The Facebook post from Georgia mother Jessica Krammes Kirkland about Anna Duggar’s situation and how parents should really aim to empower their daughters is going viral — and sparking a whole new #BreatheFire movement.
In her post on Aug. 20, Jessica said the most bothersome thing about the revelations related to former 19 Kids and Counting star Josh Duggar is how the situation affects Anna.
Anna Duggar is in the worst position she could possibly be in right now. Anna Duggar was crippled by her parents by receiving no education, having no work experience (or life experience, for that matter) and then was shackled to this loser because his family was famous in their religious circle. Anna Duggar was taught that her sole purpose in life, the most meaningful thing she could do, was to be chaste and proper, a devout wife, and a mother. Anna Duggar did that!
All the while, Josh was cheating on Anna. But, despite that huge betrayal, sources close to the family — including Anna’s own brother — say Anna will not leave or divorce Josh because of her religious beliefs. In her post, Jessica argued that even if Anna did consider divorce, it would be an incredibly difficult road because she now has four children and no outside work experience.
Her beliefs, the very thing she would turn to for comfort in this kind of crisis, are the VERY REASON she is in this predicament in the first place. How can she reconcile this? Her parents have utterly, utterly failed her. Think of this: somewhere, Anna Duggar is sitting in prayer, praying not for the strength to get out and stand on her own, but for the strength to stand by this man she is unfortunately married to. To lower herself so that he may rise up on her back.
Jessica said that, as the mother of daughters, the situation makes her ill — but is also inspiring her to speak out about the importance of empowering young women.
We HAVE to teach our daughters that they are not beholden to men like this. That they don’t have to marry a man their father deems “acceptable” and then stay married to that man long, long after he proved himself UNACCEPTABLE. Educate them. Empower them. Give them the tools they need to survive, on their own if they must… I wish someone had ever, just once, told Anna she was capable of this. That she knew she is. As for my girls, I’ll raise them to think they breathe fire.
Since Jessica shared the message last Thursday, it’s gone viral on Facebook with more than 237,000 shares and 429,000 likes. Speaking to Atlanta’s 11 Alive yesterday, Jessica said she was initially hesitant to post her comments because she didn’t mean for it to be an attack on Christians — but wanted to combat the concept “you need to be a certain way in order to meet a standard your community demands of you.” And even after the Duggar controversy dies down, Jessica hopes her message will stand on its own. She explained, “I want girls to know their worth and accept nothing less.”
