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The Lutheran World Federation
Lutheran World Information |
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| 09.11.2004 |
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| African Women Seek to Break Taboos That Hinder Discussion on Sexual Matters |
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West African Lutheran Churches Host Seminar on Ethical Challenges Affecting African Women
ABUJA, Nigeria/GENEVA, 9 November 2004 (LWI) - “Unless we women break the African taboos of talking about sex, we and our children will keep dying, especially from HIV/AIDS.” Rev. Marie J. Barnett, sub-regional coordinator for the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Women in Church and Society desk made these remarks during a theological seminar for the Lutheran Communion in Western Africa (LUCWA) in Abuja, Nigeria, October 26-28.
Under the theme, “Ethical Challenges Affecting African Women,” about 20 women theologians and other women leaders from Lutheran churches in Cameroon, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Togo gathered to name, analyze and strategize on the critical ethical issues that they face in their churches, families and societies. “As women we generally have not had a safe space to share and dialogue about these concerns,” said Barnett, a pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sierra Leone and member of the LWF Executive Committee as chairperson of the Program Committee for World Service.
In the course of the three-day meeting sponsored by the LWF Department for Theology and Studies (DTS), the women frankly named the critical issues, including many forms of violence against women, and how in adultery, rape, and bearing children out of marriage it is the women who are stigmatized and blamed. It is generally perceived that “the man is always right, and the woman wrong,” participants said. When a woman is widowed, it was observed, not only do churches and society fail to care for her needs, but in some of the churches, widows are actually required to give up their church positions.
The women representatives from Lutheran churches in West Africa said blatant gender inequality and discrimination in patriarchal societies were some of the main reasons why these practices continue. These concerns must be challenged, including by confronting male church leaders, the women insisted. They stressed the need for assertive, diplomatic efforts to convince churches that do not yet ordain women to do so, and to enable more women pursue theological education.
In their reflection on biblical texts in which Jesus challenged various forms of stigma and crossed boundaries to relate to women, it became clear that it is Jesus Christ who transforms and empowers African women today to press for change in harmful cultural practices. Culture cannot be the last word, the women asserted.
Rev. Dr Karen Bloomquist, LWF/DTS Director and Study Secretary for the Church and Social Issues, helped in facilitating the discussions. Rev. Dr Grace Umoren, University of Calabar, Nigeria, also made a presentation.
The LUCWA sub-region comprises 12 Lutheran churches, nine of which are LWF member churches. Membership in the body is drawn from churches in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Senegal and Sierra Leone.
The LUCWA gathering was followed by a larger seminar of the Lutheran Church of Nigeria Women Fellowship, in which these same concerns were strongly affirmed. (504 words)
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