wfn.org | Inadequate Education Prevents African Women from Leading

["Frank Imhoff" <FRANKI@elca.org>]

Inadequate Education Prevents African Women from Participating in
Leadership
Women Representatives from African LWF Member Churches Call for
Equal Opportunities

NAIROBI, Kenya/GENEVA, 3 April 2003 (LWI) - Women representatives
from the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) member churches in
Africa, say lack of education and opportunities hinder their
overall participation in leadership and decision-making positions
in the church.

In a message following the Africa Women's Meeting, held a day
prior to the March 23-26 Africa Pre-Assembly Consultation in
Nairobi, Kenya, the 50 participants emphasized the need for
training and further education for women so that they can be
equipped for management positions in church, government and in
their communities.

The African PAC brought together around 110 representatives from
the 29 LWF member churches in the region, including delegates to
the July 2003 LWF Tenth Assembly.

They challenged church leaders to be more intentional in promoting
education of the girl child. They also called for more support
toward the respective women's desks as a way of ensuring adequate
response to practical issues that affect women. Pastors, the women
noted, must be equipped to understand gender issues.

While commending LWF member churches in Africa that have ordained
women, the representatives urged those churches that are still
discussing the issue to invest in theological education and open
ordination to women. When women are ordained, they should be
assigned to parishes and congregations, the statement from the
women's meeting continued.

Stating their position on violence against women in church and
society, the African women requested that the LWF document
"Churches Say 'No' to Violence against Women," already launched in
some of the churches, be made available in all regions, countries
and congregations. They recommended the publication's translation
into all major languages within the LWF communion. The women also
urged their churches to provide full support in protecting the
property rights of women and the rights of widows at the time of
their husband's death, and safeguard their children's welfare.

With regard to the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, the women noted
that war and conflict, rape, drug abuse, poverty, unemployment,
and ethnic differences with all their related consequences have
led to a high incidence of HIV/AIDS in Africa. The statement said
that HIV/AIDS programs and initiatives should be country-specific,
as different countries have different levels of HIV/AIDS awareness
and challenges.

The African delegates called on the churches to be actively
involved in HIV/AIDS campaigns, and together with governments,
support orphans and people living with the disease, and fight for
access to anti-retroviral drugs. There was emphasis on the need to
involve all levels of church leadership and church members in
annual workshops on HIV/AIDS awareness and the issue of
stigmatization. Such education should be seen as a holistic
response to the LWF global campaign against the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
launched in May 2002.

Women are becoming poorer through the effects of economic
globalization, the participants in the meeting observed. They
called on their churches to "be involved in projects and programs
concerning women's empowerment to be able to address the
environmental factors that affect women: water distribution,
deforestation, forest fires and drought."

(The LWF is a global communion of Christian churches in the
Lutheran tradition. Founded in 1947 in Lund (Sweden), the LWF now
has 136 member churches in 76 countries representing over 61.7
million of the 65.4 million Lutherans worldwide. The LWF acts on
behalf of its member churches in areas of common interest such as
ecumenical relations, theology, humanitarian assistance, human
rights, communication, and the various aspects of mission and
development work. Its secretariat is located in Geneva,
Switzerland.)

[Lutheran World Information (LWI) is LWF's information service.
Unless specifically noted, material presented does not represent
positions or opinions of the LWF or of its various units. Where
the dateline of an article contains the notation (LWI), the
material may be freely reproduced with acknowledgment.]

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