Bishop T.D. Jakes of The Potter's House is encouraging Christian women to pursue their dreams and not let any man to keep them from reaching their full potential.
"The Bible talks about women being submissive, not to men, but to her own husband. God is setting up an organisational structure for family. It has nothing to do with anything outside the family," he says, according to New Era.
Jakes explains that a woman must submit to her husband when she is at home. However, when she goes out in the world, she does not need to submit to anybody.
"The challenge is to when, and to what. You may be CEO in the boardroom but maybe not so in the bedroom. You must have experience to flip from one role to another, you can do more," he says. "If you don't have the ability, you must give up one role for another, depending on what is most important to you."
Women who are unable to juggle both roles should seriously consider pursuing either marriage or their careers. But when they want both things, Jakes says that a woman must be prepared to "come from the boardroom and come home" to their husbands and ask him, "Do you need something?"
At the same time, Jakes says the only way society can progress is if people change their attitude towards women. "As any society evolves it ceases to abuse its women. We went through changes in America where we had a huge revolution; women were considered property – it's not unique to Africa, India and Asian culture. As women were allowed to read and go to school, they became entrepreneurial and successful," he says.
Jakes says he applauds the success of women, and he thinks that a "smart" woman is a "sexy" woman. Any man who would think otherwise, or "any man intimidated by a smart woman," according to Jakes, "is a dumb man."
