Best viewed at minimum 600px screen width (Rotate your device to landscape orientation)
Featured Advertiser
Visit our
Christian Business Directory
When women are free, our country will be truly free
Church in the Community - Media Release in the Herald: 19th August 2024
Source: TCN / Fr Lubabalo Mguda
Date Added: 2024-08-19
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General,
Date Added: 2024-08-19
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General,
Every year in August, since the dawn of democracy, South Africa celebrates Women’s Month to pay tribute to more than 20 000 women of different backgrounds who courageously stood together against the extension of Pass Laws to black women.
This was an expression of women power as they stood up against the apartheid government armed with a protest song, “Wathint' Abafazi, Wathint' Imbokodo” - “You strike the women, you strike the rock”.
These women of substance took a stand against oppression, poverty and violence, because they had experienced firsthand in their lives its degrading and dehumanising impact of poverty.
They had decided to use their power to challenge the crime against humanity that was apartheid.
They took the fight to the headquarters of the regime, Union Buildings, Pretoria. These women were powerhouses who propelled the struggle for liberation to a higher plane.
James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey (18 October 1875 – 30 July 1927) was an Ghanian intellectual, missionary, and teacher who coined the popular slogan, “If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a family, a nation”.
It is when as a nation we focus on women empowerment which is communal empowerment that we can transform the fortunes of the poor of our country.
Women have the capacity to expand and grow whatever they are given, like a fertile soil when a seed has been planted.
When women are empowered, the sky is the limit for them.
Christianity has been at the forefront of woman’s liberation movement of recent past.
The Christian Bible highly values and honours woman, although it is written within a patriarchal context.
The Christian faith and education have been influencers of the progress.
But the reality is that while women are powerful, they are often most vulnerable to poverty, oppression and violence.
Poverty in society impacts more on women than it does on men.
According to United Nations Women, one in every 10 women in the world lives in extreme poverty. The poverty of women impacts also on vulnerable children at the most critical age of their development.
In the South African context poverty exposes women to violence and abuse and murder.
There seems to be a closer connection between poverty and gender-based violence. The poverty of women impacts critically on the South Africa society and is a gateway to the ills of violent crime that is ravaging the beautiful landscape of our country.
The role of the church in women empowerment begins with the Good News, that male and female are created equal.
This is a message that is both verbal and nonverbal. It is verbal when the preaching in the Church reinforces it.
The nonverbal of the message is in the manner in which the leadership of the church is constituted.
It is in the way in which the experiences of women who are the majority of the congregation in Christian churches is taken seriously.
The Church has a responsibility to promote women issues whether social or health.
Churches can do more in celebrating women leaders with the same enthusiasm as they celebrate the clerical leaders.
The churches have a role in mentoring young men to respect and treasure women.
The men’s unions and guilds have the responsibility of training young men to be good men, good fathers, good husbands.
Mentoring is also about creating good role models of positive masculinity.
The Church has a responsibility to join hands with traditional leaders in the cultural context of initiating men.
Responsible men will go a long way towards reducing the number of children who do not have fathers in their lives.
The critical role of economic upliftment of women is a matter that should be dealt with in the women’s union and young women’s guild.
The Church should preach the Gospel to poor by working towards self-sustainable projects for women.
These projects should include skills development and re-skilling of the graduates without jobs.
When women have economic security, they will be able to rely on themselves.
Another role of the Church is to support women in business in order to grow their businesses and employ more women.
Christians who have successful businesses can play a role in supporting and mentoring the small enterprises of young women.
Christian business should unite in the common purpose of promoting women’s access to the country’s economy.
The legacy of 9 August 1956 is the liberation of women from economic and social oppression.
The Church has a role to ensure that women are truly liberated, that they do not live in fear in their own country because of the violence of men.
South Africa will not be meaningfully liberated until women enjoy a life they are guaranteed under the South African constitution.
When women are truly free, South Africa will be truly free.
Fr Lubabalo Mguda
Priest in Charge in Church of the Sacred Heart, Gqeberha
This was an expression of women power as they stood up against the apartheid government armed with a protest song, “Wathint' Abafazi, Wathint' Imbokodo” - “You strike the women, you strike the rock”.
These women of substance took a stand against oppression, poverty and violence, because they had experienced firsthand in their lives its degrading and dehumanising impact of poverty.
They had decided to use their power to challenge the crime against humanity that was apartheid.
They took the fight to the headquarters of the regime, Union Buildings, Pretoria. These women were powerhouses who propelled the struggle for liberation to a higher plane.
James Emman Kwegyir Aggrey (18 October 1875 – 30 July 1927) was an Ghanian intellectual, missionary, and teacher who coined the popular slogan, “If you educate a man, you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman, you educate a family, a nation”.
It is when as a nation we focus on women empowerment which is communal empowerment that we can transform the fortunes of the poor of our country.
Women have the capacity to expand and grow whatever they are given, like a fertile soil when a seed has been planted.
When women are empowered, the sky is the limit for them.
Christianity has been at the forefront of woman’s liberation movement of recent past.
The Christian Bible highly values and honours woman, although it is written within a patriarchal context.
The Christian faith and education have been influencers of the progress.
But the reality is that while women are powerful, they are often most vulnerable to poverty, oppression and violence.
Poverty in society impacts more on women than it does on men.
According to United Nations Women, one in every 10 women in the world lives in extreme poverty. The poverty of women impacts also on vulnerable children at the most critical age of their development.
In the South African context poverty exposes women to violence and abuse and murder.
There seems to be a closer connection between poverty and gender-based violence. The poverty of women impacts critically on the South Africa society and is a gateway to the ills of violent crime that is ravaging the beautiful landscape of our country.
The role of the church in women empowerment begins with the Good News, that male and female are created equal.
This is a message that is both verbal and nonverbal. It is verbal when the preaching in the Church reinforces it.
The nonverbal of the message is in the manner in which the leadership of the church is constituted.
It is in the way in which the experiences of women who are the majority of the congregation in Christian churches is taken seriously.
The Church has a responsibility to promote women issues whether social or health.
Churches can do more in celebrating women leaders with the same enthusiasm as they celebrate the clerical leaders.
The churches have a role in mentoring young men to respect and treasure women.
The men’s unions and guilds have the responsibility of training young men to be good men, good fathers, good husbands.
Mentoring is also about creating good role models of positive masculinity.
The Church has a responsibility to join hands with traditional leaders in the cultural context of initiating men.
Responsible men will go a long way towards reducing the number of children who do not have fathers in their lives.
The critical role of economic upliftment of women is a matter that should be dealt with in the women’s union and young women’s guild.
The Church should preach the Gospel to poor by working towards self-sustainable projects for women.
These projects should include skills development and re-skilling of the graduates without jobs.
When women have economic security, they will be able to rely on themselves.
Another role of the Church is to support women in business in order to grow their businesses and employ more women.
Christians who have successful businesses can play a role in supporting and mentoring the small enterprises of young women.
Christian business should unite in the common purpose of promoting women’s access to the country’s economy.
The legacy of 9 August 1956 is the liberation of women from economic and social oppression.
The Church has a role to ensure that women are truly liberated, that they do not live in fear in their own country because of the violence of men.
South Africa will not be meaningfully liberated until women enjoy a life they are guaranteed under the South African constitution.
When women are truly free, South Africa will be truly free.
Fr Lubabalo Mguda
Priest in Charge in Church of the Sacred Heart, Gqeberha
Source: TCN / Fr Lubabalo Mguda
Date Added: 2024-08-19
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General,
Back to News IndexDate Added: 2024-08-19
Category: General News, TCN News, Issues - General,
_______________________________________________
Please read our disclaimer
This section of our site aims to keep you informed about news in the local church, and worldwide.
Please email us any items of interest.
Please email us any items of interest.
 |
| Christian News to strengthen God's people at www.gatewaynews.co.za News that is fresh, relevant, edifying and which glorifies Jesus! |
Worthy News is a website with a good selection of news articles from around the world in a number of categories, both Christian and secular. They also offer a free subsciption service to deliver daily news headlines to your email box. Click here to pay them a visit.