Watchtower and Women's Rights

by jw07 15 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  LisaRose

  I have been out so long, I have no idea what is going on now. For myself it was a factor. At first I humbly accepted that I should be subservient to men. As I got older and started working my way up in my career, it became more difficult. In my work, I was paid the same as any man and had as much responsibility, so then there was a disconnect that I had to be something different at the Kingdom Hall. I was at a meeting for service where the only brother was a young MS, he was struggling to put car groups together. It was obvious that most of the women there could have done a better job. It just seemed a bit silly to waste the talents of 50% of the congregation by giving them such a limited role, all based on one scripture (I do not permit a woman to teach in the congregations" I have attended a few churches since I left where women were the pastors, it seemed to make for a better church experience.

  From what I have read, Bethel seems to be a male dominated environment, with women only allowed grudgingly, if at all. They seem to actually fear and detest women, I have a hard time imagining them changing or seeing the need for women to be given more responsibility.
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  NewYork44M

  When I was a elder and I observed my peers in various meetings I was struck with the conclusion that the only qualification many of these individuals had to be classified as a leader was the fact that they had a penis (I can only assume this because I did not actually observe the genitailia).

  So, as valuable as a woman may be in a leadership role how will she ever point others in the right direction without a penis leading the way...

  I hope you see the hyperbole in my comment. Of course women should be offered the same opportunities as men. The fact that their genitalia are internal as opposed to external has no relevance to their leadership qualities.
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  3rdgen

  Why should anyone be surprised that women are considered second class in the WTS when so many of the origional leadership were in one way or another sexually repressed/deviant. Those nasty ole wimmens are "a hank of hair and a bag of bones".- J D Rutherford.
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  konceptual99

  Will they have to change on the basis of external pressure? Unlikely. Even in France and Belgium where they have banned the Burqa there is little appetite to dictate what roles females should have in a given religion.

  The WTS has promoted enough propoganda based on Prov 31 to placate most of the R&F into submission.

  The only thing I can see prompting any kind of change is if the drain of men from responsible positions in the congregation becomes so severe that they simply have to address it by recruiting women into supporting roles in the congregation. It would be a bit like the role of women in war time Britain. Not good enough for the factories, farms and male dominated jobs in peace time but in war - well needs must.

  So we may (and I stress may) see women recruited into a kind of mini-ministerial servant but don't hold your breath for women elders and women presenting public talks.
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  Terry

  It comes down to this. A man tells you GOD told him he had the right to control YOU.

  You are supposed to smile and be grateful.

  Nature demonstrates a problem with the man-was-first scenario of the Bible.

  Men come out of women. Never has a woman come from a man.

  Oops, Game Over.
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  LongHairGal

  jw07:

  Don't expect anything to change just because 2014 is almost here.

  Their attitude towards women (particularly single ones) is really the prime reason I walked away from the religion. I wasn't tolerating any of their garbage. It didn't matter that I found out all the JW scandals on the internet in 2000 and that my suspicions were correct.

  I was not born-in but came in as a young adult. I took all kinds of flak because I have a full-time job and ran from all the users who imagined younger single women were there to be targeted. Also, none of the men there was my "head" outside of the kingdom hall. They could be the "head" inside the hall all they wanted. However, my personal life was NONE of their business and I am my own boss.

  They always thought they could overstep with a single woman. However I was not like the other silly females in the hall who answered questions which were nobody's business.

  I also did not give any handouts to pioneers who lived on the edge. Let them go ask the religion for money.

  To add insult to injury, I was scrutinized over my dress. It didn't matter that I was never reproved for immorality. I was still criticized.

  Lisa Rose:

  I also got the sense they feared and detested women and I got the impression they begrudged me my self-respect.

  So, believe me, I had every reason to walk out of such an unhealthy environment.