‘Stay in your lanes’ - Female pastor tells women

Associate pastor and councillor for the Palmer's Cross division in Clarendon, Carlene Benjamin, has urged women to stop aggressively competing with men and 'stay in their lanes'.

Addressing a recent function hosted by the Longville Park District Consultative Committee in association with its Human Resource Committee, dubbed 'Today's Women: Empowered for Transformation', Benjamin argued that women have their roles to play and they should not try to be equal with men.

"We are not helpers, we are helpmates," said Benjamin, as she added that women have their part to play and should concentrate on doing the best job they can.

The Jamaica Labour Party councillor also chided Christian women for allowing their marriages to fall apart by withholding lovemaking from their partners because of the church activities.

According to Benjamin, it is sad that a lot of the broken marriages are caused by overzealous churchwomen who leave their husbands to "starve" while they choose to go on two-week fasting, which includes abstaining from all kinds of pleasure.

"If I have an engagement at church and my husband needs me, then even if I am tired, I am going to take care of him," said Benjamin.

She added that too many times Christian women put church activities before their husbands' pleasure.

The outspoken councillor also rubbished the notion that mothers can father children.

"Women talking about mothering and fathering children ... nutten nuh go suh ... she cannot make up for a missing father ... neither can a man take the place of an absent mother."

Benjamin also took aim at persons who have argued against women being leaders in the church.

Pointing to the often-referenced Bible verse which includes the line "let the women be silent in the church", Benjamin argued that this was not a reference to preaching but rather those women who took their home business to discuss in the church.

She said the apostle was advising the women to discuss their business with their husband at home.