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People who follow Jesus know very well that he was all about goodness. He is absolutely one of the best examples for people of all religions who showed how human beings should associate with one another. It is exceedingly important to mention that Jesus was born in era which was dominated by the men (Davis 112). However, many times the great Prophet went against the patriarchal societal norms and granted women an equal status with men. It was a common practice to depreciate the female gender in the society of that era. For instance, women were not addresses by rabbis in public gatherings. They were not allowed to visit the Jerusalem temple and were restricted to the women’s court. Men were given the strict authority over women and they were only kept to give birth and look after the children.
Such biased and stereotypical attitudes were countered by Jesus as a true feminist. He taught people to give respect to women and refrain from attributing set, submissive roles to them. It won’t be incorrect to state that Jesus was the one who granted women their deserved position during that time. In addition, he revolutionized the men-dominated society by teaching Scriptures to the women and made them his disciples. Jesus was a messiah who demonstrated women personhood. In the mentioned era, husbands were regarded as the masters of their wives. Jesus made it clear that women are equal creations of God and are not to be considered as the property of their husbands, brothers or fathers. Time and again, Jesus emphasized with his words and actions that women are beautiful creations worthy of love, care and respect (Trombley 19).
As far as women’s role in marital life is concerned, Jesus gave them the equal status similar to their husbands. He gave emphasis on the mutual contribution, partnership and responsibilities for strengthening the marital bond. Jesus strictly refused the notion that women can be treated with disgrace by their husbands. Moreover, he changed the prevalent norms regarding divorce and marriage granting women a strong social status in the society (Binz 24). He did all such things as he was aware of the societal and religious challenges faced by the women of that time. He was the one who lifted the unseen burdens from the back of the victimized female sex. He showed compassion and concern for the women and never let them down. He was a true gentleman as he never showed disrespect and hatred towards the opposite sex. It can be said that he was women’s best friend who worked for their uplift in the society.
In the contemporary society, women are sentimentalized on a general level. Men show love and respect to their female relatives in a number of ways on special occasions. However, if closely observed, it is crystal clear that women are still treated as a possession/property and are expected to subjugate themselves. The male-dominated societies in the world consider women as inferiors meant to cook food, reproduce babies and perform household chores. As far as the United States of America is concerned, the country’s violence-against-women rates are one of the highest in the world. Women are used as sexual commodities and are employed for pornography and/or prostitution (Spector). If truth be told, the West has very little room to pinpoint the Muslim societies for depreciating women. It is the high time for such societies to stop treating women as property and inferior creatures and follow the teachings of Jesus.
Works Cited
Binz, Stephen J. Jesus, The Messianic King. New London, CT: Twenty-Third Publications, 2010. Print.
Davis, Stephen T. Encountering Jesus: A debate on Christology. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988. Print.
Spector, Jessica. Prostitution and Pornography: Philosophical Debate about the Sex Industry. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 2006. Print.
Trombley, Charles. Who Said Women Can't Teach?. South Plainfield, NJ: Bridge Pub., 1985. Print.
