Why Are You Hitting Yourself?

I am always at a loss when I question why some women willingly remain involved in religions. These archaic doctrines are obviously the works of men who saw women as property, and not really much different than a slave. And it would seem that no matter how often women have proven not only their worth, but that they deserve equal treatment to their male counterparts, these religions still look down on them. If we can say that any one group has endured the greatest difficulties for the longest length of time, including being enslaved and oppressed, it is human women. In the course of our known history women have primarily been treated like domesticated breeding animals that men allow to live in their homes.

Much like our domesticated pets, men have often been quick to lash out at a woman when she shows signs of invoking her own will rather than bending in obedience to her "master". It is only now, after enduring centuries of abuse, that humanity as a whole has begun to recognize this abuse and call it what it is. It is only now, and only in a few nations, that a woman can seek redress for an abusive and violent husband or lover. And yet even in this age, a woman does not earn an equal wage with a man and is often still viewed by many of these godly men as being inferior in some way. For all the strides we've taken forward, religion just seems to take us one step further back. It is like an anchor, weighing down humanity and retarding our progress. The reason they are able to keep perpetuating this nonsense is because some women who could speak out just keep falling in line with the crap these sexist holy men keep spouting. So the question I have to ask these women is - Why are you hitting yourself?

Stop Hitting Yourself

I want to make it clear that this problem is caused by men. They wrote the doctrines and have used them to justify their acts of oppression and sexism. But there are many women who try to justify this crap that they are willingly submitting to. Now, many women are not willingly submitting to these religions. Many women are forced into them by cultural pressure, peer pressure, family pressure, or even under penalty of death. But there are women such as my aunt whom I love dearly, but that truly frustrate and baffle me. You see, she and many women like her live in a society that has experienced women's liberation and feminism. She is well educated and very intelligent. She can see the sexism, such as a more stringent attitude towards women over men and the refusal to let women preach in the church she attends, yet she just dismisses it as, "Oh, that's just how they are." In the end this only perpetuates the problem.

More frightening however, is that even though Islam is one of the most oppressive religions towards women, Muslim women are often very vocal and strong supporters of this oppressive ideology. I see in this mindset the same sort of thinking that many battered women have. It's a kind of Stockholm syndrome where the person becomes emotionally invested in their abuser. They begin to think that the abuse they're enduring is somehow their own fault and that they deserve it. They convince themselves that their tormentor is only acting to somehow correct a behavior or to help them. But the reality is that they've merely been convinced to remain a slave even after the shackles have been removed. Much of this is built on a sense of self-loathing that was put in their minds and advanced within our cultures by religion itself. The fact that it's so prevalent in our societies makes it a very hard stigma to shake off.

Why Are You Still Hitting Yourself?

The recent kidnappings of over 200 young girls by the Islamic group Boka Haram in Nigeria is a stark reminder that this mindset of male superiority and this view of women as property or slaves is still alive and thriving even today. These cowards had the nerve to abduct these girls from a school and are now promising to sell them into the human slave trade on the black market and all because these girls had the temerity to want to learn. The girls’ only crime was wanting to gain an education so they might have a better future. This is only a crime in the eyes of these cowardly and disgusting men who blindly follow a book, simply because it offers justification for their own perverse and twisted ideas. Now, instead of an education, what these girls likely have to look forward to is being tortured, raped, and likely murdered and disposed of like common trash.

And yet still, some women will continue to defend and participate in these religions despite the obvious hatred that the doctrines espouse towards women, completely willingly and apathetic over their complicity. Some women, like Anne Coulter and the like, will still try to pose apologetics arguments to try and show that it isn't the religion's fault, but rather the way it's used and interpreted by some extremists. But the reality is that any doctrine which can be interpreted and used in such a manner should be rejected in its entirety.

It's time that these women realize that they are hurting themselves and perpetuating this problem by their participation in these religions. They must overcome the fear of eternal torment that makes them complicit and the fears of societal stigmas. They must realize that there are men like myself who are willing to fight alongside all women in this struggle for equality. We want them to have everything we have. We want them to enjoy the same freedoms that we enjoy. We think of them as equals and we want them to be treated as such.

In the end, it's simply a matter of self-respect. You have to realize what I already know.... That you are better than this and you deserve better in life.