Opinion piece by Errol Naidoo
The world will celebrate Mother’s Day on Sunday 10 May. Millions will express their gratitude and appreciation for the vital and indispensable role of motherhood. Motherhood (and fatherhood) was ordained by God at creation when He commanded the first man and woman created in His image, “to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” Genesis 1:28.
Every human born of a woman owes their development to the sacrifice, nurture and guidance of a loving mother. Nothing on earth can compensate for the love and nurture of a mother – a God ordained role to ensure the healthy development & welfare of children.
Incredibly, however, motherhood remains under constant attack from feminists who degrade this role to “unpaid care worker.” Radical feminist groups recently gathered at the annual “Commission for the Status of Women” at the UN to attack and devalue the God given roles of motherhood, fatherhood, parenting and children and the nuclear family.
15 May is “International Day of Families.” The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 1994 The International Year of the Family with the objective of creating among governments, policy-makers and the public a greater awareness of the family as the natural & fundamental unit of society. The UN now promotes a virulent anti-family agenda.
I had the honour of representing Africa at the 25th celebration of The International Day of Families “It Takes a Family” event at the United Nations in New York on 15 May 2019.
Kimberly Ells, a pro-family advocate and author of “The Invincible Family” writes, “In all the years I have gone to the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN, only rarely have I heard the word “family” uttered, and rarer still is any positive mention of the word “mother.” (The preferred wording is “unpaid care worker” as I’ve written about here.)
Ells writes, “the flagship events at the Commission on the Status of Women at the UN this month, hosted by the Nordic countries: “Gender Equality Makes Families Thrive.” Well, gosh! The word “family” is right in the title! They must have changed their family-crushing, baby-exterminating, mother-loathing ways!” But this agenda becomes a lot more sinister.
“The representative from Norway led off by sharing her personal story about motherhood. I think it was meant to be a heart-warming example of how gender equality makes families thrive. But her story was about abandoning her daughter for four years to take up a job in government.” Feminists view the role of women only in terms of economic contribution.
“Normalizing the separation of mothers from their children in their youth is one of the worst ideas ever & such arrangements never make families thrive, and perhaps even facilitates the widespread buckling of mental health & undermines the stability of nations” says Ells.
The God-ordained and defined roles of wife and mother are condemned as “prisons” that deny women their freedoms to pursue personal corporate ambitions. “Gender equality” means women are socially liberated from the “bondage” of child bearing and rearing.
Nadya Williams writes, “they argue that mothers who choose to stay home to raise their children are a drag on the economy and that motherhood hurts women’s careers. But these pronouncements elevate the economy and career above family and children.”
And while radical feminists attack motherhood, marriage and the family, socialists warn that birth rates in most nations of the world are plummeting. Millions of women poisoned by this godless anti-family ideology are foregoing marriage for better career opportunities.
Feminist groups counter the very real threat of population decline by arguing, “it is alarmist rhetoric to talk in terms of “population collapse” or “population crisis.” The impending change in population is not a threat; it is a chance to learn about peoples’ desires.”
They argue, “When population decline is framed as a crisis, it erodes support for the whole UN agenda, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, (abortion) and gender equality. We must stand firm against any rhetoric that reduces support for these things.”
Critically, however, research overwhelmingly proves that decades of toxic feminist rhetoric has produced its bitter harvest. Birth rates in most nations are now well below replacement level. These nations are dying simply because not enough children are born into them.
“Demographic Winter” warnings about the population crisis is an urgent call to nations to return to the God ordained model of the two-parent biological family. Entire ethnic groups risk extinction because of plummeting birth rates. This makes motherhood critical for national survival. Mother’s Day reminds us, only mothers birth and nurture human life.
“The enemy will try to attack motherhood, because he knows it’s one of your greatest ministries. He knows the power in a praying mother, a present mother, a loving mother. So when the battles feel heavy, remember it’s not because you’re failing. It’s because your calling is strong, your purpose is real, and motherhood carries a kingdom impact he can’t stand. Stand firm. God trusted you with this role for a reason.” (Shay Walters FB post).
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Date published: 05/05/2026
Feature images sourced from Freepik
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