Third “Transforming Masculinity” webinar calls for repentance and building positive partnerships
The COVID-19 pandemic can become a “kairos” opportunity for men to repent of the sin of patriarchy and build positive partnerships in which people support one another. Churches should lead this process, drawing on Scripture and other faith resources to promote gender equality.
This was the subject of the third “Transforming Masculinity” webinar“, which took place on Ash Wednesday, 17 February. Taking part in the webinar was Professor Ezra Chitando of the University of Zimbabwe, programme coordinator of the World Council of Churches’ ecumenical HIV and AIDS initiatives and advocacy.
The webinars are part of a process carried out by the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC), “ACT Alliance” and the South African Sonke Gender Justice network. Its aim is to work with faith leaders and train regional practitioners to facilitate dialogue, prevent gender-based violence and engage men and boys in promoting gender equality.
Repenting of the sin of patriarchy
Chitando began by noting that “patriarchy has promised boys and men a great deal,” but “we who are the beneficiaries are also the victims of patriarchy”. Speaking about how boys are socialized to “dominate and control” others, he said that men are often unable to express vulnerability, to listen to women, to cooperate with them or to apologize for their mistakes.
It is important to work with families and faith communities to change the narrative, foster cooperation with women and urgently transform the upbringing of young boys and girls. He said that the season of Lent is a fitting time to call on men – as Jesus called Zacchaeus – to “come down” from a position of privilege, in order to repent and offer support to those who have been harmed.
Among those who took part in the conversation with Chitando was the LWF Programme Executive for Identity, Communion and Formation, Rev. Dr. Chad Rimmer, who said that “in our faith traditions there are resources to resist negative narratives and to tell anew what it means to be a real man.” He suggested that this time of global pandemic could be an opportunity to transform and achieve greater gender equality. People who traditionally see themselves as the family breadwinners are confined to their homes, which “has made the power of patriarchy relative”, the speakers concluded. How can churches help men shut within four walls and combat the rise of domestic violence?
Churches must lead the movement for change
Also taking part was Rev. Bafana Khumalo, co-founder and head of strategic partnerships at the Sonke network. He spoke about the reasons why many men resist gender equality, citing how they feel oppressed by the feminist movement, and noting that they too can be victims of violence and discrimination. Voicing criticism of the “Black Lives” movement, Chitando noted that “a system of privilege quickly turns into a means of self-defence.” “Let us not compete over trauma,” he said, adding that “playing the victim is a patriarchal construct that allows one not to come to the negotiating table.”
The WCRC Executive Secretary for Justice and Witness, Rev. Philip Peacock, said that churches can play a major role in transforming toxic masculinity through liturgy, preaching, teaching and the reading of Scripture. “The church is the last boys’ club,” he said, but “we should be leading change, not lagging behind.” Contextual Bible study and “growing faith literacy”, he insisted, are essential ways of moving towards justice and equality.
Participants watched the film “The Gift of Fatherhood” about two brothers living in a huge city in South Africa, where more than half of children grow up without a father at home. The film, which can be found on the MenCare website, highlights how important it is to provide safe spaces for men so that they can share their feelings, encounter positive role models and learn non-violent strategies for resolving problems.
Jesus showed Zacchaeus how to become part of the solution.
Rev. Bafana Khumalo, co-founder and director of strategic partnerships, Sonke Gender Justice
The conversation stressed how important it is to challenge “cultural norms” and to work with traditional leaders in order to stop violence against women. “We have to engage,” and not “reject or ignore those who disagree with us,” said Khumalo. He mentioned projects in Zimbabwe and Tanzania where traditional leaders had taken part in seminars on empowering women and had become “advocates for equality, calling for an end to child marriage and female genital mutilation”.
Just as “Jesus showed Zacchaeus how to become part of the solution,” said Khumalo, believers too must “come out of their comfort zones” and acknowledge how churches have excluded and discriminated against women. The ability to “transform our gender narratives” in order to promote justice and inclusion, the speakers concluded, is a sign of “where our faith stands or falls”.
GENEVA, Switzerland
| 18/2/2021
LWF/P. Hitchen