Elemental principal
You can't always see the importance of equality because it’s so obvious, writes Subash Halder.
Equality is one of the most important messages in the Old and New Testament. It is like the rainy season that always comes; sometimes like the air; not always visible but always in contact.
I am not a specialist in gender issues. I saw what equality is in our group on the CWM Training in Mission (TIM) programme in 2005.
I had lots of conflicts over gender issues with the girls on the TIM programme because of our male-dominated society in Bangladesh.
I struggled whenever I saw women take priority.
Learning: Subash Halder (left) enjoys an action song with children at the Mountain View daycare centre in South Africa.
My father is the head in my family; his decision is final and my mother just keeps us safe and loved and cared for. I never saw her make decisions for our family.
It is the same situation in our church and community. In the Church of Bangladesh we have two bishops and 34 ministers. But only two ministers are women.
The church has 67 parishes and every parish has a committee. In this committee 90 per cent are men and only 10 per cent are women.
Our community reflects the family pattern, so it is also dominated by men.
I am not outside of my community so my mentality was the same. But I learned from the TIM programme how to behave with women. God created men and women as partners for one another. I now spend time among women, trying to understand their mindset from within a specific situation.
In doing so, women become more important, and those members of the body of Christ we think less honourable are given greater honour.