How culture, religion and politics abuse women?

OF late I find myself talking much on gender issues and on how gender has been hijacked and used to dehumanise women and perpetuate male supremacy, a mindset that is totally and absolutely anti-Christ. My apologies if I have been sounding harsh but guess what, the truth is always a pain in the ears of those who work against it.

Looking around me, with an eye to see and an ear to hear hidden things in the gender business, I have come to conclude that there are three systems in my continent that create misconceptions of gender to abuse women. Today I am going to be brief but I will try to put my thoughts clearly and not to cause any controversy with anyone benefiting from the human wisdom in these three systems that I am talking about.

To me, culture, religion and politics are guilty of what I can term the manslaughter of women in my continent. For centuries, these have worked together not only to manipulate women but to deceive them and cause them to believe they have no value on their own and that their lives depends on men. The human culture view of women is based on a religious falsehood. The politics of the day then takes its spirit and mindset from this wrong religious and cultural thinking. These three then combine to perpetuate a wrong as a way of life. The sad thing is that many in the political arena know what is wrong and right but cannot fully address these because of their cultural and religious connections and the benefits derived from distorting womanhood. I do not intend to get into the finer details of this but I just want to show you simply, how these oppress women.

Human culture believes that a woman is a perpetual child with very little brain power. Human culture believes that women have no rights and cannot talk and or share their feelings openly. Its only women who are capable of witchcraft. Women are potential prostitutes. Human culture believes that women have no choice and men must therefore do what they want. This kind of thinking is evident in the marriage intentions from a cultural point of view. Marriage was arranged and women never had choices. Marriage was not a love issue but a culture issue. It was for procreation and building somebody’s name. Women were viewed as child bearers only. I can go on but we all know what human culture has done to our women. Socialising them as victims, worthless people whose value depended on a man. There is nothing, in my view as dehumanising as this aspect of human culture or should I say African culture.

Let me be clear here first that by religion, I am not talking Christianity. Christianity is not a religion as many of us think. Jesus did not come to earth and die on the cross to give us religion. He came that we might have life and have it in all its fullness. John 10 v 10. Religion to me is a human belief in God without Jesus. You are believing in God but in your on terms and ways and not in His way. This system of belief therefore regards women as cursed and inferior to men. It regards men as superior and as the only ones in the image of God. Obviously religion takes its belief on the misinterpretation of Genesis 3. For centuries people have believed a lie that God cursed the woman when she ate the fruit in the garden. I have heard many religious people preach this lie. I have heard them take the weaknesses of human cultures making them Bible knowledge or religion. The fact that the Bible has stories of human cultures belittling women does not mean God approves of it. It can be your religion but it’s not of God and it’s not Christianity. Religion believes women have no inheritance and women cannot hear or be used of God. Religion believes women are defiled and not worthy and it comes up with all sorts of horrors in trying to cleanse these. There is a thin line between religion and culture but as far as I am concerned, religion is more poisonous to the human soul than culture. Religion is the worst enemy of womanhood and the plan of God for humanity at large. Religion is an anti-Christ belief. Religion has a lot of don’ts for women ranging from clothes to walking, to laughing to sitting arrangements, etc. The life of a woman is governed by a lot of don’ts and regulations and norms and limitations. It’s like their bodies are sin itself. They cannot show this and that and even their faces in some religions. Religion is oppressive.

I said before that politics takes its colour and nature from culture and religion. The nature of our politics in Africa is a clear demonstration of the spirit of our culture and religion. If you want to correct our politics, just get to our culture and our religions and then you will win. As long as culturally and religiously, we do not value women, forget that they will ever have their so called political power. Wherever they have it, it is based on the men’s power. It’s not theirs. It is borrowed for a season just to justify some things. In politics, women are used as cheerleaders for men. This is their number one role, to cheer men. They are used as voting tools. Africa has more women than men and it is men in power by the vote of the women who have been for centuries taught that women themselves cannot lead. I always ask myself this question. Does African politics really believe in women empowerment? If so, does it realise that it is one of the agents of women dehumanisation and disempowerment? How willing are those in politics, who have benefited from this onslaught, to lose their dominance over women so as to truly empower them? I am not very sure if I do have answers but the political system in Africa benefits from women oppression.

Beloved, I am convinced in my heart that we have a lot of work to do as men, to understand God’s creation. Women are us. Women are humanity and there is nothing inferior about them. They are in the image of God and they are not cursed. The only way for women to find their purpose is Jesus Christ and not religion. The only way for men to be real and godly is Jesus Christ and not religion or politics. My prayer is for men and women to live as equals in the plan of God. There is one humanity who is male and female for a greater purpose. Africa must be saved, beloved.

Kilton Moyo is creator of Fruitful Marriages, a renewal and enrichment programme and is pastor, counsellor and author of Call or WhatsApp on +263775337207, +263772 610103 or citizenafricafoundation@gmail.com