sparrowdown: When is everyone going to get it. It would make no difference what gender the elders were.....they would still have to enforce the same rules and represent the same org.
I disagree, Sparrow. The rules would not be the same.
As it stands now, the rules are misogynistic to the extreme and promote the hatred and disrespect of women.
If women were 'allowed' to be elders, the rules would be different. The rules would be changed such that women would have a voice and personal autonomy. And with that change, would be a reduction in the numbers of child abuse and sexual assault that currently run rampant inside of the organization.
As it stands now, it is not just the women who are being disadvantaged, it is also the men, who develop ignorant and abusive tactics to bolster their own feelings of sexual inadequacy, that are victimized as well. Without a healthy understanding of sexuality, men resort to immature and inappropriate displays of sexual frustration.
If women were elders, it would change the whole structure of the organization - a structure that in its current form fosters the sexual exploitation of women.
I say "yes" - make women elders. And watch the rate of child sexual abuse drop. It is the lack of respect for women and children, combined with the sense of entitlement given to the men, that is responsible for the high rate of sexual abuse within the organization. The men are taught that women don't have the right to say no - women are seen as not having the right of consent and by extension, children have no rights, either.
As long as women have no voice within the JWs, child sex abuse will continue to run rampant within the organization. It is the WTS' misogynistic attitudes that are primarily responsible for the women and children being subjected to abuse.
