As African churches joined the rest of the world in marking International Women’s Day, pastors, gender experts and activists called for a critical evaluation and strengthening systems to ensure gender justice and equality in churches and society.
The Family and Sexual Violence Action Committee, based in Papua New Guinea, continues to advocate against sexual violence, and has been lighting a special “lamp of justice and peace” as part of the Thursdays in Black campaign for a world free from rape and violence.
In a statement to the president of the Republic of Indonesia, Papuan religious leaders are urging justice for seven defendants on trial in the Balikpapan - East Kalimantan District Court who held a demonstration because they were rejecting racist treatment. “But the indictments and charges at the trial were very different from the data and facts in the field,” reads the statement. “They are victims of racism but they have been accused of treason.”
This is the fifth in a series of interviews with Thursdays in Black ambassadors who are playing a vital role in increasing the impact of our collective call for a world without rape and violence. Rev. Damon Mkandawire is hospital administrator for the United Church of Zambia’s Mbereshi Mission Hospital.
The Council of Churches in Zambia released a press statement on 3 September indicating its refusal to submit thoughts on a controversial bill that would change the nation’s constitution.
Women from churches across Africa have gathered in Kenya to focus on the achievements, challenges and opportunities of women's ministry in African churches over the past 30 years, as well as their responses to the HIV and AIDS pandemic.