare meals, take care of children, and even lead the family in religion.
When men leave the work to the women, the family does not develop. Women slowly emerge from their God-given roles and affections. Trapped within the guide rails of the world’s system of expectations, women are told that to have value they must neglect and de-emphasize the home and family. By promoting and defending cultures that perpetuate foolish patterns of work on women, the governments of the world are dishonoring women.
Motherhood is dishonored.
What percentage of 17-year old young ladies around the world have as their goal to raise children? Since feminism has triumphed in the public square around the world, women have increasingly searched for work outside the home. Feminism is the teaching that women can and should do what men do. Or, in other words, feminism is the doctrine that men are so bad, women should be just like them.
But what must men do? Gen. 3:17 “In toil you will eat of [the soil], all the days of your life. … By the sweat of your face you will eat bread…” Before this curse, God placed the man in the garden as the first farmer (Gen. 2:15). Provision for wife and children is the undisputed Biblical role that God has given to men. If women do that as well, then who will watch, wash, and feed the children? Who will cook, clean, and make the house? Feminism says that is all dishonorable.
For Christians—or anyone who has even a dash of historical perspective, feminism is the breaking of the 10th Commandment whereby women are catechized to covet their husbands’ jobs. But deeper still, it is a dishonoring of motherhood. If a girl wanted to stay at home and raise children, she would be discouraged or even mocked today. Our world wants girls to think about being sports stars, movie stars, businessmen, or employed in other ways. The governments of the world will offer incentives to attract women to leave their dreams for children and chase money. Later when they are depressed and lonely, they are trapped.
Women are encouraged to give away their bodies in vile and filthy ways.
The world urges girls to be as free with fornication as men are. The argument is: Men have these desires, and therefore women must desire the same thing in the same way (See The Politically Incorrect Guide to Women, Sex, and Feminism by Lukas). Since the sexual revolution of the 1960’s, women have been the losers. By throwing away virginity and purity, too many women have given foolish men what they wanted without getting the relationship that they had wanted.
Proverbs warns about this even in ancient Jewish culture when Solomon told his son to watch out for the women who matches his description. “She is boisterous and rebellious, Her feet do not remain at home; She is now in the streets, now in the squares, And lurks by every corner.” (Pro. 7:11-12)
She wears a uniform that clearly shows her line of work (Pro. 7:10), and she talks like a sewer (7:14-20). The world sees no problem with this “lifestyle choice” even though it is obviously dishonorable to any female. No mother wants her daughter to grow up to be the Proverbs 7 woman.
A life without restraint where women are consumed like fried chicken is a common aspect of the world’s depraved and savage cultures. Pornography, prostitution, and indecency in fashion and media in the Western world vies with the practices in rural Tsonga culture to degrade women into the status of a mere body.
After describing the custom of the “gangisa” still commonly practiced in rural areas of South Africa, Junod writes, “As the unmarried boys and girls live in special huts… at the entrance of the village, it is easy for them to meet at nights. … In fact nothing is prohibited in the relations between young people of the two sexes.” (Junod, vol. 1, p. 97) Will anyone who grew up in the rural areas try to say that a significant number of the young people were virgins when they were married?
When God describes the picture of the final form of the world’s system before the return of Christ, He could choose nothing more poignant and reprehensible than the picture of a Woman who had given herself to vile and filthy habits (Rev. 17-18).
That is what the world does with women. It dishonors them by overwhelming them with work and the desires for work that they cannot do. It mocks their amazing ability to bear children, and it culminates its vandalism of femininity by teaching them to sell their bodies for the lowest price.
