Robert A. Silverstein
THE Nagaland Baptist Church Council (hereinafter NBCC) argues, in the November 20th, 2016 issue of the Nagaland Post, that the Indian government’s proposed Uniform Civil Code (hereinafter UCC) is something that they oppose completely: “We strongly feel that instead of establishing a ...[UCC] to create further animosities, the fear and insecurity amongst the minorities in the country should be diffused by putting into action unity in diversity and peaceful coexistence which India has always stood for.” The editorial by the NBCC only appears in the Nagaland Post, but an article on it appears in The Morung Express and the Eastern Mirror I will take all quotes from the Post editorial.
Women should always be alert when any major organization, especially a religious one, puts out statements that argue for the status quo. The NBCC states: “After her independence, India recognized her strength and her unity in the midst of her socio-religious-cultural diversities and therefore, all the political parties choose [sic] to maintain the best doctrine of STATUS QUO rather than create public upheaval situation, hatred, bitterness and disharmony amongst the communities.” (My emphasis, capitals in line four of the paragraph.)
The NBCC is worried that the doctrines of the majority religion in India, Hinduism, will be imposed on the rest of India, including Muslims and Christians. But keep in mind, ladies, that it has come out against the UCC without waiting to see what a draft of it will say. And that is understandable. The status quo suits it fine. It doesn’t want anything changed, even if its fears turnout to be unwarranted. And the reason is simple. The leaders of the Nagaland Baptist Church are men, and men want to maintain power not only in the church but in day-to-day life.
Flavia Agnes, “a prominent legal scholar and director of the Majlis Legal Centre, Mumbai,” has something to add to my discussion. (The Majlis Legal Centre “is a forum for women’s rights discourse and legal initiatives. [The centre is made up of] a group of women lawyers and social activists committed to informing, educating and empowering women on their legal rights.” The centre is in Mumbai.) She is unhappy with the questionnaire that was sent out to all parties with a stake in the formulation of the UCC because it “reflects a superficial engagement with personal laws. It also targets the Muslim community.” (For the full citation of this interview with Agnes by Shishir Tripathi, see “http:www.firstpost.com/india/unform-civil-code-debate-focuses-on-muslim-law-but-ignores-other-communities-flavia-agnes-3060730.html.) She states that because the questionnaire is aimed at the Muslim community, “...the discriminatory aspects of the Hindu law are not coming into focus. It is not just law, we also need to examine the Hindu ethos and cultural practices which are anti-women.”
And it’s not just the Hindu ethos and cultural practices which are anti-women, but the Christian practices as well. If the questionnaire seems to be aimed at the Muslim community, why is the NBCC so upset with it? It states, “[it] finds itself difficult to answer the questionnaires [sic] because our faith and belief systems based on the teaching of our Scriptures finds no place.” That statement by the NBCC makes sense, since it seems to be aimed at the Muslim community. But then what in the questionnaire makes the NBCC think that a draft UCC will negatively affect its view of Scriptures?
Finally, I want to get to the heart of the issue. The NBCC states, toward the end of its editorial, that, “Our aim is to create equal status for everyone as human beings be it man or woman, black or white.” This is, simply, a grossly misleading and incorrect statement.
The Baptist Church can’t have it both ways: it can’t fight for the sanctity of the Scriptures and still believe in the equality of a man and a woman. To try to do both is to have a bad case of cognitive dissonance, that is, it would drive a sane man crazy. And I don’t think the heads of the Baptist Church in Nagaland are crazy. I think they are, therefore, deliberately misleading readers. (In saying this, I’m presuming that they have as much knowledge of Scripture as I have, a non-practicing Jew. If they don’t, then they may not be misleading anyone; they may just be shockingly ignorant about their own Scriptures.)
For the NBCC and any women who may read this, let me refresh memories. First, there is the classic expression of patriarchy, Ephesians 5:22-4: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. [23]For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. [24] Therefore, as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.” Verse 25 goes on to say, “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church....” But notice: the wife must “submit,” and the husband must “love.” Not an equal tradeoff. Most of the women I know, in the United States and in Nagaland, would much prefer it were the other way around!
And, if you want to read more specific instructions to a wife, I recommend you refresh your memory by reading Proverbs 31:10-31. For a taste of your job wives, and future wives, let me give you Proverbs 31:15 and 27: [15] “She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. [27] “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idlenes.” I don’t see anything here that says,
“the wife may disregardeth these duties if she wants to sleep late, go to law school,” etc.
So much for this meaningless language by the NBCC, “Our aim is to create equal status for everyone as human beings be it man or woman ….” Remember words are cheap, except when they are SCRIPTURE; then they are the words of the Lord, or so says the organized church.
As the debate goes forward, for and against a UCC, remember women, the status quo in every major religion in the world, be it Muslim, Hindu, Jewish or Christian, is patriarchal, that is, it places men above women in any power structure. So there is good reason for you to participate in the ongoing debate and, even more important, look to reform the Christian religion. I suggest that Ephesians and Proverbs are not the words of the Lord, but of men, who have every reason to maintain the status quo, the same one which has kept you second-class citizens, or worse, for thousands of years.
