GIVE AWAY OUR POWER -contributed by Irileria Muhammad EMT Teacher in Abu Dhabi, Al Garbia

I am always amazed at how easily we give away our power as women. Granted, I have been there. God gave us the same brain, the same heart, the same voice, the same lungs, but we are so quick to subjugate ourselves to a man. I am not by any means saying the two are the same, but they are, INDEED, equal. The backseat, behind, under, outside of, the man is not where I will be. But I will still firmly and proudly by your side. We have incorporated chauvinism into religion, and then we repeat it. No wonder so many God-fearing women have self-esteem issues. We keep hearing philosophies that say you are the reason for man's downfall (Eve), you are why he is weak (Delilah), you bring out lustful desires (Jezebel). So in essence, what I get from that is that man is such a weak being and women must play up to his weaknesses and hide our essence as opposed to him stepping up and just being a man, and fighting himself. He must be protected and coddled, even at the expense of women. Well, if God tells you not to do something and a WOMAN says do it, and you follow the woman, be very clear, that YOU ARE THE PROBLEM, NOT the woman. And 2,000 years of backwards teaching does not change that.

Unfortunately, it is the undercurrent in MOST religions, religions sect, churches, etc.... And though I am in a country that has some very interesting male/female dynamics... I actually see WAAAAY more of this at home from a group that my friend Ebony so lovingly calls the "handmaiden club", and unfortunately too many women are in this group (knowingly or unknowingly).