wfn.org | WCC NEWS: Women intend to be heard at WCC Assembly

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World Council of Churches - News Release
Contact: +41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363 media@wcc-coe.org
For immediate release - 25/08/2005

PORTUGUESE-SPEAKING WOMEN INTEND TO BE HEARD AT WCC ASSEMBLY

Free photos available, see below

No more violence! Portuguese-speaking women are hoping that this cry will
be heard at the World Council of Churches' (WCC) next Assembly. "Violence
is sin, and God calls us to salvation," they say.

Meeting 11-15 August in Sâo Leopoldo, Brazil, some 50 women from
churches in Angola, Brazil, Mozambique and Portugal worked to prepare for
the WCC's 9th Assembly, to take place in Porto Alegre in February 2006.

Language was not the only thing they had in common at a meeting that
brought together Roman Catholics, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans,
Reformed and Anglicans. There, the women discovered that the violence
marking their daily lives was something else they shared.

"We note that violence against women, whether physical, sexual, psychological, economic or spiritual, is a reality in our churches and our countries," says a message to the churches issued at the close of a meeting focused
on the action of God's grace in women's lives.

Invoking the physical and psychological violence that is an integral part
of life for Mozambican women, "African women's hearts have been broken,"
said theologian Invicta Tivane. "Unfortunately, in our culture, the belief
that husbands must beat their wives to prove their love still exists," she
explained.

"Power is still concentrated in men's hands," reported Rev. Paulina
Makumbu from Angola. "There are African women who are educated but
unemployed, and others who are working but badly paid, with husbands but
who reproach them," she said. Makumbu hopes that the Assembly will be an
opportunity to "shout out" for women's rights.

Rosa Maria Cruz Ángela from Portugal was deeply touched by what she
heard, and by the women's courage. In spite of belonging to the so-called
first world, women in her country also suffer from violence, she said.
"Within the church we are respected, but in society not always. Many
Portuguese women are forced to become prostitutes, suffer from domestic,
sexual or psychological violence as well as from gender discrimination,"
she reported.

> A gift from God that needs to be restored

"We realize that sexuality is a gift from God that makes us human," the
meeting's message proclaimed. "However, this gift has been appropriated by
the economic and cultural models that produce sex trafficking of girl
children and facilitate the spread of HIV/AIDS, thus dehumanizing women
and children around the world."

Participants committed themselves to denounce this situation, and to work
preventively, seeking ways to struggle against sexual exploitation and the
propagation of HIV/AIDS.

In Angola, according to the national coordinator of a network of ecumenical theologians, Eva Sebastião Cosme, people are misinformed about the
risks of contracting HIV/AIDS. Churches are creating ecumenical networks
to raise awareness on this issue, she added.

In Mozambique, an estimated ten percent of the population is infected by
the virus. The myth that an HIV-positive man will be cured if he sleeps
with a virgin is prevalent in her country, said Tivane. "Patriarchy
invents myths to justify behaviour that suits it," she alleged.

In their message, the Portuguese-speaking women urged the churches to
commit themselves at the Assembly to "work together to make concrete
changes in the lives of women and children, as a sign of the transforming
grace of God".

The meeting helped the women to "hone their language," commented Brazilian
theologian Elaine Neuenfeldt, who helped evaluate the event. It was also
useful in helping them to prepare themselves for participation in the
Assembly, where a special space - "The Beehive" - awaits them and their
particular concerns.

Free high resolution photos to accompany this story are available at the
WCC Assembly website: www.wcc-assembly.info

Additional information: Juan Michel,+41 22 791 6153 +41 79 507 6363
media@wcc-coe.org

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The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 347, in
more than 120 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian
traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works
cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly,
which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally
inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by
general secretary Samuel Kobia from the Methodist church in Kenya.