Woman her undeniable worth

The old pickup truck — loaded with mattresses, plastic bags of clothing, and a few sacks of groceries — chugged to a halt in front of the Instituto, a shelter for battered women in downtown Montevideo, Uruguay. A young woman timidly stepped out onto the sidewalk, clutching her little boy's hand.

Within five minutes, the driver emptied everything in the truck onto the sidewalk and drove off. Standing in the midst of all her possessions, the woman didn't know what to do. One by one, people came out of the Instituto to help carry her things inside — and up a dark staircase. The little boy stood guard on the sidewalk.

Finally, gathering up the last sack of food, the woman took her little boy by the hand and disappeared inside. The Instituto door bolted shut — CLANK — behind them. And mother and son went forward into a new life.

Twenty years ago, a woman such as she in Uruguay, Europe, or the United States might have had no choice but to endure domestic abuse. But now, in many countries, places of refuge like the Instituto open their doors to women desperately searching for respect, peace, and equality.

Yet the picture is not all encouraging. In some countries, where women aren't allowed to work outside the home without their husband's permission, women's participation in the workforce is as low as 8 percent. And there's still no country on earth where women's earnings match those of men.

Women also continue to suffer domestic abuse worldwide. In some countries, up to 80 percent are victims of spousal abuse. In other areas, brides are purchased — and punished or killed — if they prove unsatisfactory. And, in some areas, women are still stoned for appearing in public without conventional attire.

Yet women worldwide have made important progress. Their rights are being recognized — in the eyes of the law, if not always in practice. In this feature, you'll read of the victories and successes of women who now hold positions in government, business, the arts, sports, religion. They comprise more than one third of the global labor force.

The Herald of Christian Science has interviewed seventeen people on the promise and potential of womanhood. Each of these interviewees, whom you'll meet in the following pages, offers a special perspective on the subject. Each is convinced that lasting progress for women can come only through spiritual advancement for children, women, and men everywhere. Each agrees that God's daughters and sons were not created to be oppressed. Or to oppress. And each has helped, in a significant way, to liberate humanity from enslaving limitations that gender-based prejudices impose on women.

The founder of this magazine, Mary Baker Eddy, dedicated her life to liberating humanity from slavery of every sort. In her main work, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, she writes of humankind's inherent right to freedom: "Slavery is not the legitimate state of man. God made man free" (p. 227 ).

Mrs. Eddy lived the truth of those words. Like the woman in Montevideo, she knew what it meant to be alone in the world with a child to support. To face the betrayal of a spouse. To be homeless. To be dominated and demeaned by men.

But she also knew what it meant to triumph over such impositions and to feel the support of men who understood her mission. And to do so through understanding the privileged relationship every child of God has with the Maker of the universe. With the God who is not only Father, but also Mother. With the God who favors neither man nor woman but loves all equally.

Speaking from the authority her own experience gave her, Mrs. Eddy wrote: "In natural law and in religion the right of woman to fill the highest measure of enlightened understanding and the highest places in government, is inalienable, and these rights are ably vindicated by the noblest of both sexes" (No and Yes, p. 45 ). We invite you now to visit with some of these noble women and men. Each of them tells the story of spiritual healing. Their collective account offers promises that the laws of God of mercy and justice must prevail. The inequalities will be redressed and healed.