A personal reflection by Jonah Gokova, Zimbabwe, first published in Gender and religious education

I wanted to be different
I was born in 1956 in a family of very devout Christian parents who both were active leaders in the Methodist Church. I was number two in the family but first born son. I have a young brother who comes after me and four sisters.

Traditionally my status in the family was higher than the one of my sister who came before me. In my case, my sister is seven years older than me! It is not about, who is older; but who is the son. This emphasis was repeated throughout my formative years and even up to now.
The Zimbabwean society, in which I was born, is not different from any other society in the world in terms of social expectations relating to gender roles between boys and girls who grow up to be men and women. There was an unwritten law, which regulated behavior and was read as the following: boys must be tough, boys do not cry, boys do ‘men’s work’ outside the home. At every step the requirement on maleness had to be confirmed. Physical ability, toughness were objectified as necessary ideal, that had to be achieved by every boy in our society.

I had four sisters who had an enforced ‘cultural and religious obligation’ to cook, wash dishes and clothes for me. In my younger days I was not satisfied with this arrangement and wanted to be different from other boys in my community. I was interested in assisting my sisters in doing household chore and I gained a lot of satisfaction from it. I learnt to cook, to iron and to perform household tasks, normally done by girls and women. My mother encouraged me to work together with my sisters and I enjoyed sharing the tasks with my sisters. My brother was rather different. He enjoyed playing with other boys away from home and his level of gender sensitivity is not notably high today.

Well my involvement in all this is definitely not the result of some fantastic gender theories I had read before. At that stage of my development I was not even aware of the work of feminists, who later assisted me with tools of analysis of social organization and unequal power relations that seem to be consistent in our societies today.  I was simply doing what I felt as the right thing to do at that moment. It is important to note that my mother played a crucial role in encouraging and supporting me. She did not read any of the feminist theories and up to now, at the age of over 80 years, she is not familiar with the gender theories that are beginning to inform our critic of social and power relations between men and women in society.

It is very possible that as a leader in Church she must have been influenced by her belief in God  to develop a sense of justice, that is reflected in the way she worked hard to create opportunities for her daughters, and the encouragement she gave me to develop a sense of equality between me and my sisters. I listened to her and I have never regretted.

My concept of salvation
As I look back I always ask myself, what specific contribution has the church made to my gender consciousness? What I remember from Sunday school theology and youth leadership lessons in the church is that God has always been neutral to these issues. Gender stereotypes have always been glorified as God-ordained. Boys should strive to positions of leadership while girls should be submissive and learn to obey.

I have always felt the gradual development of some sense of justice in my life but for many years I could not articulate it. I knew how to live it out in my life but had no preparation to take it beyond of my direct surrounding. When I decided to study theology I had a specific interest in Liberation Theology and Feminist Theology. I discovered that there is a particular way of reading the Bible and relating it to the own reality in which God plays a central role in motivating and directing the human search for freedom. I understood that the discipleship has inherently the sense of obligation for every Christian to fight, expose and eliminate forces of domination and exclusion in society. For Christians class divisions and gender divisions in society were creating new frontiers for struggling. So my involvement in the struggle for gender justice becomes a direct expression of my understanding of salvation and is part of the broader struggle for social justice which has its roots in the Gospel.
Being a man and a Christian in a society that enforces strict divisions of gender roles, left me with only one option and that was to refuse to be a collaborator in institutional and social structures that deny women any access to opportunities while fitting men with all privileges.

My understanding of the concept of salvation is all-encompassing. In our context, class divisions must be narrowed and gender roles eliminated, so that when we proclaim Abundant Life in Christ (John 10, 10) the proclamation finds a liberating meaning in the lives of God’s people. As a man I consider myself directly responsible for the necessary process of deconstructing manhood in order to get rid of offensive macho stereotypes that are prevalent in our society and world today. Those of us who have already developed some Gender-consciousness must openly challenge the patriarchal nature of social organization by standing as possible role models offering alternative expressions of manhood that do not depend on the exploitation and domination of women by men.

The most inspiring biblical passage for me is the account of the resurrection, in which was reported that women discovered that Jesus rose from the dead. The male disciples heard for the first time the message of the resurrection from the women! And Paul says if it did not exist the resurrection for our (Christian) faith, our faith would be in vain. Women discovered the resurrection while men were hiding in some room somewhere because they were afraid.
In the light of this fact I do not understand why men still want to remain as obstacles the ordination of women. Men were strangers to the message of resurrection!

A dysfunctional model of family in church
The church is not an easy institution to deal with, particularly when you are introducing new ideas and asking new questions. There has always existed the assumption in church that differences between men and women in society are God-ordained and therefore they should not be questioned or challenged. This applies especially to the Zimbabwean Church. There is a strong traditional belief in the church, that the family in its hierarchical form is the best foundation for the rest of society.

The diagram below reflects an unjust structure of the family that needs to be challenged and exposed because it creates and perpetuates the subordination of women by men in society.

What we observe from the above triangle is that the hierarchical structure of the family represents a universal basis of a traditional family unit that is responsible for the oppression of women in society.

The existence and function of Masculinity and Femininity is consistently enforcing the dominant role of the masculine while at the same time insisting on the subordinated role of the feminine.

The existence of the two ‘identities’ is fixed in boxes from which any attempt to escape is criminalized. The enforcement of heterosexual relations is prohibiting any other alternative identities that are possible. The above structure meant to provoke and encourage discussion on possible more just structures that could be the basis for social organization that acknowledges respects and seeks to protect the dignity and rights of women as human being.

Attempts to do gender work in the church have often been blocked by interpretations passages from Genesis and Apostle Paul where women are perceived to be subordinated to the interests and needs of men. A rereading of the bible is required in order to develop new liberating meanings of the bible in which we can celebrate the existence of women as challenging and fulfilling for men, enabling us to create relationships between men and women that are not dependent on the oppression and exploitation of women.

A confession of renewed masculinity
We are creating a situation in which more and more men share the view that if expressions of masculinities and manhood require us to be collaborators in the oppression of women then we refuse to be men, opting instead to sharing gentle feelings, dedicating ourselves to expressing a kinder, more caring, less aggressive and less competitive existence.

We refuse to live the myth that makes us claim status and privileges at the expense of women and on the basis of possession of a penis!  For many men the pressure is unbearable. There is also the fear of stigma associated with those men who are uncomfortable with expressions of masculinity.

Refusing to be a man is a concept that expresses our collective desire to create an image of manhood that does not depend on or tolerate the oppression, exploitation and abuse of women in our society. If the passive and arrogant reaction to the women’s call of reason is part of the definition of manhood, then we refuse to be men.  If the existence of men depends on proving the greatest, dehumanizing and destructive behavior, then we refuse to be men.  If society continues to encourage men to engage in risky sexual behavior that does not respect and protects the sexual and reproductive rights of women, then we refuse to be men.  If approaches to the seeking of eradication of HIV/AIDS continue to stigmatize women while at the same time they are unnecessarily and unjustly protecting men, then we refuse to be men.  If power relations between men and women in our society remain the monopoly of men, then we refuse to be men.

The message is clear. While we refuse to be men in the current stereotype sense, we are also seeking to create a new image of manhood, an image that is based on justice, on the respect of women and the acceptance of women as equal partners who should continue to challenge us to move towards a realization of our true humanity.

Men can change
The purpose of sharing this experience is to encourage other men elsewhere to see the possibility for change. Men have conveniently postponed involvement in gender issues for a long time. Now there is no excuse. Society, culture and religion are no longer sufficient excuses for men to insist on playing gender roles that depend on the subordination of women. Men ought to change, men can change and men must change.

The church must position itself in the forefront of the struggle to end patriarchal dominance by discovering and promoting alternative structures of family and society.

Jonah Gokova was born in 1956 in Zimbabwe. He is a trained theologian and belongs to the Methodist church in Zimbabwe. He leads the Christian non-governmental organization Ecumenical Support Service (ESS). For a long time ESS sticks up for the compliance with human rights in the country, for more democracy and additionally for the commitment of gender justice. In courses they cooperate with different churches and offer training courses for church personnel. Furthermore Jonah Gokova is the founder of the men forum Padare, in the Zimbabwean Shona-tradition, a place of meeting and exchange, which argue with questions of gender seen from the man perspective. Due to his public commitment he received threats in the last years. The work of ESS was kept from the police under surveillance. In the year 2008 he had to leave, for his own security, the country with his wife and his two daughters for some weeks. However, he continues getting involved in men and gender questions in Zimbabwe.

The United Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) has launched a month-long online discussion on Women in Power and Decision-Making. Dedicated to the fifteen-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995), as well as outcomes of the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly (2000), these discussions will be a contribution to the 54th session of the Commission on the Status of Women to take place 1-12 March 2010.

Good news! Registration for the Ecumenical Women Orientation on February 27, 2010 and the Ecumenical Women dinners on March 2^nd and 4^th is now open.

You can now access the registration information and purchase tickets for the events at: http://ecumenicalwomen.eventbrite.com/

Please contact ecumenicalorientation@gmail.com with any questions regarding the events or registration.

Event details:

Orientation – Saturday, February 27, 2010, 8:00am-5:30pm

Delegates will receive an introduction to the structures and processes in the United Nations, and an overview of this year’s theme of the CSW: the 15-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). Includes 2 meals and Ecumenical Women Advocacy Guide. Party to follow the training!

Advocacy Dinner – Tuesday, March 2, 2010, 6:00 pm

Gather to reflect on our experiences thus far and consolidate our advocacy strategies for the days ahead. Dinner will be provided. The dinner will be held at the Church Center for the United Nations, 8th floor.

Advocacy Dinner – Thursday, March 4, 2010, 6:00 pm

Gather to reflect on our experiences thus far and consolidate our advocacy strategies for the days ahead. Dinner will be provided. The dinner will be held at the Church Center for the United Nations, 8th floor.

We look forward to seeing you there!

by Simon Khayala, Kenya

In life, what matters most is how we react when faced with a situation.

As we begin the New Year, I ask us to reflect on whether we are any of the above; an egg, a potato, or a coffee bean.

I have a friend who can afford to laugh even when she is hurting deeply. It is a trait I greatly admire in her. What does it take? I always marvel. I am the exact opposite. When all is not well, I find it hard to pretend otherwise so when asked how I am, I will let the enquirer know what’s happening. Another friend can do the most difficult of tasks when faced with an equally difficult situation. Even when misfortune strikes, she can plan a project and get it working. When the situation is bad, she gets into autopilot mode.

Yet another friend is an emotional sucker. She becomes an emotional wreck when something small happen to her. Her children and husband knows this, so when something befalls them in her absence, they make sure no one tells her.

What am driving at is that we are all made different. We react differently to the same situation. That does not mean that whatever kind of person you are, you are right or wrong. It just means that you are unique.

Read this story:

A daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed that just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed. Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each over a higher fire. When the water began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot. He then let them boiling for a while without saying a word to his daughter.

The daughter moaned and waited impatiently, wondering what her father was doing. After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes and eggs out of the pots, and placed them in different bowls, and poured the coffee into a cup. Turning to her he asked “What do you see?” “Potatoes, eggs and coffee,” she quickly replied. “Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After removing the shell she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face. “Father, what does this mean?” she asked. He then explained that the potatoes, eggs and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity- boiling water. However, each one reacted differently.

The potato went in strong, hard and unrelenting, but in boiling water it become soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After being exposed in the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which are you?” he asked his daughter. When adversity knocks to your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg or a coffee bean?”

In life, things happen around us and to us, but what really matters is what happens within us. Which one are you? Which ever you are, go ahead and just be. You are uniquely made.

By Paola Salwan, Programme Assistant for Africa, Middle East and Europe at the World YWCA and Co-Founder of the Blog Café Thawra

While reading the excellent book Purple Hibiscus from the outstanding Nigerian author and previous Princeton lecturer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, I got to thinking about abusive relationships and how women get stuck in them, unable to break free from these iron shackles. In the novel, the heroine endures torture from her father, who tells her he’s doing this for her own good.

As the world is getting ready for the 54th Commission on the Status of Women to be held in New York in March, that will review and strengthen the commitment to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, domestic violence and abuse against women are now more than ever getting attention from both national and international authorities.

In my whole 25 years of existence (Don’t laugh, I know it’s a small number, but it just goes on to proving my point, which is,(keep on reading)), I have witnessed women being abused verbally in public by their partner or by their father, I have heard testimonies of physical abuse given by young women, women under 30 years of age, already carrying the burden and repercussions of such emotional and physical turmoil so early on in their woman’s life. To many, the abused woman is the married woman suffering beatings from her alcoholic husband. This cliché, like all clichés, has a lining of truth, but let us not forget that abuse can be physical, but also emotional, that it can happen to any woman, and that it can also take place in a parent-child relationship. Besides, violence can also be perpetrated by women, but as the vast majority of violence against women cases recorded have been made by men, we will stick to the gender angle for the purpose of this article.

I have often wondered why women who find themselves in such a relationship do not simply leave their very own private hell.  While it seems very easy to have this rather judgmental kind of reaction, things are far from being so black and white, many shades of grey can appear: many women could be afraid not to be able to sustain their family financially without their partner’s support, some others claim they still love the person who abuse them, some will even tell you they were guilty of something and deserved this outburst of violence, and some will simply not realise they are being abused, because to them abuse is only physical, and they won’t have the appropriate tools to unveil the emotional mistreatments.

While it is possible that many women probably think along these lines, I’m also convinced that something in their partner’s attitude keeps them emotionally attached to them, triggers something in their mind and heart for them to stay or makes them feeling so guilty and worthless that they become grateful to their partner for “putting up with them”.

Studies have shown that the abusive partner is generally somebody who exerts some kind of power upon their victim, whether financially or emotionally, which puts the abused woman, right from the beginning, in a dependent situation. Right at the start of the relationship, there is a will to dominate the other spouse or partner. The process will slowly creep on the relationship: it’ll be a hurtful comment, or a slap. These incidents will be followed by justifications such as “But I’m only saying this because I love you”, or “You provoked me, I went out of my mind, I’m sorry, It will never happen again”.

It will happen again.

Emotional manipulation is a big component of the abusive partner’s attitude, along with making the victim feel guilty, put the blame on her. In the eyes of her aggressor, an abused woman has all the flaws in the world, and she should be grateful that he’s staying with her. Insults, degrading comments and intimidating measures will happen often, leading the woman to feel worthless, guilty, and to continuously ask herself if what her aggressor is saying is true: Is she really such a bad person? And if so, why is he still staying with her? Surely, he must be an outstanding person?

And there you go. This is how a woman can endure so many unspeakable treatments and this is how this vicious circle starts.

However, it doesn’t stop there. In order to ensure a firm grip on his prey, and make sure that his partner will never leave him, the abusive man will know how to cajole and seduce his spouse/partner. While continuous violence will eventually lead to a defensive reaction from the victim, an alternation between evil and angel will have her confused: “He can be so adorable; I must be really awful to him sometimes to push him to this extent”. The violent partner will be charming in society and with other people, only throwing from time to time the degrading comment (with a smile and condescending laugh) to the woman accompanying him. These strategies are equivalent to brainwashing, and with such an oppressing burden, no wonder mistreated women have trouble leaving their homes.

This is why it is tremendously important to teach women, not only about their rights, but also about how to identify the first signs of an abusive relationship, when it is not too late to intervene or for the woman to seek help.

Just think about what difference it would make if women would walk into relationships aware of these twisted strategies and manipulations.

Maybe women would have more confidence in themselves.

Maybe a woman wouldn’t die each week in Europe following violence from her partner.

While we reflect this year on Beijing+15 and on the status of women, let us not forget that education is not only knowing about national laws protecting women or CEDAW. It is also giving women tools that they can use before they actually need to resort to these laws.

It’s called prevention, and it works.

Ladies, you’re aware now.

by Onleilove Alston

In America many people make New Year’s Resolutions to set goals as they go into the New Year. Most resolutions involve breaking a harmful habit or beginning a positive one. This New Year’s I want to challenge all of us to make the resolution to resurrect Beijing by supporting the advancement of women’s rights at your church, in your communities and on your jobs. If you choose to take-up this resolution review the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, adopted at the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995. Become familiar with the document and share it within your community. One way in which you can advance women’s rights is by advocating for women’s leadership in local churches and denominations. March is Women’s History Month and you can advance women’s rights by teaching a Sunday school class on women in the Bible. On a broader level if your state or nation is considering legislation that affects women get involved by lobbying your governmental officials. Consider mentoring a younger woman in your church or community this year and encouraging her to be a leader. Individually you can make a donation to a women’s organization or ministry. Personally you can resolve to advocate for yourself and other women when faced with sexism and gender discrimination.  One important way you can help resurrect Beijing is by attending the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York City from February 26 to March 3. Even if you can not attend the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women take-up a local cause that affects women: childcare, sexism in the workplace, women’s wages or any issue that affects women in your community.

2010 and the 15^th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action gives us a unique opportunity to consider the advancements women have made since the Fourth World Conference on Women and to fight against the disadvantages we still face as a global community. The New Year always presents us with new opportunities for growth and advancement, 2010 will present women with the opportunity to advance our cause for equality. As a global community let’s unite and resurrect our rights, our voices, and our cause.  Let’s Resurrect Beijing! Have a blessed, safe and prosperous New Year from Ecumenical Women!

by Leigh Rogers posted with permission by Onleilove Alston

In the New York Times, Stanley Fish writes on the complexity of political correctness in academia. He notes that the liberal slant on many college faculties can be extreme.

In discussing a new book on the subject, Fish cites Cary Nelson’s, uber-PC example:

“His own example of absurdity (it occurred in his home department) is a faculty appointment that was derailed when it was discovered that the candidate, then teaching in New Zealand, had written a letter to a newspaper criticizing the practice of going barefoot in public places on the grounds that it promoted the spread of disease. A department member decided that the letter “was an attack on the Maori people and thus racist,” and even when it was determined that it is not the Maori, but “white hippies, who go barefoot in New Zealand, the majority voted against pursuing the candidate in order, says Nelson, to prove “themselves to colleagues of color.”

Though it sounds unrelated to interfaith dialogue, a lot about this subject has affected my participation in discussions with others of different faiths, especially within academia.

As a privileged, white, agnostic-Christian-raised participant in faith dialogues, I always felt like I wasn’t an asset to the group. Our interfaith dialogue group had plenty of white pseudo-Christian girls; instead, there always seemed to be a push for “diversity,” which meant a recruitment of those from more seemingly obscure faiths (Zoroastrianism, Baha’i, Jainism, Shinto) whose members were often people of color.

Even though I eventually became a leader of my collegiate interfaith group, I often felt like I was going to be “fired” from my role in order to meet quotas of diversity that others could fill with their religious and ethnic backgrounds. It always seemed to me like the diversity people were looking for was only the religious or racial kind. Those are obviously important for an interfaith group, but what about diversities of political viewpoints, cultural values, gender, or sexual orientation?

Of all the religious groups we recruited to attend our interfaith dialogue group, there was never an active push to recruit those attending Campus Crusade for Christ. The reason? I believe it stemmed from the fear that the discussion would turn into a proselytizing session by those who believe they can lead us to heaven if we believe in “Him,” and thus need to “save” as many souls as possible.

I was briefly a part of Campus Crusade for Christ and had many friends and acquaintances that attended. No one from Campus Crusade really took my offer to attend our interfaith dialogues seriously. But for me it was unlikely it would turn into a soul-saving rally. And yet, within the dialogue group, there seemed to be an unspoken fear of messianic religion and of the presence of political and intellectual difference of opinions on non-religious matters.

While we were perfectly fine and accepting of religious difference of belief and opinion, we were not so tolerant of strict political difference. Evangelical Christians convey more than evangelizing fervor to other faiths; they also convey a sense of secular conservatism that has a checklist of values meant to keep the cause pure.

Evangelical Christianity believes that it is the only means of salvation and that other religions are hocus-pocus. This, of course, was a problem for us. We seemed to have a preempted the tacit rule that all religions were not just valuable in their own right but also other roads to salvation. This made us contradictory to our own cause. We valued the general statement of “diversity” but weren’t willing to step out of our comfort zones in case we had our own liberal biases threatened.

We in fact did have a Pentecostal Christian as a regular attendee of our interfaith dialogue group. He regularly stepped out of his comfort zone with us, and I learned a lot from him as a friend and participant in our discussions. One day, in the student union, I sat with him after one of our meetings he explained to me why he attended the dialogues, even though he felt persecuted as a convicted Christian.

“I go for the educational aspect, to learn about other religious traditions,” he said. “I also go because it makes my faith stronger; when I learn about other faiths, it tests my own faith and instead of feeling threatened by other faiths, I can respect them as I strengthen my belief in my own.”

“It is a lack of one’s own faith that makes one threatened of other faiths.” he said. My friend has now recently graduated from Harvard Divinity School.

As a Pentacostal Christian, you don’t merely need to believe that Jesus is your personal savior to go to heaven, you must also be baptized twice (once in the holy spirit and another in the name of Jesus) and have an out-of-body, tongues-speaking experience. So, for him to find value in other faiths while having such conviction in his own could be a real challenge.

As people interested in interfaith dialoguers, I hope we can channel my friend’s mentality and showcase a diversity of diversities: the welcoming of not just religious and ethnic tolerance, but also political and intellectual tolerance of viewpoints. If we work from a fear of disagreement, of offending an objective PC truth then we won’t be able to find the center of our personal beliefs and where we might meet as a group of diverse individuals.

As one tweeter said, “In groups where everybody agrees, not much deep thinking will be done.”

Leigh Rogers is a graduate of Union Theological Seminary and works in communications for a women’s faith organization in New York. She blogs at Faithful Democrats and AJGita.

Luke 1:39-56 (The Message)

Blessed Among Women

39-45Mary didn’t waste a minute. She got up and traveled to a town in Judah in the hill country, straight to Zachariah’s house, and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby in her womb leaped. She was filled with the Holy Spirit, and sang out exuberantly,You’re so blessed among women,and the babe in your womb, also blessed, And why am I so blessed thatthe mother of my Lord visits me? The moment the sound of your greeting entered my ears,The babe in my wombskipped like a lamb for sheer joy.Blessed woman, who believed what God said, believed every word would come true!46-55And Mary said, I’m bursting with God-news;I’m dancing the song of my Savior God.God took one good look at me, and look what happened—I’m the most fortunate woman on earth!What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him. He bared his arm and showed his strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts.He knocked tyrants off their high horses,pulled victims out of the mud. The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous rich were left out in the cold. He embraced his chosen child, Israel; he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high.   It’s exactly what he promised,  beginning with Abraham and right up to now. 56Mary stayed with Elizabeth for three months and then went back to her own home. 

I playfully call the account of Mary’s visit to Elizabeth the first baby shower. In America baby showers are times for women to come together and celebrate new life; presents are exchanged, advice given and games played. I am sure that each culture has its own version of the baby shower. Mary and Elizabeth celebrated the new life within them by exchanging presents of joy, encouragement, song and prophecy. Both women were carrying children of promise: one would pave the way and the other would be the way. John the Baptist being a prophet even from the womb jumped for joy because he knew the baby Mary carried was the Messiah. Mary and Elizabeth were both silenced and marginalized in their society, yet in the company of each other they declared prophetic words of what God was doing in their midst. Neither woman had a convenient pregnancy- Mary being a teenager and Elizabeth being an elderly woman, but each allowed herself to be inconvenienced for God’s purposes. Mary and Elizabeth’s celebration shows the importance of women coming together for prayer, praise and prophecy. When Mary sings: “He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud.  The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous rich were left out in the cold” we see that in the presence of Elizabeth she could freely declare words that may have been dangerous if spoken in public. When women gather in Christ name he is in our midst. Mary and Elizabeth are a positive example of what can happen when women come together to celebrate life. By their example I am reminded of women coming together throughout history such as: Ruth and Naomi, woman suffragists, and the Fourth World Council on Women in Beijing, China. As we reflect during this season of Advent we must remember that the Gospels included everyday people who God used in extraordinary ways and that we can walk in their example. Women can continue to come together to rejoice, celebrate and prophesy about liberation through collective action and prayer. When we come together the course of history will be interrupted, life birthed and hope given. 

Question for Reflection: Using the example of Mary and Elizabeth how can women support each other and create a space that celebrates life?

Prayer: Dear God give us spaces to rejoice, laugh, and celebrate your life during this Christmas season. Develop friendships that will inspire us to speak truth to power. Help us to support our sisters and rejoice with those who rejoice. Thank you for the example of Mary and Elizabeth. Thank you for the gift of your life. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.

Nepali human rights defender Saathi Roundtable, explaining how a new strong international agency for women could benefit women locally:

“If we wash with a bucket of water and start from our feet, the water is wasted washing only our feet. But if we pour the water over our heads, we can wash our whole body.”

The United Nations is a galvanizing force in setting new international standards and commitments to protect and promote women’s human rights especially those at risk of violence, or facing poverty. But the UN’s capacity to support national implementation of these international agreements is woefully underfunded and inadequate. This has limited the potential for women around the world to fully enjoy their rights in practice.

The four small UN agencies exclusively dedicated to women’s issues lack the necessary status, funding and country presence to enable the wider UN system and national authorities to fully implement their obligations. Other, larger UN agencies, sometimes can make a difference, but advancing women’s human rights and gender equality is usually a small part of their mandate. And none of these agencies are adequately supporting the important work of women’s human rights defenders.

In September 2009, after years of persistent campaigning by women’s human rights advocates around the world, all 192 member states of the UN General Assembly finally adopted a resolution agreeing to the creation of a consolidated and stronger UN agency for women.

According to Charlotte Bunch, Founding Director of Center for Women’s Global Leadership, USA, “the General Assembly has at last taken decisive action to create a new gender equality entity on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the Beijing women’s conference in 2010. It is a great victory for women’s rights as well as for the coalition of women’s and other civil society organizations. Now we must ensure that it is a robust and transformational body, capable of advancing the realization of women’s rights on the ground, urgently and effectively.”

In order to achieve this, the agreed new women’s agency urgently needs sustained political commitment from all governments and immediate, substantial funding to ensure its effective establishment and success.

Take action! Show your support for a new strong UN women’s agency!

English: http://www.amnesty.org/en/appeals-for-action/gear

Arabic:  http://www.amnesty.org/ar/appeals-for-action/gear

French: http://www.amnesty.org/fr/appeals-for-action/gear

Spanish: http://www.amnesty.org/es/appeals-for-action/gear

by Peace Corps Member Erica McMahon posted with permission by Onleilove Alston

from Ms. McMahon’s Peace Corps Aspiration Statement:

“As a Christian African American women born in Brooklyn, NY moving to Kazakhstan will not doubt bring culture shock. Although I have traveled to many countries, I have never spent more than 2 months in one place. During my times abroad I was able to adapt and learn about different cultures by remaining observant, asking questions, and being as humble as possible. Also, as a person who often travels alone, I am familiar with people staring and questioning me. I consider myself to be a person who has strong faith and values and because of this I am willing to experience new things, while at the same time, not having to compromise my beliefs or push them onto others. I remain open-minded and humble to the fact that I have a lot to learn and I am eager for new growth. I hope to use these strategies in Kazakhstan, but I am also eagerly awaiting the advice that comes from Peace Corps training.”

“Hitler is my favorite world leader”

So….

Many things have happened since I started teaching last week. So far its been going really well. My students seem to really like me and I do my best to make sure my lessons are interesting. In Kazakhstan, the teaching style isnt centered around critical thinking; its mostly memorization. I like to give my students challenging activities to make them think out side their Kazakhstan box.

Today was my 1st lesson with a new class so I wanted to give them an activity that would help me get to know them. So I taught them how to ask interesting questions besides “what is your name, how old are you, yada yada yada…”. Some of the questions I came up with were “If you could be any animal what would you be?, If you could cure any sickness in the world what would it be? How much money do you spend in a week and what do you spend it on?” While playing a musical chairs each student had to ask the person who was lost that round some of these questions. Overall it went well…until…..

One particular student had to answer the question: “Who is your favorite world leader and why?”

Student: I like Hitler.
Erica: Im sorry, I dont think I heard you correctly, can you please repeat.
Student: I like Hitler.
Erica: Hitler? From Germany?
Student: Yes, I like Hitler from Germany.
Erica: Oh ok (while thinking in my mind…..whaaaa?) Can you please explain to the class why.
Student: He had great visions for Germany and I like is ideas.
Erica: ………………………………………………………………………………..Interesting…………ok lets move on.

So needless to say I was speechless. This was a class of 1st year students, so their level of English was pretty low. I didn’t think it would be wise to get into a debate about Hitler when the students cant form complex sentences. Also, the topic was “Getting to know you” which was supposed to be a happy lesson! So I let it go.

I posted this on my facebook page and one of my friends had an interesting point. Here is his response: “Remember, people are raised and taught differently. We cannot judge them (not saying you are). All we can do is share our opinions and hope we show how that may not be an appropriate answer… of course your student may have been referring to leadership skills and certain domestic policies of Hitler, not the monstrosities he orchestrated.”

My response: “Good point Mario… we didn’t get a chance to discuss because for that lesson I didn’t think it was appropriate, and we were running out of time. I hope she was just referring to his leadership skills. But I would not characterize Hitler as some who is interesting to study and analyze. Not my FAVORITE world leader. But everyone is entitled to their opinion!”

I wonder what Kazakh history books say about Hitler/Holocaust?

Teaching has been very interesting so far. Maybe with a more advance class I will do a lesson plan about controversial would leaders and have them debate.

Thanks for reading. And as a special prize for reading my blog, here is a picture from the Kazakh Symphony Orchestra and A Squat toilet!

Be Blessed
Erica

Erica McMahon is a Peace Corps Education and Community Development Volunteer in Karaganda, Kazakhstan. A native New Yorker  she graduated from Syracuse University where she studied Information Technology. A former Diversity Recruiter for Credit Suisse, she is  a proud member of Zeta Phi Beta, Inc. a historically African-American community service sorority. She blogs about her Peace Corps experiences at Faith, Patience and Endurance.