Equal rights for women don't mean men are 'less than' – church leader

THE PRESBYTERIAN Church joined with the rest of the world in celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD) today at the Susamachar Presbyterian Church, San Fernando.

While advocating for equal rights for women, Moderator the Rt Rev Annabell Ramkhelawan said this does not mean men are less than equal.

“When we speak of rights, we speak of equity. While the scales were tipped in one way and are now tipped in a different level, we need to keep the scales equal so that my brother is at 50 per cent and my sister is also at 50 per cent.”

She also touched on other gender issues, saying at the PCTT’s last synod in 2018, a committee was elected to study human rights with regard to same-sex couples. She said the committee has looked at what is happening in other churches around the world, read countless documents and looked at the legal policies.

“The church would receive that report at the next synod meeting in April 2019,” she said, pointing out, however, that it would take longer than a year for the church to reach a conclusion. She referred to the Canadian Presbyterian Church, which has been discussing the issue for some 20 years but is yet to reach a common position.

“We are talking, and it would take time to come to a position, particularly when a subject is so delicate. You have to be careful, and you have to think wisely and study well in making decisions of this nature.”

Recalling the many rights of which women were deprived, the moderator gave as an example the refusal to ordain women in some reformed churches.

“Do you know that in countries of the world women are not ordained in reformed churches, in Presbyterian churches in Africa, India, Palestine?

"Today is a day we are saying, my sister called by God must be given the right to be ordained. We are not higher than our male counterparts, but we want equality. Ordain us. God is calling her too, as He has called me. Such is one example.”

Former government minister and leader of the Congress of the People Carolyn Seepersad-Bachan also addressed the gathering of women on the IWD’s theme of Balance for Better.

“As we strive to achieve that balance, let us not trample on the rights of others. In trying to achieve equity for our daughters, we don’t have to trample on the rights of our sons. At the end of the day we have to understand that it's balance we are looking for.

“Sometimes we have to be mindful that when we go through all these rights issues for women we make it so complex. Sometimes we just need to step back and simplify. Most important, as women we have to understand servant leadership and what that’s about, and that we can be servant leaders. It’s the best form of leadership, and that’s what this country needs now: servant leadership,” Seepersad-Bachan advocated.

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"Equal rights for women don’t mean men are ‘less than’ – church leader"

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