Through work overseas and life in general, it’s impossible not to notice the harsh and cruel realities that women face. The reality of violence – physical, sexual, verbal and psychological – is all too present in our world. Violence inflicted by men and left unchecked by the (generally) men with the power to change it. Yes, in poorer countries where we might blame culture, but around the world.
In Malawi, it’s particularly painful to see the violence women face when 80% of people belong to one church or other and identify as Christians. These two things simply cannot coalesce. This is not a debate on egalitarianism vs complementarianism, but a gospel deficit that allows violence to be perpetrated unhindered.
Let’s return to the creation story. The quick-paced account of Genesis 1 that tells us ‘male and female he created them’ is expanded (Genesis 2:4-25) to tell us that God looked at man alone and saw humankind, and therefore creation as incomplete. God himself looked at all of creation – the grandeur of mountains, the strength of ocean waves, the beauty of sunsets, the detail of a leaf’s veins, the diversity of wildlife – and saw that it was incomplete without woman. Only when man and woman were together, was there order and balance and did God finally rest acknowledging ‘it was very good’.
In the last few weeks I’ve visited a number of women and women’s groups that are addressing issues of violence head-on. Some in their own lives and others in their communities. For survivors of gender-based violence, particularly those who have suffered at the hand of their husbands, their financial dependence on their spouses prevents them from finding justice. They are bullied by in-laws and can face destitution if they want to bring their attackers to account. In response, our legal team has a programme of offering business start-up loans to GBV survivors so they can gain financial independence. This gives them the freedom and security to seek justice in court also.
Groups of women come together to form self-help groups, they save their own money, give loans to one another and build up businesses. When they meet together, they identify issues in their communities and work together to address them. This might be development needs such as health or education, but often it is addressing social issues like cultural practices that lead to violence against women. Through coming together with their own financial resources, they have more authority to affect change in their communities.
These women, individually and collectively, are the frontline of the fight against gender-based violence. Yet these activities cannot stand alone. Women are not the architects of these harmful systems where violence goes unchecked. The financial security of women alone is not the solution, or else we imply freedom from violence should be earned or purchased.
There is much talk made, effort placed, and development money spent on the empowerment of women. At times that leads to the presumption that women and girls are powerless to begin with. This is a false and dangerous assumption. The reality is their opportunities are stolen, their voices silenced and their value squandered – often through violence. Empowerment is necessary not because women are powerless, but because they are disempowered, invariably by men or the structures and practices men create.
Women’s empowerment, by which I meant the actions to restore the power of women and girls, is important in redressing the balance. However, what is truly needed, and efforts don’t go nearly far enough, is male disempowerment.
In Malawi, as in many places in the world, the structures that are in place to stop violence against women and girls are not fit for purpose. There are some good laws in place, though there is still room for improvement, but awareness of them is greatly lacking as are the police and justice systems necessary to fully implement them.
When women are seen as a weaker group, in need of assistance, is it any wonder that they only make up 17% of parliament? This is a global issue, according to The World Bank women make up only 24% of national parliaments worldwide. In 2018, only three countries had majority-female parliaments Rwanda (61%), Cuba and Bolivia (both 53%). The seats with the authority to take meaningful action to prevent violence against women are overwhelming filled by men. When will the effort move from empowering already competent women, to disempowering incompetent men?
Surely the church can do more also, in Malawi and around the world, to recognise the inherent value of women and to help provide a world free from gender based violence for that value to be realised. After all, to God, their addition brought perfection to creation.