S1-Day 16: God in Dirty Places: You/Me/She/Her “Being a Woman!”

To recognize who one is and what one can do, I believe, it's genesis is in one’s ‘mindset’! From time immemorial the plight of women on human moral life has been of constant concern. In other words, the ‘old normal’ where women are being objectified within toxic masculinity is being challenged with the ‘new normal’ at this juncture. In the midst of this old normal factor, how do we respond, when people say we are to live with the novel COVID-19, the new normal? Since a paradigm shift is taking place, is it the mindset that matters the most, in both, for every human?

Well, in the midst of global pandemic (COVID-19), the plight of women in many places get worse from domestic violence to abuses at different levels and categories within and beyond their four walls. Almost every column of the newspaper, in India reports rape, sexual abuse, body shaming, harassment, and so on related to women. These are the by-products of dirty mindset leading to disgraceful actions against women’s existence.

It is true that, despite any given situation the patriarchal society continues to be comfortable with the old normal life, in many ways, where women are submerged in the culture of silence. There are common phrases like, You/Me/She/Her being a woman has to cook, wash, clean, serve, be humble, be silent, need not argue, must adjust, should understand, and so on, which in many situations is not expected of men. Patriarchy has penetrated so deep in the minds of people that even women have internalized it as a norm and live up to that set standards, because of which, I would agree that it is not only men who oppress, but at times it is even women folks who see other women with a patriarchal mindset; the normal way! Now, how then do we look at the concept of “being a woman”  moving from a destructive way to a constructive one in the light of God in dirty places?

It has to be understood that women’s issues are not women’s issues alone but human issues, which needs to be addressed by both female and male who work towards gender transformation from a state of subjugation and oppression to just humanity. The mindset of the oppressor becomes a challenging task when we talk about God in dirty places. The mindset itself is a dirty place to be addressed. Whilst, for as long as the mindset is dirty, there cannot be a place for the love of God to activate in human beings! Therefore, it is pertinent to locate some space for God in the dirty places (mindset) so as to transform into a new normal for a just existence. Just as COVID-19 does not discriminate persons based on gender, it is time now to act afresh, collectively from every aspect. Instead to trying to get back to the old normal life, it is the need of the hour to have an inception of a new normal where every human being can exist with their own human rights. Otherwise as Arundati Roy rightly said “There could be nothing worse than a return to (old) normal.”

Prayer:

God of all places, infuse the mindset with your love and begin with me that can embrace a new normal of peace, equality, and wholeness where all genders can experience your divine freedom with responsibility. Amen.

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Author: Ms. Imnabenla Jamir

About the Author Imnabenla Jamir is a native of Ao Naga community of Nagaland. She has submitted her doctoral dissertation to the Senate of Serampore College (University) through the United Theological College, Bangalore in the department of Christian Ethics. She is a former faculty of the Masters College of Theology, Vishakhapatnam.