Married Women's ghetto RANT....
That's great but when will it ever be a married woman officer? This quiet injustice needs some noise. It's time that this quiet injustice was an issue that at least is considered beyond that which is patronising. Certainly this quiet injustice should be a resolved issue by the time the next high council comes around. There is something wrong because even if it were resolved you could bet that when it happens the response would be "ooooh a married woman, I wonder what her husband thinks!"This appointment should also signal my serious intention to advance women in leadership and wider ministry
Shaw Clifton (General Elect) on appointing the first female Chief of the Staff
But where I feel there is something wrong, is in this. Married women should never have been put in this position. This is more than a slap in their faces. It is a slap in the face of all of us who celebrate the gift of joint ministry. Every time Kate is patronised by virtue of being married to me, everytime she is patronised by being the womans voice - "when I want a womans opinion I'll ask Kate" one DC said to me - I feel the slap as acutely because we are individuals that find our strength within our joint ministry. What is wrong is the erosion of the joint ministry, what is wrong is that we have all sat back and let it happen, we've sat back and thought of it as an equality issue that vocal women need to fight.
Danielle Strickland in JAC - puts it as it is - here are some key points and observations (read her article "Married Women's ghetto RANT" here):-
There were many married women officers at the high council and not one of them was nominated. Do we think that out of all the women officers represented at the high council that only single women have the gift of leadership? Are married women less capable, less inspiring, less able? Most would insist, with some trepidation, that no married women possess the experience necessary for the Generalship. The rough part is this: they would be right. This problem is what might be called “the women’s ghetto of The Salvation Army......
.....When my husband thinks of his potential and future he grins. When I think of it I grimace. It’s killing my dreaming potential for my place in The Army and the call God has on my life. Really. It sucks. Change it fast. Give many married women, whether they want to or not, leadership positions. Give them a chance to succeed and give them a chance to fail. Just give them a chance.
So while I applaud General Elect Cliftons move, and I am sure that Commissioner Dunster is there by virtue of being the best for that position - the real sign of intent would be when joint ministry is celebrated in its totality and capable married officers aren't left wasting on the margins but brought to the fore where gifts and talents are maximised.
Comments
As Danielle says in her article at Corps level we are free to do as we please using our gifts in a complimentary role to our husbands but after that it is a male game.
In our territory many women are taking on seperate appointments when their husbands are appointed to leadership roles - they are refusing to go into the HQ's and be their husbands accessories.
I applaud these women for this, however, they are rarely given leadership roles in their own right but rather they go back into field or social appointments.
It also means that our HQ's are becoming more male dominated.
I also see so many talented women officers in our Division who are often the driving force behind the officer husband and wife teams yet they are never given any opportunities or even asked for their opinion on any matters or even asked to sit on committees or working parties, yet they have so much to offer.
Several months ago I was driven to a high level of frustration as many of the decisions coming from our Divisional Board (only one female member sits on this board) were less than helpful... I said to our DC the problem is that there aren't enough women on the board to help in the decision making.... to this he responded:
"I dont know what we can do about this unless some of us have sex changes." Pitty help us...
I agree with Danielle also on the fact that the Women's Ministry Department is something that holds women down.... yes it should be part of the program dept... in our Corps we have to juggle and bend things to fit into something that is so outdated... Hmmmmmm.
Anyway, lets keep plugging away.
...Glenda
Do you think that the way we raise our kids has some bearing on this problem? One small example: I look at corps with large numbers of children and I see the little girls complimented on how pretty they look, and the little boys complimented on how smart or strong they are. And I wonder if our girls are going to grow up concerned with appearances, not smart and strong... and if our boys are going to grow up expecting only men to be smart and strong. Know what I mean?
I get a little frustrated on occasion because all around me, people are commenting on the men holding women down... and I look around and see WOMEN trying to hold me down, not men. The men don't seem to care!
This isn't a rant against SA women, by the way :-) I guess I'm just wondering if part of the problem lies with us women... and if so, what we can do to change that.
PS. I commented on that article in my blog, too.
i think it is a case of finding ways of opening 'grace centred' dialogue recognising that there is a cultural divide thing going on. I'm hopeful that teh theological symposium in Sth Africa might start some discussions that will ripple outwards.
Changes need to be made. Is there really any risk involved in making those changes? These are women who are already in ministry with responsiblities. We trust them to raise our children...when do they become unqualified.