WOMEN IN CHURCH AND SOCIETY

by

Mrs. Kathryn Hauwa Hoomkwap

(Nigeria)

 

 

INTRODUCTION

 

I consider it a great honour and privilege that His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, has invited me to speak on behalf of the millions of women in Africa on the theme: “Women in Church and Society in Africa” to this Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops.

This is one of the rare opportunities that a woman, especially from Africa, is given to make such a presentation before the Holy Father and the Synod of Bishops. May what I am to share with you be guided by the Holy Spirit and may the outcome of it be to the glory of God and the growth of the Church in Africa.

I consider the presence of women representatives at this assembly an evidence of the recognition by the Church (since Vatican II) of the necessity to give women more important roles to play within the Church and society. It is a further evidence on the part of the Church to consciously implement statements and decisions which directly address the dignity and vocation of women, in the world in general and in Africa in particular.

May I use this opportunity to express our gratitude to His Holiness, Pope John Paul II, for the special attention he has given to women issues both in the Church and in society. He has always found time during his African sojourns to address women as a special group even after addressing the laity (consisting of men and women) and to visit families in their homes. He has commended them in their roles in the Church, their contributions in evangelisation, their tireless efforts in raising their children and in their fight against abortion and other ills of the society.

Traditionally, in the Church and in society at large, women’s place was in the background. They were to be seen, used for procreation, for domestic and society chores, but not heard, except at gatherings exclusively meant for Women. When women gave advice, in most cases this had to be done in private. On very rare occasions, were they called to sit and deliberate with men on matters affecting the community.

Today, after independence in many countries, women are being given more and more important roles to play in the social, political and government circles. In the Church, too, remarkable changes have take place. The Second Vatican Council, especially in its “Gaudium et Spes” and other post‑conciliar Church documents on women, such as “Christifideles laici” and “Mulieris dignitatem”, represents a major landmark in the effort of the Church to uphold the dignity of women and to recognize their participation and contributions to the growth of the Church and society. We, the women in Africa, appreciate these documents. We have been strengthened and encouraged by them.

 

 

THE CONCERNS OF AFRICAN WOMEN

 

Africa is very rich in cultural values but some of the methods used for these values are opposed to the dignity and respect for womanhood. The practice of women circumcision, “widowhood rites”, treatment of widows in traditional settings, the place of Girls in the family and other practices that make women second‑rate citizens have not been fully addressed by the Church. How can we make women feel that they are beings “created in God’s image and likeness” just like the men? How can the caring maternal side of Holy Mother the Church be more evident for the pastoral care of our women?

Africa is going through a painful political transition and a deep economic recession. Civil wars are erupting in several parts of Africa. Usually, women and children are the victims: all kinds of war atrocities are committed against them. Famine, drought and various epidemics are but a few of our worries.

AIDS has been a major health concern in some parts of Africa, bringing death and misery to millions of families in our cities, villages and towns. Of the 14 million people infected by HIV/AIDS in the world, over 8 million are from sub‑Saharan African countries, and two thirds of these are women. [WHO estimates, Press Release of 1993]. Hospitals in East and Central Africa are filled with AIDS patients. These have caused many deaths and left many children orphaned.

We are worried about our women who are very faithful to their partners and yet contract this deadly disease.

However, Catholic Women Organizations in these countries have rendered services to AIDS patients acting as care‑givers, educators and counsellors. The women religious and their Sisters have made outstanding and commendable contributions in the care for AIDS patients. Awareness programmes of education and prevention based on Catholic doctrines and morals are designed and taught. Seminars and workshops are organized in small communities and in schools; and the sacredness of family life and the dangers posed by infidelity in marriage are highlighted.

Urbanization, materialism, use of hard drugs, high inflation, unemployment, corruption of various kinds are some of the concerns that affect our well‑cherished African values of respect and reverence for God, for life, and for persons. The African spirit of hospitality and sharing easily diminish if we do not seek new ways to sustain them.

New Churches and religious movements are being born daily in most parts of Africa. They often claim to be non‑denominational, but very often they have the Catholic church as their target. It is sad to acknowledge that most of the adherents are mostly women, and Catholic women for that matter! Investigations have shown that these women feel that their basic African needs are not being catered for in the Catholic Church at the present time. Childlessness, the fear of evil spirits, witchcraft are real concerns which are very often laughed at, dismissed as imaginary and non-existent in our Church circle. But, to the suffering African woman, these problems are real. These movements or sects are winning our Catholic women over because they seen to be responding to their real needs, We have some priests and lay people in the healing ministry, but many of them because they are monitored failed to address real issues. Some get to be materialistic in their demands or they succumb to traditional‑medicine approach.

How can we study the value in the African way of healing, a way that treats physical as well as psychological aspects of the whole person ‑ body and spirit?

These movements use the Bible, as well as some traditional African ways of dealing with fears. They also take time to listen to the person, to accompany her in her fears and to suggest various ways for healing to take place. Perhaps, basic Charismatic community approach in our Church could be an answer to this problem. How can the leaders of these charismatic groups be trained theologically to meet their challenges?

Marriages are breaking up because of lack of focus on God, fears of all kinds, childlessness, economic hardships, greed etc. on the part of both partners, over‑involvement of the extended family and many other reasons.

Family life is breaking up slowly in Africa. Both father and mother are having to work for hours and sometimes away from home, to keep the, family economically sound. Mothers are now over‑worked and have little or no time to accompany their children as they grow up. Our men in most parts still feel that the women alone should do the house work including interacting with the children. Many women are bread winners in the family today and their greatest concern is to give their children a sound education. Most women lack the knowledge to teach their children about the Catholic faith. In addition, there are not enough Catholic schools for our children, as some have been taken over by the governments hostile to the Church. The fact is that most ordinary people cannot afford to send their children to such schools. How can we train our women to value family life and to have deep Catholic faith themselves that will give them the confidence they need to pass this on to their children?

In some families, dialogue in homes are conditioned by some of old/traditional ideas about marriage ‑ the woman must be subordinate to the man! In some families, there is no dialogue at all. Some African husbands still feel that the man, as head of the family, has the monopoly of decision‑making. He will often say, “I am the boss in this house”. He can say or do what he wants. Indeed, where there is true dialogue in the house, there is usually peace and happiness. Children, in such houses, grow up in a loving home environment.

I cannot conclude this section on the family without mentioning one burning issue which is of great concern to the African women ‑ the issue of widowhood. The threat of the disintegration of the family institution calls for the Church in Africa to take a firm stand on issues, such as traditional widowhood rites and family inheritance, These are issues which frustrate the widow and expose her life and those of her children to many dangers. Other religions, for example, Islam which provided specific guidelines on the treatment of widows and family inheritance. But the Catholic widow is always subjected to the rough treatment of customary law, since the Church in Africa has never officially addressed this problem.

 

 

PRO‑LIFE

 

African women believe that all life is sacred from the moment of conception to the time of birth. The sanctity of life is supreme and man is the steward of his God‑given life. The right to life is therefore a fundamental and inalienable right of the individual. The family, being the basic unit of society, has the primary function and duty of providing family life education for its offspring. The role of all other collaborators in this regard is subsidiary. It is therefore the belief that every Catholic family must decide for itself how many offspring it wants in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic Church. The African family should be assisted to understand and practise responsible parenthood. Catholic Women Organizations have consistently opposed policies of governments which have to do with “Population Control”, which is often the responsibility of the Planned Parenthood Federation (PPF). Usually African governments and their collaborators such as: WHO, USAID and UNPF who fund these programmes, claim that Africa is overpopulated and the growth must be controlled if the standard of living of the African peoples is to improve. Campaigns for the use of contraceptives and other devices are carried out by the Planned Parenthood Federation through government television, radio and the print media. This corrupts our youth as they are exposed to the use of contraceptives and condoms, making them lose the respect and sacredness of family life. Bad leadership and mismanagement of public funds are the problems of African countries and not over‑population. There are billions of hectares of uncultivated and fertile land in Africa and if these are used we will have enough food to feed our population. We believe that for every mouth, there is a pair of hands. We therefore deplore the situation where African governments and the leaders swallow uncritically projects on population that are not in the long term interest of Africa. The African women appreciate the concerns of women all over the world, over their plight, but our priorities and moral convictions, especially in the area of marriage and family life should also be respected.

In this regard, therefore, I am appealing to our Synod Fathers to consider the need to establish television and radio houses for the purposes of evangelisation, education and counteraction of the debased slogans and propaganda mounted on government T.V., radio and print media houses in Africa. This will to some extent go towards reducing the negative effects the national media have on our children and society as a whole.

Challenged by government actions on population issues, the Catholic women in Africa have given Family Life Education a top priority. They have been organizing seminars, workshops and spiritual retreats to mark the International Year of the Family. The message of the Pope on the International Year of the Family has been disseminated to most Catholic women in Africa through their various organizations. It is hoped that all these efforts will go towards protecting the “domestic Church”, the family. I call on the Synod Fathers to seek ways of implementing the Family Life Education Programme in the various local churches as one of the main steps towards helping the African family and the African woman to face up the challenges of our times.

A brief consultation with women delegates to the Synod revealed many common activities of women in the Church in Africa. They are very active in the life of the local Churches, through their various organizations. Women organizations in the Church are among the most active, effective and important arm of the Church in Africa. What one missionary said of the African Church is very fitting here, and I quote: “If the Church in Africa is to be saved, it is because of its women”.

Although women are doing so much in evangelisation, most of them are literate but not educated enough on the intrinsic values of the Catholic doctrine. This calls for the establishment of appropriate institutions where African women of all levels can be better prepared and equipped as effective evangelizers. We have no undergraduate Theological Institute in the English‑speaking West African countries to date. How can our women contribute to the theological teaching of the Church and be respected, if they are not trained?

 

 

HOW HAVE WOMEN FARED IN SOCIETY?

 

In 1975, the International Women’s Year was declared in Mexico City, where the First World Conference on Women was held. The UN Conference opened a decade in which women discussed issues affecting their lives. This culminated in the end‑of‑the‑decade Conference in 1985, held in Nairobi, Kenya. A document was produced called the “Forward Looking strategies for the Advancement of Women”. This document centred around “Equality, Development and Peace”.

The Church’s teaching and the Forward Looking Strategies (FLS) open new opportunities of development for African women in the Church on the one hand, and in society on the other. There have been a lot of changes for women literally in every sphere of life in Africa. A number of changes are positive, while others are negative.

On the positive side, we have seen tremendous increases in female enrolment at all levels of education; great increase in female participation in the paid labour market; more and more women being co‑opted into the high level leadership positions in public and private‑ life and in the professions that were hitherto the preserve of men, and the serious open acknowledgement of the unequal position of women.

On the negative side, we still have the continuation of customs and traditional practices and beliefs that relegate women to subservient and inferior positions, confirmed unwillingness on the part of governments to effect changes in personal status laws, a continuation of regulations, laws and administrative practices that perpetuate the notion of weakness, dependence and inferiority on the part of women. The lot of the majority of African women is illiteracy, long treks in search for water, fuel and food, little access to resources like land and credit; and the continual marginalization of women from the development of their countries.

Though notable progress has been achieved towards improving the situation of women in Africa, a lot still needs to be done, as the objectives of the Decade for Women have not been fulfilled in some fields: economic, political and social. The Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies for the Advancement of women present concrete measures for overcoming the obstacles of the goals and objectives of the Decade. Most of the governments in Africa have only paid lip service to these declarations.

 

 

PROPOSALS FOR OUR SYNOD FATHERS

 

1. EVANGELIZATION: We have managed to translate the Bible into local languages in some areas in Africa. We still need to explore further the how to use the Bible creatively for spiritual education of our women. How can we prepare our women to be evangelizers? Can our women be involved in diocesan planning to bring in women relational input?

 

2. DIALOGUE: Inter‑faith and inter‑religious dialogue should be encouraged to continue at various levels. I do know that the women in some African countries have met with their counterparts from other faiths and Church groups to have dialogue and sometimes to pray and celebrate together. We must find ways to keep the channels open for meaningful conversation at these sessions.

Dialogue among Bishops, priests, Religious women, lay people and the youths needs to be meaningful. This should take place in an atmosphere that is filled with Christ’s presence, trust, openness to listen to each person, and to appreciate the other’s contributions, for the better development of the Church in Africa.

The Church should seek to influence the mass media and where possible be involved in communication. But this communication should be more in the local languages because 60% of the women are illiterate.

 

MARRIAGE AND FAMILYLIFE: The Church should look for ways to respond to the plight of women in the African family. Marriage preparations and ceremonies should emphasize more on mutual love, respect and partnership, and the give‑and‑take aspect that is inherent in married life. Where possible, experienced couples be co‑opted to speak to the young couples on the practical side of marriage. The practice of female circumcision should be strongly condemned by the Church. I propose that we look for ways to combine some of our African celebrations of Eve in all its forms with the Church’s sacraments: naming ceremony and baptism, traditional marriage ceremony and Church wedding. Treatment of women when a polygamous man is received into the Church should be looked into. Our church is compassionate!

 

EDUCATION: In most African countries today, the education system is in shambles. Our young women are molested by their professors in the universities. Schools are often closed down. The activities of cults and sects among the students reaching alarming proportions. We need to provide a good environment for our young women to study undisturbed. A Catholic University in Anglophone West Africa and any other sub‑region that needs it is highly recommended.

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

We, African women are a great asset to the Church; we know our potentials and we do recognize that often we are our own worst enemies in that we perpetuate some of the traditional practices that are very oppressive to our women‑folk. We need the Church to challenge and to guide us in these areas. We need our women trained theologically too to look critically at these practice and to assist us in the development of a truly African Church. I believe this will also take care of the problem we have with our women leaving the Church. In planning some ministry for physical and emotional needs for women, we , will be supporting them as they journey through life.

The Catholic women of Africa need a common forum to meet and discuss their problems and find solutions to them. Attempts have been made through the World Union of Catholic Women Organizations to bring the African Region together, as happened in Onitsha, Nigeria in 1984; in Buea, Cameroon in 1989 and in Senegal in 1994. These efforts have met with obstacle such as poor communication, expensive and difficult transportation and limited financial resources on the part of the women.

We appeal to the Synod Fathers to make this come true by assisting the women in Africa to have an AFRICAN CATHOLIC WOMEN’S ORGANIZATION, based on the structure of SECAM. We would like our women to be more responsible and participate fully in issues affecting them in Church and in society. This is very important for us, since not all world issues are necessarily African issues. For example, while population control and the question of women in the Holy Orders may be considered issues for discussion in the Western world, African women are NOT interested in becoming PRIESTS; or reducing their population through unnatural methods.

We believe that with the support of our Synod Fathers and the spiritual guidance of the our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, who has shown solidarity with the African Church, we, the women of Africa, will overcome all obstacles. We trust in the direction and protection of Our blessed Virgin Mary, who is our Mother and model and the PATRONESS OF AFRICA.