07 November 1998, 949 words
Men are not pigs. Pigs can have 30-minute orgasms. The average man is lucky if he can have two five-second orgasms within that time period. But there are quite a few women who, if they had the choice, would opt for men to be like the praying mantis instead of the pig: the male praying mantis cannot have sex until the female praying mantis rips his head off. I personally think this is a bad idea, since it makes oral sex virtually impossible. But I do agree that if a female is gong to mate with any creature that habitually prays, it's probably wisest to rip its head off first.
I say this because a woman is more likely to be abused by a man who takes religion seriously than one who doesn't. Every major religion asserts that women are inferior to men. The Bible starts off with an injunction from Yahweh: "Woman, you shall be eager for your husband and he shall be your master (Genesis: chapter 3, verse 16). It continues in the New Testament with the assertion that "Man is the image of God and the mirror of His glory, whereas woman reflects the glory of man. For...man was not created for woman's sake but woman for the sake of man." (1Corinthians11, 7-8) and the instruction "Wives, be subject to your husbands; that is your Christian duty." (Colossians 3: 18-19).
The Bible also makes out women to be always in the wrong. After Adam had eaten the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge, the first thing he said when confronted by Yahweh was, "The woman you gave me for a companion, she gave me fruit from the tree and I ate it."(Gen. 3:12) This is why Dr. Eric St. Cyr, a Christian priest, thinks the best way to fight AIDS is not by empowering women economically and educationally, but by having fathers choose whom their daughters marry and by promoting "modesty" among women.
Hinduism also has little respect for women. Fyzabad MP Chandresh Sharma, who is also a pundit, recently asserted otherwise, but since he sees blue lights which deflect bullets, I think can safely assert that he firmly believes in the Hindu concept of maya, which says that this world is an illusion. After all, only a person who is in maya could possible assert that Hinduism encourages respect for women. The Bhagavadgita, for instance, although admitting that women can attain the godhead, unequivocally assigns women an inferior status. "Those who take shelter in me, though they be of lower birth - women, merchants, workers - can attain the supreme destination." And, just like the Bible, the Bhagavadgita blames women for humanity's sins: "When irreligion is prominent in the family, the women of the family become polluted." Indeed, according to Swami Prabhupada, founder of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, (a.k.a. the Haré Krishna Movement) "As children are prone to be misled, women are similarly very prone to degradation [and] require protection from the elder members of the family." Canakya Pandita, another guru who presumably has Divine Knowledge, asserts that women are generally not very intelligent and therefore not trustworthy.
The manusamhita, from which Hindu law is derived, says categorically that a woman must not be given freedom, but must be "protected" first by her father, then her husband and then her sons. In India, such "protection" has resulted in fewer than four in every ten women being able to read; in the average Indian woman marrying before 21 years of age; in five million girls "disappearing" from the population between 1981 and 1991; and in more than 500 women being killed every month for dowries.
Interestingly, Islam, the religion which in practice is most oppressive to women, is also the religion that in theory most enjoins men to treat women well. "...consort with them in kindness" says the Qu'ran in Surah 4, Verse 19. The Qu'ran also tries to ensure women's reputations are protected: "Those who accuse honourable women but bring not four witnesses, whip them with eighty stripes and never afterward accept their testimony - they indeed are evildoers." (24:4) And, although it allows men to divorce women with just a word, the Qu'ran also says "...then a woman must be retained in honour or released in kindness." (2:229) But, of course, Muslim men conveniently ignore these injunctions, just as Islamic fundamentalists ignore the Qu'ranic verse that categorically states "There is no compulsion in religion." (2:256)
You see, it is human nature that determines religion, not religion that determines human nature. People tend to choose those parts of their religion that allows them to do what they planned to do, anyway. Thus, even the Qu'ran's best injunctions are mitigated by being continually linked with the fundamental inferiority of women, as laid down by Allah. "Men are a degree above [women]", it says in Surah 2:228. And wife-beating is even encouraged: "Men are in charge of women because Allah has made one to excel the other...good women are obedient...those from whom you fear rebellion, admonish them and banish them to separate beds and whip them." (4:34)
I'll tell you something, though: what I find most curious in all this is that, in every religion, it is the women who are most fervent about attending church, mandir and mosque. In fact, now that I think about it, maybe I'd better find a faithful Christian, Hindu or Muslim woman to marry. Although I'm an agnostic who would find a traditional woman completely boring to live with, I must admit that the idea of an obedient wife is very tempting. And the Word of God beats a whip any day.
Copyright ©1998 Kevin Baldeosingh