The Real War on Women

By:  Dale Weckbacher

Luke 1:28

And having come in, the angel said to her,"Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"

NKJV

Once again, the Bible has come under attack but this time the attack is coming from a totally unexpected source.  This time the attack did not originate from liberal media, academia, or even some atheist organization for this time the attack comes from the Pentagon.  (1)

The allegations are part of a Department of Defense approved sexism course.  The course also claims the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence are sexist.  With a Presidential election coming in 2016 and candidates, including the first women announcing their intention to seek the Presidency this election, the war on women appears to be in full swing. 

This is not a new issue in presidential elections for in the New Hampshire GOP Presidential Debate in 2012, the moderator asked candidate Mitt Romney if he favored the overturn of a 1965 ruling barring states from banning contraception.  (2)   In a presidential election focused in issues like the economy, immigration, and national security, a question regarding contraceptives was totally unexpected.  However, what was previously a non-issue quickly became an issue. 

The issue moved from one about reversing a 1965 court ruling to an economic issue with President Obama criticizing Mitt Romney for not requiring insurance companies to provide contraceptive coverage under Obamacare.  In other words, elderly people and single males who do not need contraceptives are required to pay for them as part of the health insurance premiums even though they will not use them just so some woman wanting to live a life of promiscuity can have free contraceptives.  The war on women was in full swing.

I do agree that there is a very real war on women occurring but it has nothing to do with free contraceptives or abortion.  No, the real war on women revolves around women denied basic rights because of a religious ideology.  Under Sharia law women live under the follow rules,

• A man is entitled to up to four wives, but a woman may only have one husband. In Western societies, a man typically only takes one wife.
• The husband (or his family) pays a “bride price” or "dower" (mahr, which is money or property paid to the bride) which she is entitled to keep. This “mahr” is in exchange for sexual submission (tamkin). Sexual submission is traditionally regarded as unconditional consent for the remainder of the marriage.
• A man can divorce his wife by making a declaration (talaq) in front of an Islamic judge irrespective of the woman's consent. Even her presence is not required. For a woman to divorce a man (khula), his consent is required.
• The husband is responsible for the financial upkeep of home (nafaqa).
• “Temporary marriage” (even for less than a half an hour) is allowed by some scholars, others regard it as a form of prostitution. A report by the Gatestone Institute charts its development in Britain.
• Wife beating permitted according to some scholars.
• There is no joint property; the man owns all property, (except for what the woman owned before the marriage).
• There is no specific minimum age for marriage, but most agree a woman must have reached puberty. Marriage as young as 12 or 13 is not uncommon in Muslim-majority countries. In Yemen in 2013, there was a highly publicized case of an eight-year-old girl who died of internal injuries suffered on her wedding night. According to Al Jazeera, "Nearly 14 percent of Yemeni girls [are] married before the age of 15 and 52 percent before the age of 18." The case prompted calls for Yemen to pass a law setting a minimum age for marriage, although it has not yet done so.  (3) 

However, as we see in Luke 1:28, God chooses a woman to give birth to the savior of the world, Jesus Christ.  Not only was Jesus born of a woman, but God chose a woman to be the first to see Jesus after He had arisen from the grave (Matthew 28:1-10).  Of course, we cannot forget Esther who courageously approached the king, saving the Jewish people making it possible for Messiah to be born.  Obviously, the Pentagon’s claims that the Bible is a sexist document fail to consider the special women in the Bible that are an integral part of God’s grand plan. 

Then there is the issue of sex trafficking that enslaves women all over the world, including the United States.  Fortunately, in the United States, sex trafficking is taken seriously by the FBI (4) but in other parts of the world, sex trafficking is virtually ignored and a high-profit, low-risk endeavor.  (5)  Women and even children living in these countries live in fear of becoming victims, living lives in slavery as sexual slaves. 

However, politicians interested in creating an issue they can run on and win votes, will most likely claim there is a war on women in the United States because women cannot receive free contraceptives.  Liberals in media, academia, and now even the Pentagon also claim there is a war on women supported by the Bible, ignoring the many great women of the Bible.  However, we know that the real war on women exists under Sharia law and in places where sex trafficking is ignored and allowed to prosper. 

I therefore urge everyone to ignore the politically concocted war on women and instead pray for those victimized by the real war on women in countries under Sharia law or where sex trafficking is ignored and allowed to prosper.  I also urge those who can to support organizations engaged in preventing the implementation of Sharia law or stopping sex trafficking. 

Part of insuring victory in war is understanding the real battle and engaging the enemy.  The war on women is no different and the battle must focus on where women live in genuine fear and oppression. 

1. Goldberg, Ashley Rae. Defense Department: The Bible, Constitution And Declaration Of Independence All Perpetuate Sexism. www.dailycaller.com. [Online] The Dailey Caller, April 13, 2015. [Cited: April 16, 2015.] http://dailycaller.com/2015/04/13/defense-department-the-bible-constitution-and-declaration-of-independence-all-perpetuate-sexism/.

2. Wilmouth, Brad. In Debate, ABC's Stephanopoulos Presses Romney on 1965 Contraception Ruling. www.newsbusters.com. [Online] News Busters, January 8, 2012. [Cited: April 16, 2015.] http://newsbusters.org/blogs/brad-wilmouth/2012/01/08/debate-abcs-stephanopoulos-presses-romney-contraception-ruling.

3. Friedland, Elliot. Women's Rights Under Sharia. www.clarionproject.org. [Online] The Clarion Project, February 19, 2014. [Cited: April 16, 2015.] http://www.clarionproject.org/understanding-islamism/womens-rights-under-sharia.

4. FBI. It’s sad but true: here in this country, people are being bought, sold, and smuggled like modern-day slaves. www.fbi.gov. [Online] Federal Bureau of Investigation. [Cited: April 16, 2015.] http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/investigate/civilrights/human_trafficking.

5. ft.hub. Trafficking for sexual exploitation. www.ugift.org. [Online] FT.Hub. [Cited: April 16, 2015.] http://www.ungift.org/knowledgehub/about/trafficking-for-sexual-exploitation.html.