CHALLENGES FACING WOMEN

IN THE 21ST CENTURY

By The Venerable Dr. Ifechukwu U. Ibeme
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In The Beginning
Soon after humans were created and dwelled in Eden, male and female humanity together with Satan
began their rebellion against God’s Word of Divine TRUTH which has distorted human experience and
reason. Ever since this rebellion and sin, depraved human experience and reason have produced
changing or variant cultures and practices (through forms of human or mundane TRADITION, TREND,
TENDENCY, TENET and THOUGHT of pagan nations in their generations). These pagan cultures and
practices are mostly in conflict and contradiction against the regenerate culture and practice derivable
from the God’s TRUTH revealed through His Word as recorded in the Scripture.
Ephesians 4:17-20
(17) This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you no longer walk as other Gentiles
walk, in the vanity of their mind,
(18) Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the
ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
(19) Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto licentiousness, to work all
uncleanness with greediness.
(20) But you have not so learned Christ;

Originally, God made humans such that males and females, though different in sexuality, would need
the complementary help of the other in order to enjoy their shared divine blessing in creation and fulfil
their shared divine mandate of stewardship to God on earth. Each sex is to work out his or her differing
and interdependent roles and responsibilities in harmony and unity of purpose.
Genesis 1:27-29
(27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and
female created he them.
(28) And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the
earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air,
and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.
(29) And God said, Behold, I have given you every plant bearing seed, which is upon the face
of all the earth, and every tree, which has seed in its fruit; to you it shall be for food.

Historically, Women Protection Evolved into Women Marginalization

(Ref https://www.scribd.com/document/285973194/Home-Making-and-Planning)
It is unfortunate that what was initially intended to be wisdom for women protection has eventually
turned out to be wickedness for women marginalisation. Depraved sinful humanity with its godless
cultures and evil practices is bound to be inhumanly brutal and bestial where might is right, because a
depraved society breeds violence and vileness, which leads to hardship and hunger, disease and death.
Such dangerous social environments are automatically disadvantageous to all especially women and

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children. To ensure the survival of the home and the human race, women and children had to be
protected from exposure to these dangers. This original PRESERVATION INSTINCT to protect women for
the good of the race has often become misconstrued by both misogynist men and misandrist women
as if it were of PERSECUTION INTENT to marginalize women. It is unfortunate that the polemic
between misogynist and misandrist has confused, polarised and perverted postmodern concept and
attitude about manhood and womanhood! This bitter acculturation needs to be ameliorated.

For this reason, rural societies in ancient times were well organized for family or community safety and
effectiveness, such that the provision from external sources was seen as BREADWINNING while the
management of household resources was known as HOMEMAKING. Such rural societies lived mainly on
resources earned from breadwinning roles that are too dangerous to be done with baby in the womb or
on the back. These roles are therefore mostly done by men, such as: clearing and tilling the ground for
farming, tree climbing labours, hunting animals for meat, cargo and distance trading and war looting.
Even in ancient urban societies, families lived on money earned from engagement in trading and
employment in artisan workshops, the military, security units, government offices, but in recent time
have included schools, churches, banks and businesses. These BREADWINNING jobs were mainly done
by men because they exposed to hazards and rigors which are not safe or convenient for pregnant
women and suckling babies.

Conversely, since HOMEMAKING roles are safer and more gradual to be done while nursing infants,
women who needed to be mostly at home for childbearing and nursing had to take up most of
homemaking roles. Traditionally, homemaking roles included: housekeeping, cuisine, cleaning, fabric
and clothes making, fetching of water, care of household gardens and feeding of household animals,
gathering of grains, fruits and vegetables, foodstuff trading, and dispensing of rations from household
resources.

Over the years, instances abound that even when these dangers had become mitigated by impact of
civilizing law and order or Christianizing morals and harmony or urbanization and technology, women
still remain barred from exposure and involvement in many aspects of human endeavours and society.
This has made women, especially gregarious and ambitious ones, to rightly feel marginalised rather than
feel being protected. Recent globalisation and advancements also provide further civilizing safety and
opportunity advantageous for women and children, but these new developments pose new challenges
which are more moral and mental than the usual physical or brutal dangers.

Home making roles have been so altered by urbanization, technology and globalization such that
parental informal on-the-job education of their children has been overtaken by urban advanced formal
education systems outsourced to civil agencies and private businesses such as crèches, schools and
colleges. Long hours of urban employment without allowing parents take their children along to learn
their trade informally, destroys direct informal education by parents which would have provided
children with parental care, control, and supervision.

Even while staying with their parents (whether in urban or rural dwellings), telecommunication gadgets
now distract parents and hijack children’s attention by means of both vile and virtuous videos,
programmes and advertisements as well as short messaging and social media chats. The result is that
children are starved of parental contact and home training. Today’s poorly parented generation has
turned out to be angry, immoral, rebellious, irresponsible, and prone to revelry, gangsterism and drug
addiction.

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Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women (1988 to 1998)
In 1988 the World Council of Churches (WCC) launched the Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in
Solidarity with Women. It was an opportunity for the churches to look at their structures, their
teachings and practices as it reflects on the lives of women in society and to stand in courageous
solidarity with all women. While a majority popularly pushed for this reflection to be done in line with
certain human cultural aspiration a minority prayerfully sought for it to be done in line with divine
Scriptural inspiration.
“The Ecumenical Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women is grounded in the biblical
truth of the common blessing of women and men in creation (Gen.1:27) and the common
responsibility they share for nurturing and serving the church and the world. Our theologies are
shaped by biblical words, historical traditions of the Church, our sacramental experiences and
through the power of the Holy Spirit. In all of these, we affirm that equality between women
and men is at the core. Throughout the scriptures, in spite of the very patriarchal times,
women’s witness was strong, and through acts of faith and daring assertions, women broadened
the mission and ministry of Jesus!” (WCC Report on WOMEN’S CHALLENGES INTO THE 21st
CENTURY: An agenda for action. Ref http://www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/assembly/chall.html)

In the above cited WCC Report, the popular concerns of endangered women and children as well as the
plight of the poor and marginalized peoples and nations, even the Feminist and New Age demands on
approval of homosexuality and abortion were all lumped together in the focus of The Ecumenical
Decade of the Churches in Solidarity with Women. Some of the issues raised included those:
 On economic justice and employment for women
 On participation of women in positions of authority and decision making
 On racism and discrimination against women minorities
 On violence against women

UN’s Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women (September 1995)

The UN declared the International Year for Women in 1975. In Beijing 1995 at which 5000 official
delegates, 189 governments and international organizations, 4000 NGOs accredited in the UN and
30,000 NGO representatives participated vigorously, a platform for action to deal with challenges facing
women in the 21st century was determined as follows:
 Strategies to address poverty
 Women and Child Education
 Women and Child Health
 Human rights for Women and Children
 Environmental management
 Violence against women
 Women in armed conflict
 Women in power and decision making
 Institutional mechanisms for the advancement of women
 Media and women
 The girl child
 Women and the economy

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The Real but Neglected Challenge
You would notice that in both for WCC and Beijin agenda in the 1990s, the highlighted challenges were
all about materialistic, political, economic, immorality, and abortion RIGHTS for the women, while
nothing is said about ensuring parental, moral and spiritual RESPONSIBILITIES to their offspring. But this
is what the Scripture is concerned about. This exclusion of PARENTAL and PURITY challenges is because
both WCC and UN agendas were drawn by feminists who belong mainly to the New Age, Hippie and
Satanist movements. This is where the Church especially Christian women must refuse to be carried off-
guard by the mantra and hype for POLITICAL and PROMISCUITY freedom without regard for PURITY and
PARENTAL responsibility.

Challenges facing women are not really as the feminists make it look like, but span through battling and
racing against the evil and disorder in a fast-moving world, rapidly and constantly evolving in culture,
economy, and technology. It is within this evil fast world that Christian women need to ensure the role
in:
 Home making and planning,
 Breadwinning and self-development,
 Child training and nurturing for livelihood and godliness, and
 Remaining true to Scriptural Faith without bowing to evolving pagan cultures.

All hands should therefore be on deck, not only to help our women aspire to every field or height of
endeavor they could and would want to, but in addition help them engage in the biblical agenda of
PARENTING the next generation for God. If we fail in this, the next generation would either be destroyed
by us through promiscuity and abortion rights or they would destroy us and themselves violence and
vileness due to lack of godly parenting! Then these Scriptures could unfortunately apply to our children,
but God forbid:
2Timothy 3:1-5
(1) You must realize, however, that in the last days difficult times will come.
(2) People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, abusive,
disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy,
(3) unfeeling, uncooperative, slanderous, degenerate, brutal, hateful of what is good,
(4) traitors, reckless, conceited, and lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.
(5) They will hold to an outward form of godliness but deny its power. Stay away
from such people.

Titus 1:16
(16) They claim to know God, but they deny him by their actions. They are detestable,
disobedient, and disqualified to do anything good.

God’s purpose for the home comes about through strategic combination of parental PROVISION,
PROTECTION, GUIDANCE, EDUCATION, and ACCULTURATION to avail their offspring and dependents
with necessary
 learning and activities,
 instruction and recreation,
 nutrition and healthcare,
 experiment and exploits,
 discipleship and discipline,
 demonstration and delegation,
 mentoring and motivation.

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In addition to the political, equality, violence and health issues which national governments and
International Community are making policies and affirmations to tackle, Christian women must rise to
those neglected but godly parental and spiritual challenges for the family and for their personal walk
with God.

Apostolic Teaching on the Role of Women in Church and Society

(Ref https://www.scribd.com/document/30395601/Apostolic-Teaching-on-Women-Ministry-Gifts-
Order)
The 21st century unisex and asexual culture poses a great challenge of roles and identity to Christian
women too. Modern pagan rebellion and Cultural Revolution led by Hippies and New Agers since the
1960s have compelled many modern Christians to rationalize and succumb to honouring human culture
above divine Scripture. This recent compromise is not great spiritual wisdom, because we all know that
a cultural Church is false Church! Only a Scriptural Church is True Church. So what exactly does the Bible
specifically say?

In the apostolic Church as recorded in the Scriptures, though women ministered in several prominent
ROLES as Deaconesses, Helps (Act 18:26; Rom 16:1-3), Prophetesses (Acts 21:9), Matrons (John 19:27),
Financers (Mar 15:41; Luk 8:2-3), and Hosts (Act 12:12; 16:14-15, 40) but were not ordained as oversight
Presbyters. Spiritual GIFTS are variously given to all males and females alike as ABILITY for ministry
and ministrations among the saints, who by their faith in Christ have the same RIGHTS of sonship
irrespective of gender, age or race. Apostolic and presbyterial OFFICES and RESPONSIBILITIES are
however reserved for a few as positions of AUTHORITY for oversight and presidency over the saints –
all such ecclesiastical authorities in the Scriptures were held by males only. This divine wisdom and
rule should not be challenged or changed but upheld.

 On Authority and Submission in the Church (1Cor 14:33b-40)

Earlier, the Apostle had clearly instructed that women should prophesy and pray in the Church with the
veil as their token of authority on their head for the sake of the Angels (1Cor 11:1-16). This teaching was
not based on Jewish, Greek or Roman culture but is revealed as both Angelic and Gospel culture based
on the relationship of believers in the Church to the Angels, to Christ and to God. The worship veil of
authority in the eyes of the Angels, concealed the indignity of human glory (represented by long haired
heads of women) and exhibited majesty of divine glory (represented by short-haired heads of men)
during the Church’s messianic worship.

But here and in other places in the Scripture, the Apostle Paul admonished that it is disgraceful for
women to ask contentious questions and argue with opinionated assertions during fellowship/service
but maintain orderly decorum in the congregation (1Cor_14:33-35). Women should desist from issuing
authoritative directives and instructions (1Co_14:34; 1Ti_2:12) and from raising argumentative
contentions in the Church (1Co_14:35; 1Ti_2:11). This also applies to men who misbehave similarly to
leaders (2Thes_3:6-7). Women in Christ should not presume to contend with or dictate to men IN THE
CHURCH. Such personal assertiveness TOWARD OR OVER MEN in the congregation should be eschewed
NOT ONLY IN CORINTH BUT IN EVERY APOSTOLIC CHURCH.

St Paul’s ‘not to speak’ and ‘keep silence’ and ‘not exercise authority over men’ in the Church here
(1Co_14:34; 1Ti_2:11-12) indicate that women should not assume presbyterial authority nor be
ordained into priestly overseer office IN THE CHURCH (1Cor_9:11-16; Tit_2:15). However, this does not

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mean muteness or dumbness but ‘courteousness’, ‘submission’ and ‘obedience’ which equally applied
to non-leading male members. Notice that this does NOT extend outside the Church.

Again, this could NOT have abrogated other utterance or spoken ministrations and responsibilities
enjoined and permitted for women in other portions of Scripture such as:
(1) prophesying, praying, tongues-interpretation and singing (before all in Church) Luk_2:36-38;
Act_21:9; 1Co_11:3-12; Eph_5:18-21; Exo_15:20-21; Jdg_4:4-9,
(2) teaching (before women in Church) Tit_2:3-4,
(3) teaching and even questioning but no contentions (before men after Church in private and at
home) Act_18:26; 1Co_14:35; Pro_31:1-2, and
(4) other spiritual ministrations, exhortations and helps (Act_16:14-15; 1Ti_5:10).
Also, their ‘subjection to authority’ does not exclude official delegation (Rom _6:1-4); even reporting
negligence and voting for lay church leaders of their choice (Act_6:1-6).

One proviso is that such women should minister IN CHURCH GATHERING with their messianic worship
veils of authority on their heads. This is a revealed spiritual protocol divinely instituted for the New
Testament Church assembly not for submission to men and not subject to any culture (whether Greek,
Jewish or Roman) as is often mistakenly believed, but for dignity in the messianic Church and for
authority before the liturgical Angels (1Co_11:5-6, 1Co_11:10). This apostolic ordinance and Church
custom was meant to cover every symbols of human glory (long-haired women’s heads) and uncover
only the symbols of divine glory ( short-haired men’s heads) when in the Church’s messianic Assembly
for the sake of the Angels.

WHY THE ANGELS? Angelic company (not demons) is always in attendance with God at any true Church
assembly where God is present (Heb_12:12-14; 1Ti_5:21) and inside. Some Churches who seek to be
subjective and cultural rather than scriptural neither mind having Christ outside the door (Rev 3:20)
nor bother about manipulations by seducing demons of error into all manner of dangerous trendy
teachings (1Tim 4:1; 2Pet 2:1; 1John 4:6). Others use their anointing rather than Scripture to validate
their revisionism, forgetting that King Saul was divinely anointed (1Sam 10:1) and had the prophetic
Spirit (1Sam 10:10), but when he disregarded divine protocol (1Sam 13) and instruction (1Sam 15), he
additionally began to be troubled by a demon by divine disfavour, despite his divine anointing (1Sam
16:14)!

Postmodern subjectivist Churches are playing dangerous games with spiritual protocols of the
Worship Veil divinely instituted for the New Testament, which were customary order and decorum
followed by early Apostolic Churches without contention (1Cor 11:1-2, 16). Today, some Christians
presume they have subjective liberty or spiritual authority to arrogantly disregard or discretionally
revise customs taught and practiced by the Apostles as Christ’s spiritual ordinances of decorum in
Church (1Cor 11:3-5) and dignity before His Angels (1Cor 11:10). Angels are God's liturgical (worship
ministering or homage service) spirits unto God as well as diaconal (attendant serving) spirits unto the
saints (Heb_1:14).

THIS PROTOCOL OF HEAD TOKENS FOR THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH, HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH
MARRIAGE TO HUSBANDS, NOR HAS IT ANYTHING TO DO WITH JEWISH, GREEK AND ROMAN
CULTURES as often insinuated. Of course, it is also important to notice that this is about regard or
disregard of divinely instituted protocol and tokens of dignity and indignity, glory and inglory, honour
and dishonour, but not about sanctity and defilement.

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  On Rights and Aspirations in the Society
In the secular society, OUTSIDE THE CHURCH, where the sacerdotal Priesthood and liturgical presiding
Presbyterate are not in charge, though women may be socially disadvantaged (1Pe 3:7), yet they are not
forbidden from temporal prominence and authority over men. Like the men, they could come to ruling
power by circumstance (Debora, Jdg 4:4-6; Jdg 5:6-9), by force (Athaliah, 2Kin 11; 2Chr 22-23), by
political manoeuvre (Esther, Esth 8:1-14), by popular acclaim and personal merit (Esther, Est 2:15-18), by
prowess (Jael, Jdg 4:9; Jdg 4:17-22), or by royal birth. There were the Queen of Sheba (2Kin 10; 2Chr 9;
Mat 12:42) and Candace the Queen of Ethiopia served by eunuchs (Act 8:27), who were well spoken of
by the Scriptures. Priscilla (first female seminary theology professor) provided academy theological
update training for Apollos outside the Church assembly BUT REMAINED UNDER THE OVERSIGHT
MINISTRY OF APOLLOS IN THE CHURCH (Act 18:24-28).

Christian women should therefore, contribute their spiritual gifts/abilities in Church and could be
licensed, commissioned, elected, delegated, appointed, into various roles, responsibilities and ministries
as applicable to all laymen who are equally Spirit-baptised INTO CHRIST (Joh 7:37-39; 1Co 12:12-14; Eph
2:19-22), but to operate with their veil of authority in the Angelic culture of the Church assembly (1Co
11:5-6; 1Co 11:10). However, they should NOT assert themselves over men or be ORDAINED into
priestly authority or oversight presbyterate to preside over or ordain men in the Angelic Assembly of
God’s Church (1Co 14:34-35; 1Ti 2:11-12; 1Ti 5:21; Heb 1:14; Heb 12:22-24). Amongst fellow women in
the Church (especially to assist their ordained Presbyter husbands), amongst their children and
dependants in their homes, and in socio-political circles outside the Church, Christian women could
oversee and preside at any level. (Tit 2:3-4; Pro 31:1-2; Jdg 4:4-9).

Last revised: November 16, 2019

by Ven. Dr. I. U. Ibeme
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