VIOLENCE AND DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN

V SUNDAY OF LENT: Jn 8:1-11

Reading John, we discover that the women occupy a very important place in his gospel, a fact that certainly reflects the life of his community. We have:

• His mother, at the beginning of his ministry (Jn 2:3)
• The Samaritan woman, to whom he revealed that he is the Messiah (Jn 4)
• The woman caught in adultery (Jn 8:1-11)
• Martha, who made the same profession of faith that Peter did (Jn 11:27)
• Mary, who anointed Jesus (Jn 12:3)
• The women near his cross (Jn 19:25)
• His mother again, near his cross (Jn 19:26)
• Mary Magdalene, the first witness of the resurrection (Jn 20:1,11-18)

This Sunday’s gospel is about the woman caught in adultery.

In many cultures, adultery was considered a big crime, punished by stoning, and this is still the rule in the muslim countries, where sharia law is enforced. It is not unusual to hear the news that a woman was sentenced to stoning in countries like Nigeria, Pakistan...

The Jewish law established such punishment for adultery, with both man and woman suffering the same fate. "If a man commits adultery with the wife of his neighbour, both the adulterer and the adulteress shall be put to death." (Lev 20:10)

However, it is surprising that, in the passage of the woman caught in adultery, only the woman was arrested, in spite of being found in the act. What happened to the man? Did he manage to escape? Or was he allowed to escape? Why was the woman given a case to answer, while the man's offence was ignored? They were discriminating and committing an injustice by punishing one and allowing the other to go free for an offence that they committed together. Such discriminations were and are still common, even when the law provides for equal treatment.

In modern society, women have made great gains in seeing their dignity recognised and they play an increasingly important role in society. In spite of that, countless number of women still suffer violence and discrimination. Going by what we see in so many places and cultures, the women are less human than men. Many look at women as objects created to satisfy men’s sexual appetite. That’s why, the battle is far from being won, and the struggle must go on, so that men may recognise God’s image in the faces and lives of women.

There is plenty of sexual harassment in working places, in the streets and in places of entertainment. In other places, rape is prevalent; and then there is the hidden sexual slavery, where women are forced into prostitution by criminal gangs or by harsh economic conditions. The social media speak very little about all that. It is not sensational; it is everyday life.

It is important to look attentively at Jesus’ attitude towards the accusers and towards the defenceless woman being accused. They were ready to kill the woman, in order to get at Jesus. They sounded like righteous people, strict followers of the law, who could not tolerate the slightest failure in others. They throw stones, forgetting that they have roofs of glass as well. The more they accuse, condemn and punish, the more they appear to be righteous. Underneath, in their hearts, they are worse that the ones they accuse. The noise of their outspokenness hides their own lack of courage and truthfulness in difficult moments. Jesus unmasked them and brought their hypocrisy into the open. All of them were guilt; all of them were sinners. Confronted with themselves, they left in shame.

About the woman, Jesus did not approve of what she did. One cannot approve what is wrong. But he showed compassion. He was not harsh with her, and he did not punish her. Instead, he showed her respect and love.