Who Can Find
A True Rasta
Woman?
Her Worth Is
Far Above
Diamonds...
Written by Dr. Asantewaa Oppong
The rare and precious Rasta woman is made so by the
social conditions which limit female participation in
the global black freedom struggle. The authentic Rasta
woman who accepts without conditions the divinity of
their Imperial Majesties Emperor Haile Selassie and
Empress Menen, and has taken a decided stance against
the international anti-black system of oppression is
indeed rare!
A woman who the world misunderstands…and cannot
embrace.
The world certainly makes itself accessible for the
black woman who maintains the trajectory set for her during
the murderous era of European enslavement and colonialism.
The black woman who invests her intelligence solely into
her appearance, practices profane sexual behavior, and most
importantly remains mute in the face of the wickedness of
current social order, can be seen strewn on the covers of western magazines, smiling on billboards, and ever-present in the
Babylon business sector. This kind of black woman expresses
profound gratitude for crumbs that fall for her from the table of
the racially and politically privileged.
Standing in contrast is the Rasta woman. She is
criticized for giving sacred acknowledgment to someone other
than the “white guy” (white Jesus) who lives in the sky. “How
42 Magazinesolstice 2014/15
winter / September 2012
could you possibly accept that a king
of Ethiopia is God?” her companions
ask. “Leave that for the men, we women
don’t behave like that” she will likely be
told. What her detractors miss is that one of
the oldest definitions of God, as put forward for by
our African Ancestors, the great ones of the Nile Valley, is that
the King is God!! In fact, not only the king but the entire royal
house is God manifest in human community. Thus, Rasta
women are retaining and practicing one of oldest traditions
known in the recorded history of the world.
The throne of Ethiopia is renowned for its stance
against injustice worldwide. The ancient forebears of this
throne were called by historians, “the blameless Ethiopians.”
With all of the governments around her showing passivity in
the face of crippling oppression, the Rasta woman, her Kingman, and her family cry out incessantly for the return of the
righteous government to earth. It is not only men who can recognize that the planet cannot be sustained by corporate greed,
neocolonialism, and the wanton destruction of the earth’s
natural resources. The Rasta woman who is fully realized may
be among the fieriest contenders for justice, peace, and love-asa-behavior among human beings. After all, as the mother of all
she has the most to lose when humans decay while alive, and
the earth becomes an inhospitable place to live.
Talking back to her detractors
The late author Carol Yawney, in her article Rastafarian Sistren
by the Rivers of Babylon, suggests that Rasta women are oppressed within the Rastafari faith tradition because she noticed
that Rasta women were usually not included when Rasta men
sat and burned the chalice together. She further mentions the
modest dress of Rasta women including their head covering
tradition as evidence of their oppression. It should be noted
that Yawney was a European-Canadian who studied Rasta
women academically. None-the-less, it is important that we
address her concerns so that our daughters following behind
us do not stumble.
The Rasta woman and man have doubtlessly been
contaminated by this long journey away from our traditional
culture, and our proximity to a people who practice a way of
life totally opposite from the way established by our ancient ancestors. The foreign culture that we were subjected to taught
and teaches that women are inferior and in fact beings that
need to be kept in strict subjugation. These ideas are alien to
Africa in