Men and Women are Equal, Yet Have Different Roles

God did not create human beings to be isolated persons, but He created them as male and female so that they could have harmonious interpersonal relationships, which are especially deep in the context of a family. And between men and women, the relationship comes to its full expression in the institution of marriage, wherein the husband and wife share love and communication and mutual giving of honor to one another for life.

God intended men and women to relate with each other as equals in person hood and importance. He did not make one inferior or superior to the other. He rather made men and women with different but complimentary strengths, which implies that they have different roles to play in relationships.

We need no research to discover what are the strengths and weaknesses that are unique to men and women respectively. We know them by instinct as well as experience. What is lacking rather is to understand and accept God’s intentions behind the uniqueness given to men and women. For, until we align our strengths with God’s intentions, we cannot expect to have harmonious relationships

For instance, men are generally physically more powerful than women, but there is a lack of understanding of this divine dispensation on the part of men. The strength has been given not to dominate, but rather to serve and protect. Similarly, the appointment of married men as the head of the family does in no way imply that he has to “rule” and his decision is “final”. The leadership rather has to be service-oriented as well as consultative.

On the other hand, there are numerous areas in which women are generally far better than men. Take for example the results of various examinations held by schools and colleges, which reveal that girls score higher marks than boys. In the field of language as well, women are found to be more articulate than men. But some men have long resisted women from coming into the mainstream of social life, education, business and public service.

It is sad that we find existing relationships between men and women, in a sharp contrast to the intentions of God, be it in the home or society. Generally speaking, men have misused their physical strength to dominate over women. Women are treated as an inferior sex, as men claim a more active role in vocation and society at large. The various practices against women, such as dowry, Sati, Devadasi and so on, are rooted in this false notion of women’s inferiority to men.

Such an arbitrary and unjust notion goes even against the inherent human sense of morality leave aside religious views. When the secular (read not based on religious principles) Constitution of India upholds the equality of men and women by giving them equal fundamental rights, how much more should we, the people who claim to be religious, should practice and advocate this equality, which is God-intended.