Editor’s note: The following reflection was written to commemorate International Women’s Day, Tuesday, March 8. To learn how the ELCA and its global companions are lifting up international women leaders, click here.
My grandmother Ravololona died five years ago, but her presence and leadership still live within me today.
She was born in 1939, a time when the status of women was not well defined in Madagascar. A widow when she had her fourth child, my mother, Ravololona managed to survive on her own and demonstrated her faith in all she did. She was an active, humble leader of her family.
As a grandmother, she did not tell me what to do. Instead she walked with me through my childhood until my 20s. From teaching me how to cook rice to how to date someone, she accompanied me.
Who I am today, I owe to my grandmother. Her love, faith and beliefs have shaped mine and are something I hope to pass on to my children.
Women’s leadership lasts through generations and inspires faith. My grandmother knew that the love she shared, the education she gave and the humility she had while she worked was a way to show God to me and to my brothers.
The presence of women in leadership in family life, church life and the world matters. I know, feel, and am aware that the world has oppressed women.
We have to remember, as God’s creation we are gifted, no matter our gender. The gifts we receive upon our baptism are the same, male or female. Women are not just important, they play a crucial role in the church, household and world.
If the church cannot accept women as key leaders in church, how can the world accept them? To reach this peaceful life that we all search for, equal leadership is important, and it should start within the church. Women’s leadership is not just something to consider as important, it is crucial for the education of God’s people.
Our duty as a church is to show to the world what the world has left behind and to lift up women leaders. Jesus never looked down on any women – even though others thought that these women should be rejected. Jesus empowered women.
Lifting up women leaders means walking with men toward a better world, a better family life, a better future. We need to stand for each other, men for women and women for men.
It starts with the church. If we empower women leaders in our congregations and our communities, then the world would see the successful result of women’s leadership.
God worked through my grandmother so that we, her grandchildren, were able to hear God. Her presence and leadership still live within me today.
