Rebellious Women


The organization of Protestant women in Italy, Federazione donne evangeliche in Italia (Fdei) is made up of women from a wide variety of churches, and I am proud that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is also a major contributor to this organization. We have so much that unites us as Christians, and so it is good that we raise our voices together to be better heard. Fdei has been publishing a brochure for the 16 Days Against Violence Against Women for several years, advocating for the right of women to be protected from violence of any kind. Published together, this cry for justice can be heard louder than if each small church in Italy launched its separate actions.

In September, as the women of Fdei began to prepare the 2022 issue, news reached them of the gruesome murder of young 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in Iran. She was killed because a strand of her hair had come loose from her hijab. "The outrage that this crime and the subsequent bloody repressions that still continue as we write (31/10) prompted us to dedicate this issue to Iranian and Afghan women and their courageous rebellion against regimes inspired by religious fanaticism,” writes Claudia Angeletti in her introduction. The issue is illustrated by paintings by Shamsia Hassani, Afghanistan's first female graffiti artist,[1] born in Iran, who expresses in artistic form her longing for freedom.

"At the same time we realized that women and their rights are under attack wherever patriarchal power structures are a reality and continue to exist in the minds of men (and even some women), even though fundamental rights were won a few decades ago," Angeletti continues to write. I am impressed by the way these Italian Christian women speak out for women's rights and against their oppression. They are not afraid to call a spade a spade and address problems that are often simply ignored and covered up. I am proud of my Italian sisters in faith.

The wide range of grievances they address shows that they are not afraid to call on women to stand up for their rights. They tell of women who are rebellious and courageous, refusing to give up. They point to movies that depict courageous women and their struggles. They back up their call for social justice with verses from the Bible and also lead to prayer. They admit that the church also has its share of guilt. "Christianity, too, in its long history, has carried out acts of repression against women, but women have rebelled, proposing new relationships between men and women, denouncing behaviors that are the fruit of a human culture and not of the Lord’s will. And so it is right to rebel and change.”[2]

The short texts in the booklet stimulate reflection on questions that might also need to be addressed in discussion groups. If we want to be followers of Jesus, we can no longer remain silent when women come under attack. We must be courageous and rebellious!

 

 

Illustration by Shamsia Hassani from the Fdei brochure

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