Woman has a world-view, world-vision, life-situation and an interiority that is particularly hers.
“Woman”, a prefix to a concept “man”! Woman is a concept that today includes at least four billions of human beings. Is “wo” just a prefix to the term “man”? We also have the gender terms: “male” and “female.” Again is the “Fe” gender just a prefix to the “male” gender? Actually, the term “man” is gender “neutral.” It was inclusive of all genders. And, on the other hand, “woman” is not merely a concept.
What about the Bible?
According to the Priestly Codex, Genesis chapter 1: “Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." Then God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food"; and it was so. And God saw all that He had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.” Let us notice that the Priestly Codex says: “Man and Woman were created by God in His Image and likeness. And, they were to “rule” over the fish of the sea and birds of the sky, the cattle, over all the earth, and over every creeping thing on the earth.”
The older Jahwist and Elohist Traditions in Genesis Chapter 2, narrate the event allegorically: “Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die." Then the LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper suitable for him." And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. And the man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him. So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place. And the LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. And the man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
This Yahwist and Elohist version is very picturesque. But the rich imagery has been open to varied interpretations that depend on the Reader’s mind-set and viewpoint, and, not on the allegorical imagery of the text itself. Male chauvinists see women as fashioned from the “rib” of man, and so, subordinate to men. But does any man lack a rib? In fact, the verses are allegorical: “So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh at that place. And the LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. And the man said, "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man."
Man is in a deep sleep, dreaming! When he wakes up, he sees someone that makes him exclaim: "This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man." In other words, woman is as sturdy, steady and flexible as the rib bone of every man. And just as the rib bone is close to the heart, woman is close to the heart of man. In short, woman is someone to whom a man can relate in every way: emotionally, psychologically, economically, intellectually, linguistically, legally, socially, artistically, architecturally, ethically, morally and religiously! Woman has a world-view, world-vision, life-situation and an interiority that is particularly hers.
This was said thousands of years ago. But, have we even today, grasped this fundamental relationship between “Man” and “Woman”? Have we, even in the Church, realized the role women have in ecclesiastical affairs, and, even in matters of faith?
More recently, it was said of Margaret Thatcher, that she is an Iron Lady, and Indira Gandhi, the only Male in India! And today, in India, Mamata Banerjee is the only Male to “demodify” India!
Let us all remember that the Christian faith in the Resurrection is based on the witness borne by women to the Apostles. Let us remember that the miracle of Cana, the first miracle by Jesus, was due to the persistence of Jesus’ Mother, Mary. Let us remember Anna, the 84 year old widow who dwelt in the Temple, and who, when, Jesus, was brought to the Temple, exclaimed aloud about the child who all looked forward to. Let us remember, that there were only women, and , just the favourite disciple, John, who stood by Jesus, on the Cross! Above all, let us all remember our “Mother” who bore all of us and made us resilient in life!
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