"We deserve to live a life in dignity" Sudan's women struggling against violence in a war-torn country
Photo available - see below
by Henrike Mueller (*)
"Where is God? He created us in his image. Why then is the image of God violated in women?" wonders Joy Kwaje, a Christian woman from Sudan, a country that "has been at war for three generations" and where violence is an existential issue for the women. "We want people to hear the cry of pain of the women of Sudan," she says.
Kwaje, the coordinator of the Sudan Council of Churches' (SCC) women's programme, spoke on 25 November 2004 at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, on the occasion of the launch of the World Council of Churches' (WCC) campaign "On the wings of a dove", a world-wide effort aimed to overcome violence against women and children. In the following interview, she talks about what Sudan's churches and women are doing to overcome violence and work for peace.
--- What are the churches in your country doing about violence against women and children?
Millions of women and children in my country are suffering from domestic violence, violation of their human rights, HIV/AIDS. But the church doesn't talk much about domestic violence. Most cases are never reported anywhere: not to the churches nor to the police, unless it is a very severe case. I think it has to do with our culture. These are things we need, as women, to talk about and to tell our churches and the ecumenical movement.
--- How could you do that?
When we hold workshops, we invite some of our church leaders. They attend most of our workshops and conferences. I think this is the best way of dealing with it: we are not fighting anyone. We are just coming together and working towards improving the dialogue. We really named violence against women as an issue for the first time in 1998.
--- How do local church groups work towards improving the situation of women in Sudan?
Mostly through fellowship: women in the churches come together, do Bible studies and pray together. When they are gathered together, they identify their concerns, and ask the Sudan Council of Churches to help them organize workshops on these topics. Now, for example, women are informing themselves on peace issues, and have asked for workshops on peace-building, human rights, violence against women, or even women's leadership in the church.
The Sudan Council of Churches takes care of those issues the women cannot deal with, like advocacy work for peace, or training on children's rights or human rights. We either solicit people to support us, or we do it ourselves.
--- The role of women in the Sudan has changed. They had to cope with the war situation, and are often the family breadwinners. Where do they find the strength to cope with this situation?
It's puzzling. But when the situation is hopeless and there is nobody for you to rely on, you start to make yourself stronger in order to support the others. Even as displaced persons, as refugees, there are practical things to do. Women have to find food for themselves. When their children are sick, they have to take them to hospital. They have to take them to school. These are things they must do since otherwise, nobody does it.
Women in Khartoum used to brew beer to earn a bit of money. They now know that this is something that might put them into prison and take them away from their children. So they organize skills training to find other income-generating opportunities. Women have also set up women's organizations, for example in peace-keeping or development. Due to this, they are able to inform themselves about the ongoing political processes. I think that's how we find ourselves.
--- How do the churches react to that?
We have not had an open reaction, but a kind of acceptance. For example, you will find more women in the parish councils. Churches are opening up. And women are also taking responsibility within their spaces in the churches: the Mothers' Union, the Christian Women's fellowship, and other groups like that. Up to now, the churches probably do not see this as a threat… but they could.
Women are not in the high leadership levels of the church. You will find very few women in the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) executive committee - only two out of twenty members are women. At the moment, we are struggling with the ordination of women. Among the twelve SCC member churches, only two have accepted women's ordination.
--- Sudanese women themselves say that the war has taught them cooperation beyond traditional boundaries like gender, tribe or religion. How important is ecumenical cooperation between women in the Sudan?
The ecumenical relationship has been very strong. Women within different member churches do a lot of work together. They organize workshops together, go in an ecumenical group to visit their sisters in prison. If we organise conferences under the Sudan Council of Churches umbrella, we bring women from different churches together to participate. The churches in Sudan are made up of different tribes speaking different languages; the ecumenical spirit among the women is very strong, and crosses tribal boundaries,
--- What about interfaith cooperation?
We have even learned to work across faith boundaries, particularly with our Muslim sisters. When I am asked "How do you do that?", my answer is that "We don't call it interfaith dialogue. We are just doing service together". For example, in our peace network, it is peace we talk about, not our faith. That has had a very big impact. When the Darfur issue came up, we started gathering with the women of Darfur. We organized training on peace issues, and prayed together. Nobody calls this a Christian-Muslim dialogue. It was just a work meeting.
--- How has the world-wide ecumenical fellowship contributed to improving women's lives in Sudan?
The WCC has been supporting the Sudan, particularly in regard to peace, since the early seventies. The first war was brought to an end with the help of the WCC. What was missing were concrete signs of support: there had been no WCC visit for a long time, until last summer. But when they finally came [an ecumenical women's delegation organized by the WCC and the All Africa Conference of Churches (AACC) visited churches, community centres and women’s groups in and around Khartoum from 29 June to 9 July 2004] it was a visit across all divides: Christian churches were included as well as the Darfur women. I think that the WCC has given us the backing to be able to grow in this work.
--- Sudan is still longing for sustainable peace. What are the main tasks now for churches around the world to accompany Sudan on its way?
The WCC and the AACC supported Sudan's churches during the difficult time of war, and accompanied them with their peace advocacy work. This accompaniment must continue, because a lot more remains to be done. We are entering a period of peace - something we have never experienced before. Our country has been at war for three generations, so democracy and good governance will have to be enhanced. We need the churches to accompany the people and the country on the way to sustainable peace by providing them with skills, educating them about governance, democracy and accountability.
When the peace is signed, we will also enter a period of repatriation and reconstruction. For all this, I think we would need the accompaniment of the ecumenical movement
--- What can churches and non-governmental organizations do to improve the situation of women?
Non-governmental and church-related organizations have supported, and currently support, most of the women's programmes and activities. They understand where the women come from, and their need for a strong civil society. In this post-war period, the government will be very much involved in reconstructing the whole country. Thus women's needs may not get support from the government and may need to continue relying on churches and NGOs.
--- How important is the spiritual dimension of your work?
It is very important. Sometimes, when I look at the things happening in my country, I ask: Where is God? He created us in his image. Why then is the image of God violated in women? But then my faith tells me: Yes, there is one God. It is this basic faith in the one God that makes us tell the world that violence against women is evil, is a sin, and we must confess it. In spite of the violence that women suffer, we are created in the image of God, and we deserve to live a life in dignity.
We have also started talking about reconciliation, because we think that peace is fragile: if we don't talk about reconciliation, communities can easily slip back into conflict. We think that the only way towards sustainable peace is reconciliation and healing of our community, healing of the people, healing of the country.
--- From your experience, what advice or suggestions do you have to offer in support of the struggle of Christian communities elsewhere against violence against women?
I don't know if I have any advice at all. But what is important for me is the inspiration that we have brought from the past and pass on to future generations. We know that people struggled against violence in the past, and that has inspired the present work against violence like the "Wings of the Dove" campaign.
This inspiration should continue to the coming generation. It should make us work harder to make sure that our children do not go through what our grandmothers went through. This is something we should continue to work on: that the world becomes a better place for all of us.
[1622 words]
(*) Henrike Mueller is a curate of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Hanover (Germany) working in the office of media relations of the World Council of Churches.
A free high resolution photo is available at
wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/jpc/joy.html
Information on WCC work on the situation in Sudan is available at our website at:
www.wcc-coe.org/wcc/what/international/regconcerns-sudan.html
