Rescuing women from their burden of unwarranted guilt is going

The words of Germaine Greer strike like a clarion call against the ancient chains of unwarranted guilt placed upon women. From the earliest days of childhood, society has burdened them with responsibility for the actions, desires, and tempers of others. Greer unmasks this as an injustice so deeply rooted that it can only be undone by forces stronger than those that imposed it—by educational practices and socializing agents powerful enough to rewrite the story of what it means to be female.

For centuries, the tale has been the same. If a man falters, it is said the woman tempted him. If a child errs, it is the mother who is blamed. If a household collapses, the fault is laid at the wife’s feet. Thus, a silent weight is handed down through generations, shaping women not to live freely, but to carry guilt for the deeds of others. Greer’s words name this injustice for what it is: a theft of dignity, a corruption of truth.

History bears witness to this pattern. Consider the story of Eve, told in scripture as the first woman, condemned for leading Adam into sin. For millennia, this tale was wielded as a weapon, teaching girls to see themselves as guilty by nature, destined to bear the blame for men’s failings. From this myth flowed rivers of shame, reinforcing the belief that women must be ever-watchful, ever-sacrificing, ever-responsible—not for themselves alone, but for all around them.

And yet, women have resisted. In the 20th century, voices like Greer’s rose, declaring that this inheritance of guilt must end. The feminist movement, like a river breaking a dam, sought to wash away the false teachings that chained women to silence and shame. Schools, families, and institutions must now become places not of burden but of liberation, teaching daughters that they are not guardians of men’s behavior, but sovereign beings with their own light, their own path, their own responsibility for themselves alone.

Thus, let this wisdom be passed on: to rescue women from their unjust burden, we must not merely unlearn, but re-teach, with greater strength than the voices that once bound them. For freedom does not come by accident—it is forged through truth, nurtured through education, and guarded through courage. And when women are no longer bent beneath the weight of another’s guilt, humanity itself will rise taller, carried by the strength of those who are finally free.