Is gender equality practical in religious forums?

BY WATIPASO MZUNGU JNR

 

Lately, there has been a call for all governments and states to raise the status of women in the society. This comes against a background that women have, for time immemorial, been confined to kitchen work.

 

Women have for the past years played second fiddle to men in almost all sectors of life.

 

Realizing that women, too, can perform wonders if given a chance to lead, gender activists in Malawi and other Sadc African countries are fighting for 50-50 women representation in positions of influence in the society. They started with 30 percent, but to date, only five countries have so far managed to meet the requirement.

 

Malawi happens to be one of the countries struggling to fulfill its commitment to raise the status of women so that they are at par with men.

 

Suffice to say that the few women currently holding positions of authority in Malawi have not disappointed. Except for a few, at least most women have shown that, given a chance, they can change things for the better.

 

Take, for example, Anastazia Msosa; the woman chairing the Electoral Commission (EC). She is just a genius and knows what she is doing. She is focused.

 

No wonder then that even men can draw a lesson or two from the way she handles issues to do with elections in Malawi. Talk of Dr. Mary Shawa—Principal Secretary for Nutrition, HIV and Aids in the Office of the President and Cabinet.

 

Like Msosa, Dr. Shawa knows her job. She understands her role and articulates issues with much ease to the public. Examples are endless!

 

However, the question would be: gender equality yes! But to which limit can women assume positions of authority in the society? Should we allow women to assume leadership positions in the Church like pastorate, priestly?

 

Worldwide, there has been a lot of controversy over the role of women in the Church. The main conflict comes over two passages of the Scripture from Paul. 

 

All Scripture needs to be understood in the context of what was said, who was spoken to, and what the culture was at the time. 

 

On 1 Corinthians 11:3, Apostle Paul says: “ Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God”.

 

Many poeple have understood this verse to mean that women have to submit to their husbands. In some cultures like Ngoni, a female is supposed to be submissive to any male person however young or insignificant in the society.

 

However, according to Moses Thomas of Chimkoka Village in Dowa, whether it is by design or change of times, women many women women are no longer in submission to their husbands or the leadership in churches. 

 

Moses argues that women nowadays do not show respect for their husbands and the church elders and  this is why we have some people who want to tell women to be silent in the church. 

 

Sheikh Alidi Iron of Usumani Masjid in Machinga says it is against the teachings of the Holy Quran for a woman to stand at the pulpit to preach the word of God.

According to Sheikh Iron, a woman can only preach in the presence of fellow women during their special prayers like dawa.

 

“Even if she is very educated a woman cannot stand at the pulpit to preach,” the sheikh emphasizes.

 

“There are many laws in the Holy Book that state that a woman should not stand before men in the mosque,” says Sheikh Iron.

 

He, however, explains that some women are allowed to holp positions of influence, but their authority is limited to fellow women.

 

Asked if women have freedom to aspire to become sheikhs, Sheikh Iron states that such women’s authority will still limited to fellow women. Much as Iron supports the idea that more women should take up positions of authority in the society, he does not believe women should go beyond earthly matters.

 

“Women are supposed to submit to men. That is the teaching of the Holy Quran and the Bible as well. So we are just following what God commanded us.

 

“During prayers, too, women are supposed to listen in silence. Spiritual matters have to be separated from earthly ones. We don’t have to mix these things,” he says.

But in his book, The Role of Women in the Church, Sandy Simpson argues that just because women are not in submission, and men are allowing it, does not mean that women have no role to play in the Church.  On the contrary, obedient submissive women have a very important role in the Church as do men. 

According to Simpson, evidence from history shows us that many have been saved and discipled by women, and many churches have been planted by them.  Prophecy has come forth for the Church through women, and will continue to do so as the Spirit leads and as women are living in submission to their husbands and to Christ.

 

One thing we should understand is that both men and women are made in the image of God, not just men. The book of Genesis chapter 1:27  tells us a story of creation.

 

 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” On Matthew 19:4 the Bible says:  "Haven’t you read," he replied, "that at the beginning the Creator ’made them male and female.’

 

Note that God blessed both men and women, calling them "man". Therefore this is not a sexist term, but a godly one.

 

We can also learn from this that some things that pertain to "man" pertain to both men and women, whereas when men or women are specified it is talking about men and women specifically.  Here is an example where God is referencing both men and women as "men".

 

Ephesians 4:8 says: "When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men." And 1 Timothy 2:4 says: “who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.”

 

Joel 2:29 gives us the real picture that God calls both men and women to serve him. God said even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour my Spirit in those days. All have equal access to the Christ and all are one in Christ.

 

Rev. Fr. Henry Saindi of the Roman Catholic Church says the question on whether women can lead the church is controversial as it is “contentious”.

 

Fr. Saindi explains that according to the Catholic tradition, there are two points of references to this question.

 

“We have Sacred Orders those that one exercise as a result of sacred ordination namely, Episcopate, Priesthood and Diaconate. These are for life,” explains the priest in an email interview from Rome where he is currently studying.

 

Fr. Saindi further states that there are ministries in which one exercises as a result of installation or appointment by an authority in the Church.

 

Take note that only laymen can be installed ministers in the Catholic Church. Examples of such orders are Lector [reader of the word of God] and Acolyte [one who can be asked to distribute Holy Communion whenever there is need].

 

“The role of preaching falls in the first category. It must be exercised by those who have been ordained as deacons, priests and bishops. It is their role to break the bread of the Word and also preside over the Eucharist except for the deacons who can only offer their service at the altar,” says he.

 

Thus in the Catholic tradition women cannot be ordained as sacred ministers or installed as ministers.

 

He, however, acknowledges that their role is indispensable in the Catholic Church.

 

Fr. Saindi further discloses that he personally supports the campaign for 50-50 women representation wherever possible in public positions including the church although he asks for good faith and right motives when implementing it.

 

But he cautions that as much as the Church is human, people have to remember that it is divine. It is not just a human society. It is not just like any other human associations.

 

The priest agrees with Sheikh Iron saying the prime goal of the Church is to look for and promote those values that can help in the building up of the heavenly kingdom.

 

“Therefore, the Church cannot be put at par with the earthly policies where the idea of 50-50 responsibility sharing can be possible.

“The Church has to be inspired by those values that would help in the building up of the heavenly city while here on earth. In that way I am afraid one cannot demand a 50-50 position sharing since it is service at play,” concludes Fr. Saindi.

END

Deforestation, women and economy

BY WATIPASO MZUNGU JNR

People living far away from a forest would usually perceive deforestation as an exclusively environmental problem. However, for people whose livelihoods depend directly on them, forest loss is a tragedy.

Desertification or climate change have had very devastating effects on humanity across the world. Effects have been worse in developing countries where women have been made to pay the highest price because they are directly related to household food security and firewood.

Degradation of the resource base generally translates into decreases in production or income and thus in the availability of food. Declining soil fertility leads to lower crop yields while shortages of biomass may result in a transition to lower-nutrition foods that require less fuel for cooking. In addition, recurrent drought or natural calamities also directly result in loss of food security prospects.

Environmental experts Gareth Porter and Janet Welsh Brown say conversion of forests for subsistence and commercial agriculture accounts for 60 percent of worldwide deforestation.

An estimated 20 to 25 percent of annual deforestation is thought to be due to commercial logging. The remaining 15 to 20 percent is attributed to other activities such as cattle ranching, cash crop plantations, construction of dams, roads, and mines.

Statistics indicate that an estimated 90 percent of the entire continent's population uses fuelwood for cooking, and in Sub-Saharan Africa, firewood and brush supply approximately 52 percent of all energy sources.

Less firewood, more trouble for women, children

The status quo in most African societies demand that women and children bear responsibilities of gathering firewood and drawing water while men tend to other equally important duties back home or when they go playing games (e.g. bawo) and drinking.

With no shoes on their feet, women and children cover long distances to gather firewood or draw water. In worst situations, children are forced to desert classes to accompany their mothers to carry out such tasks.

Any damage to the environment, especially forests, means that there will be less firewood, rivers and streams will gather silt and dry up leading to a decline in food production. This, effectively, translates to long distances women and children have to cover in their search for firewood and water.

In a country where electricity is a luxury for most of its citizens, besides being unreliable, firewood or charcoal becomes the only reliable source of fuel. Government statistics reveal only 8 per cent of the population has regular has access to electricity in their homes.

It is not surprising, therefore, to find that even government officials, forestry officials, et al are scrambling for bags of charcoal along the roads as they drive from field visits elsewhere.

Economic loss to Malawi

Malawi loses 191 million dollars (147 million Euros) a year to environmental damage including soil erosion, deforestation and over-fishing, says a UN-backed study released September, 2010.

The damage further depletes carbon sink that could otherwise take up the carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere thereby forming a layer that traps and returns heat back to the earth’s surface – in what is scientifically known as global warming.

Deforestation affects women much more than men, and the poorer they are the worse it is for them. Women have been traditionally involved in collecting water, fuel and other non-timber forest products, while the men tend to other issues sometimes of less importance, especially during off-rainy seasons when they go drinking or playing traditional games such as bawo.

With deforestation, women's work of fetching and carrying becomes more difficult, since they have to go farther and farther from their villages to reach the receding tree line.

Sibongile Chithenga, 35, of Mpeni Village, Sub Traditional Authority in Mwanza, covers not less 15 kilometres away from home to fetch fuelwood. Besides, environmental degradation and the resultant effects such as erratic rains and soil infertility have turned her life upside down.

 “We used to yield for ourselves, but the situation has completely changed overtime. Every year, we’re experiencing devastating droughts leading to low or no yield at all,” says Chithenga, a widow caring for five children.

“Food production has substantially declined that we can’t feed ourselves now. We rely on food handouts from well-wishers such as Cadecom [Catholic Development Commission of Malawi],” she explains. One obvious outcome of all this is that women have less time to take care of themselves. They toil tirelessly to meet the needs of their families.

Women, especially in rural areas, play a key role in on- and off-farm activities in the developing countries. With the growing male out-migration from marginal areas, the number of women headed households in these areas is increasing.

Women are responsible for the day-to-day survival of the family. Women are more vulnerable than men to the effects of environmental degradation.

Over the past two decades, environmental degradation, including land degradation has continued to worsen exacerbating further poverty and food insecurity.

Degradation of environmental resources are fundamental obstacles to achieving the Millennium Development Goals and 2015 targets set by the United Nations.

In a report entitled Reclaiming Rights and Resources released on the occasion of Earth Day this year, CARE presented personal accounts from across Africa on how environmental problems directly impact the lives of the rural poor and specifically the lives of women.

"The negative outcomes of the loss and/or degradation of natural resources often fall most heavily on women, adding to their responsibilities and multiple roles in families and communities," said Phil Franks, poverty and environment advisor with CARE, the poverty-fighting organization working in 66 countries including Malawi.

"However, in many situations, women also hold the key to solving these problems and can bring environmental concerns to the attention of society in a powerful way."

Income Generating Public Works Programme (IGPWP) Forestry Manager Rose Bell observes that women in the rural settings are the worst hit by climate change.

Speaking recently when she visited Nkaombe Women Forestry Club in the area of Traditional Authority (T/A) Bvumbwe in Thyolo, Bell said village afforestation programmes could play a significant role in fighting the effects of climate change and that people in the rural areas need to take a leading role since they are directly affected the effects.

“People in the rural areas are mostly the worst hit by climate change. In the past, women used to fetch firewood within the backyards, but this isn’t the case today. Women have to travel long distances to fetch firewood, which is time-consuming,” said Bell.

When he was launching the 2009—2010 national tree planting season on December 15, 2009 in Chiradzulu, President Bingu wa Mutharika concurred with Bell further stressing the need for Malawians to plant trees at every idle land.

Mutharika explained that the country is currently losing more of its forests mainly due to the energy needs coming in forms of firewood and charcoal.

“We need to plant not less than 65 million trees per year if we are to fight deforestation,” Mutharika urged.

NGOs efforts on climate change

Lake Chilwa Basin (LCB) Climate Change Adaptation Programme says it plans to facilitate and strengthen the capacity of local and district institutions dealing in environment and natural resources management as one of mechanisms for fighting climate change.

LCB is a five-year programme jointly implemented by Leadership for Environment and Development Southern & Eastern Africa (LEAD SEA) based at Chancellor College, WorldFish Centre (WFC) and Forestry Research Institute of Malawi (FRIM).

LCB Programme Manager, Welton Phalira, says with a NOK35 million (about K830 million) grant the organization has just received from a the Norwegian government, the programme will support partner institutions with resources to enhance their capacity to deliver essential services including training, agricultural production and diversification inputs and other income generating activities to the communities so as to enhance their resilience and adaptation to climate change.

“The overall goal of the programme is to secure the livelihood of 1.5 million people in the Lake Chilwa Basin and enhance resilience of their natural resource base. This will be achieved through development and implementation of basin-wide climate change adaptations in support of the Malawi National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPA) to enhance the capacity of communities to adopt sustainable livelihood and natural resource management practices,” Phalira explains.

The project aims to strengthen local and district institutions operating in Machinga, Phalombe and Zomba to better manage natural resources and build resilience to climate change; facilitate cross-basin and cross-sector natural resource management and planning for climate change throughout the basin; improve household and enterprise adaptive capacity in basin hotspots; and promote mitigation of the effects of climate change through improved forest management and governance.

Group Village Headwoman Chonde of Mulanje is eager to mobilize her subjects into taking a leading role in fighting deforestation by planting more trees. She, however, fears lack of resources would choke her dreams. Will someone offer to help?

END