LITERESI BILENG AVANSE - boukie banane

EQUALITY AT THE HEART OF FUNDAMENTAL VALUES
Feminists and gender activists often shy away from religious debates. At the level of practice, discriminatory
attitudes are regularly condemned but in a half-hearted way. It is because some of us believe that religious
doctrines are basically gender biased and sacred books cannot be used to promote gender equality. Yet sacred
texts can become useful material in the uphill fight against sexism if properly handled.
Take for example the story of Adam and Eve. This is what is found in Good News Bible published by United
Bible Societies. Genesis, ch 2, verses 21-22 (page 5) says: "Then the LORD God made the man fall into a deep
sleep, and while he was sleeping, he took out one of the man's ribs and closed up the flesh. He formed a woman
out of the rib ..." This is often used by male chauvinists to argue against gender equality. Yet some scholars
believe that the use of the word 'rib' is the result of a mistake in translation. The Hebrew word used in the
original is 'tsela' which means, according to Wayne Simpson, ('Adam's Rib', 1996, distributed by the Biblical
Research Foundation, 629 Lexington Road, Sapulpa, Ok 74066, http://www.jasher.com/Adamsrib.htm ) an
entire side or half of Adam's body. Moreover there is another word which might have been wrongly translated.
In Genesis, ch 2, verse 18 (page 5), we read "... I will make a suitable companion to help him." (my emphasis).
The Hebrew word in the original is "azer" which "means not just assistance, but a significant and substantial
kind of help. ... Eve was made to be everything Adam was not. She was his complement." (Wayne Simpson)
This new reading is in line with what we find in Genesis, Ch 5, verse 1: "(When God created human beings, he
made them like himself. He made them male and female, blessed them and named them "Humanity".)
According to this text God is both male and female.
The Koran is explicit on this issue. Sura 4, Aya 1 says the following: "O mankind! Fear your Lord who created you
from a single soul. He created its mate from it ..." (page 56, The Qur'an, translated by Maulana Wahiduddin
Khan, GOODWORD BOOKS) A single unit is used to create a pair of humans of both sexes. The text seems to
suggest that men and women were made from the same material and at the same time. So they must be equal.
In Hinduism "the Supreme Being contains both masculine and feminine traits. The female part is as important
as the male part. One has to consider the feminine aspect of the divine, in order to know the ultimate truth. It is
believed that all goddesses of the Hindu pantheon are special forms of the divine mother- Shakti. To recognize
the feminine aspect, it is necessary to restore wholeness, completeness and universality."
(http://www.iloveindia.com/spirituality/goddesses/index.html)
With so much evidence in religious literature to support gender equality, why is it that most religions
discriminate against women?
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