I am not certain how many of us gathered here, know that I am a trained agriculturist, and a former vice president of the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers. I am an asphalt farmer, but I love country, I love bush, I love rolling hills and open fields. I love the authenticity of country life. Through the grace of God, I have worked to empower some rural women. I therefore deem it a very special honour to lead this service as we all reflect on International Day for Rural Women
Ignoring the prescribed Old Testament reading for Proper 23 of the Revised Lectionary, I chose to use instead Proverbs 31, the last chapter in the book. It is a popular reading about a virtuous woman. There are women ministries built around Proverbs 31 as women seek to become this virtuous woman. Many see the characteristics described as comely, to use another wisdom phrase. Very often when someone’s mother or grandmother die, they want it read. Verse 17 says A virtuous woman girds herself with strength and makes her arms strong. Proverbs 18:1 tells us and verse 30 implies that this strength is found in her fear of the lord.
The passage is a mother’s advice to her son King Lemuel on choosing a wife. It is a poem telling him of the traits he should look for. I find it to be sarcastic or mocking, because she asks where are you going to find a wife that is suitable. Suitable for what? His status? She even implies that the woman must make him look good among his peers. The woman must enhance the man! That rant is for another day and a more informal setting. I believe Lemuel’s mother to be asking is there anyone good enough for him because only perfection is good enough for my son.
The book of proverbs gives wise instructions and guidance for living an effective life. Yet it is only at the end the qualities of a lifelong partner is considered. Everything else comes before. Proverbs 31:10-30 many have understood to suggest who women are to be; the kind of helpmate God gave the Adam when he created humankind. The book of proverbs is not written by a woman, but by a man. So, the advice Lemuel believes his mother is giving him is seen through the eyes of a man. She says, look for a woman who is able to juggle many aspects of life. A good supervisor, a wife who will make her spouse proud. a creative woman and an entrepreneur, a good example to others and a mother whose children are well brought up. I would like to add she needs to know how to ‘tek kin teet cover heart bun’ (bear uncomfortable situations)
What is not said is how does this virtuous woman acquire these skills? How does a young girl show the potential of being a virtuous woman? What are the sacrifices this woman makes? How many times despite feeling ill she lumbers along,? How many times being 8 or 9 months pregnant with varicose veins swollen and hurting does she go into the field to ensure her family has food? that there is lunch money, carfares and school fees? How many? But she does it by girding herself with God’s strength. and making her arms strong.
As we today take the time to look at our rural women. I want us to understand that this day didn’t just ‘come so’. God through the UN is ensuring that not only the joys and virtues of rural women are noted, but that also their plight and God is saying to us do something tangible about it. Lip service, handouts and prayers are not enough. And isn’t God speaking, when this day falls on the weekend when Jamaica celebrate National Heroes Day and give honours to our high achievers? Isn’t God speaking to us when tomorrow Monday October 16 The Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO] celebrates World Food Day and Tuesday, October17 we look at the Eradication of Poverty from the world. It is rural women who feed the nation but they live very humble circumstances, many bordering on abject poverty. The theme for the Day for Eradication of Poverty is Putting dignity in practice for all. And how that fits into who we are as God fearers. Isaiah 61 says The Lord has anointed me to heal the broken hearted and to set the captives free:- putting dignity into practice for all. As Christians we put dignity into practice.
Our poverty rate in rural areas is higher than the national average. I looked on the poverty map for Santa Cruz. It says they are about 14000 persons living in Santa Cruz and 6-7000 of them are living in poverty. That means that almost every other person in our area can be considered poor. The Planning Institute of Jamaica reports that 22% of rural persons are poor.1 Poverty is not a nice thing. It is more than just not being able to feed or tend to oneself. And many times it feels as if it is our lot. There is no way to change our circumstances. But there is.
Poverty has several layers and components and we my friends need to be aware so that we are able to identify and tackle them as best we are able. I want you all to stay with me. Poverty has 3 dimensions: Health Education and standard of living. These are further broken down into nutrition, death of children, years of schooling, school attendance, what you use to cook, wood fire gas or kerosene oil, whether you use a pit latrine or a toilet, drinking water, housing and what you own. I know we don’t like to wrap our heads around complexities, but we actually do without looking at the numbers. If we realized that we are not alone in our struggle for a better life, it might make the burden lighter. You look around and are able to learn from what others are doing instead of believing that things are hopeless. If you recognize that poor education results from not attending school regularly and not staying in school to earn a certificate or knowledge that can be used to earn a living then you will ensure that your children go to school. If you understand that the nutrition of your family contributes to their good health and wellbeing, you will look differently on meals and how you prepare them.
In 2021, there was study that said that 4 out of every 100 persons was deprived of either good health, good education, good standard of living or a some mix of all three. 38.9 percent. And when you couple that with ½ of our households are female headed you see we are between a rock and a hard place. And to add insult to injury, most female-headed households have no legal documentation of land they farm, they are limited to access to resources and the men look out for the men first. Women very often have less access to water then men. And they still practice agriculture the old way and don’t like taking risks.
The virtuous woman is a suffering woman, one to be acknowledged for her devotion to family and therefore nation building. The rural woman still maintain the old values.Rural women are indeed virtuous.
The Hebrew word used here for virtuous also means valiant like a warrior. It is the same word used for strength of the man in verse 3. It can be used in reference to military strength. And O, how rural women know that they need to be as strong or stronger than a man to overcome obstacles. Women have had to wage war for, and with their children and spouses to ensure that their households were upstanding and they didn’t have hold their head in shame. They wage war as they pinch and carve to make ends meet and still have something left over for a rainy day. They wage war as some have 1 and only 1 pair of shoes, and 2 sets of underwear. Rural women have had to fight socio-economic battles for years. Our women have had to be warriors to be successful. And they did it in the fear of the Lord.
Verse 16 says she considers and buys a piece of land. She thought about life, had a vision, devised a plan, executed it then reinvested her earnings in a vineyard. We know these jugglers, who have several sources of income. Not dependent on any one thing. One of the things we noticed in Guys Hill was that persons had access to large acreages of land, but only farmed a small portion. One of my aims was for persons to increase their acreages. We had persons and particularly women living off 1 or 2 squares of land with several things intercropped. They would supplement their income by weeding elsewhere or regular day’s work on a farm or in a house nearby. Of course, there was always bananas, plantains bordering the field and cassava. It was a plan to always have something to eat. I learnt in one place about butter soup and in another gold seal margarine or oil heated with skellion, thyme and black pepper poured over the ground provision for dinner. Yet one of these households had a child at university.
Rural women are women of virtue, in their military strength are planners, strategist for survival
In verse 3 which we did not read, Lemuel’s mother tells him using the voice translation says “Do not waste your strength on women or invest yourself in women who would destroy even kings. This virtuous woman that her son was to have as a partner, could not be guaranteed that her spouse would pay her the kind of attention she was expected to pay him. Reread the passage when you get home. Read it from a modern translation of the bible and see that nothing in the rest of the passage qualifies this treatment. It is still how men treat many of my rural women. Women who have had to be the backbone of the family.Women are still being abused.
As I read verse 23 which says” Her husband is known in the city gates, taking his seat among the elders of the land.” I can’t help thinking about our men gathered on the corner and in bars and in other places. Especially those whose pride is the graduating children whom they did little to support and the others whose spouses are the sole bread winners of the family. They like those who sit at the city gate are respected by their colleagues. Some sit in high places. They are not shunned in any way. But God has given the strength and fortitude to women to come through. The learn to trust in God, to be God fearing.
Yes life is hard for our virtuous women but God has their back. ‘She girds herself with strength, spiritual, mental, and physical fitness for her God-given task And makes her arms strong.’ This strength Proverbs 18:1 says is found in God. Clothed in this strength and dignity, with nothing to fear, she smiles when she thinks about the future and prepares for it.” (Proverbs 31:25 AMP)
Rural women are women of valour and virtue, women with military strength are planners and, strategists for survival. Our virtuous woman never leaves God out of the picture. As we celebrate International Day for Rural Women, we call on all other women, on all men, to support our rural women; to treat each other not as we deserve but with the love of God; to treat each other in a way that help us to strive to be virtuous human beings; to treat each other in a manner where we put dignity into practice.
Hilda's journey 