In what ways did the fall of humanity affect women?

Genesis 3:1-7The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’” “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Then she gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it, too. At that moment their eyes were opened, and they suddenly felt shame at their nakedness. So they sewed fig leaves together to cover themselves.

Eve’s response to the serpent regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil indicates that Adam did an inadequate job of conveying to her the importance of willingly abstaining from that fruit. One can imagine his saying something like, “See the tree over there? God doesn’t want us to eat from that one. So don’t even touch it.” But note that he was near enough to join Eve in eating the fruit once she had picked and eaten it.

Genesis 3:11-13“Who told you that you were naked?” the Lord God asked. “Have you eaten from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat?” The man replied, “It was the woman you gave me who gave me the fruit, and I ate it.” Then the Lord God asked the woman, “What have you done?” “The serpent deceived me,” she replied. “That’s why I ate it.”

No sooner had humanity fallen than the blame game began. Instead of taking responsibility for their failure to obey God’s command, Adam blamed his wife while taking a swipe at God as the one who had given him the woman. Eve, in turn, blamed the serpent. Both humans exhibited their broken human nature by refusing to accept responsibility and repent for their sin.

Genesis 3:16-19Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of its grains. By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.”

God described two ongoing consequences that would characterize the experience of women throughout history: the various pains of childbirth and the temptation to control their husbands. The equality of the man and woman both being God’s image bearers and team mates in tending the world became twisted into the continual temptation to control or to rule each other harshly. The perfect world God created only lasted two chapters in the Bible’s account. The rest of the Bible records God’s painstaking plan to set things right again while the world continues to struggle with the effects of the fall.