“I wouldn’t have to, I’d already be one,” a strong reply by Mary Jackson to Karl Zielinski who asked, “If you were a white male, would you wish to be an engineer?” in the movie ‘Hidden Figures.’ The movie tells the heroic stories of three African-American women mathematicians at NASA who dealt with racial and gender discrimination at work. They defied the odds and made history in the 1960s. This is just one of the many instances where people created a malignant milieu in different professions, where many, particularly women have been victims, who have endured, battled with and still are, in today’s contemporary context.
The vices of human, corrupted conduct, sceptical perceptions are some of the major factors that perpetuate dirty social issues and economic inequality. In my study I observe that, women have long been treated as inferior. Gender inequality is an undeniable factor that paves a route to unequal employment opportunities.
A woman employee may be smart, acquire good qualifications and in addition may have work experience/work skills yet denied of certain jobs or statuses just because of her gender, ethnicity, race, financial status, and many other factors. In some professions, merit qualifications are not helping them either, majorly because of the interviewer’s bias attitude and pre-conceived notions. And those in power, with hostile attitude continue to function with their women employees, made subjected to their, what I would call as “immoral” and “ethically wrong” implications. The patriarchal society has created a pattern in their minds that, no matter how high a woman’s calibre is or how excellent their work ethics may be, they are fit only to be as men’s subordinates. It is evident that women are served unequal opportunities.
I would say, women are subdued not only in secular arena but in the church ministry and theological vocation as well. Bias employment in some of the churches in our context as far as I have observed. It came as a wave of shock to me when I realised I too am oppressed in this structure of oppression. In some of the cases, women are restrained from ordination, women are regarded as non-eligible to be pastors, and only few platforms are open for women to even “preach and teach”. Is this theologically right? Will our God who is just, call us to serve with reservations and limitations?
Both men and women in this vocation are equally called by God’s grace and I believe it is wrong to limit a woman’s ability, to humanly define what we can ‘do’ or we can ‘be.’ A church should be an agent of social transformation but sadly some churches comfortably embrace injustice and dirty practices therefore losing its sanctity.
Since biblical times women have lived a vulnerable and passive life. However, it is the incarnation of Christ that turned the social pyramid upside down, turned the stereotypical tables, and brought dirty issues to light and brought about a paradigm shift in the wrecked social system. It is nearly impossible to eradicate this prolonged issue of unequal opportunities over a short time however, if “words for change” turn into “words for change in praxis”, in a collaborative manner, there is no way that God of Peace (2 Thessalonians 3:16; Psalm 85:8) and Justice wouldn’t intervene (Isaiah 30:18, 61:8).
Prayer
O God of equality, thank you for loving us just as we are. We pray and seek for your intervention in the lives of those people and leaders with power to use it with wisdom rooted in equality. Strengthen those that are discriminated and suffering. Help them resist difficult times. Above all, give us a heart to be sensitive to other’s grievances, to work collaboratively, to help bridge a connection between God and the communities. This we pray with faith in Jesus. Amen.
Author: S. Helika Kiba
About the Author: Helika is currently doing her final year of Bachelor of Divinity from Eastern Theological College, Jorhat, Assam. She is an active member of the Student Christian Movement of India.
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