Reflecting on the faith methodologies for gender justice, ACT forum representatives from Uganda, Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe shared their experiences working as faith-based organizations.

In Ethiopia, the forum ‘s methodology looked at theological reflections, through two major lenses of the Ethiopian Orthodox as well as Evangelical churches, who are also part of the ACT forum. Through the theological reflections on gender justice, they developed resources for integrating gender into the curriculum, especially in parishes as well as in theological colleges. Read more here.

“One of the added value working with faith actors in theological reflections for gender justice is how we can get to communities and influence, through the church structures,” says Million Shiferaw, NCA and ACT Ethiopia forum member.

In Uganda, addressing transformative masculinities is one of the key areas that the forum engages in gender justice work, countering cultural norms through media campaigns and working with male faith leaders as champions for gender justice.

“There is a need to appreciate transformative masculinities as one of the key pillars in ensuring human rights protected at the community level and affirming human dignity and justice for all” Vincent Mayega, RACOBAO, representing ACT Uganda forum.

In the Zimbabwe forum, one of the approaches, working with the ACT Zimbabwe forum’s gender community of practice, was on integrating gender in peacebuilding work. During the 2023 general elections in Zimbabwe, the forum members monitored gender-based violence (GBV) and provided referral pathways. In addition, the forum has been active in the 16 days of activism campaigns, working with several other actors.

“Working with faith actors in Zimbabwe has enabled us to reach out to communities and as Ecumenical Church Leadership Forum (ECLF), use the Gender Transformative Approach (GTA) which influences the change of attitudes, behavior and norms that are at the very core of unequal power relations and gender inequality. The approach has been key to addressing the root causes of gender-based violence,” says Pamhidzai Thaka from ACT Zimbabwe forum and ECLF

In advancing reproductive justice, Dr. Paul Mmbando brought the perspective on how the voices of faith leaders are unique in bringing a transformative impact on reproductive justice. Church hospitals, including the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT), provide access to information and reproductive justice services. Dr. Paul ,Who is also a medical practitioner noted the added value of working with faith actors in Tanzania, as one of the effective advocacy avenues in reaching communities, as well as in influencing policymaking.

“In our work, we work a lot through inter-faith approach and we have made great strides, when faith leaders speak, they bear with them a unique language,” says Dr.Paul

ACT Alliance’s global gender justice program is of great essence in bringing together members through conversatorio, learning together as well as working as ACT Alliance at local context on gender justuce work.

“One of the major work for the global gender justice program has been to address gender inequalities that are considered taboo or difficult by engaging members and other stakeholders in dialogues to listen to one another and working at local context.” says Elaine, ACT’s Global Gender justice programme manager.

Co-hosted by ACT Alliance and other partners , the inter-religious convention brought together over 160 faith leaders and activists from more than 25 countries globally  to deliberate on 3 main thematic areas on gender justice , justice and peace as well as freedom  of religion and belief and inclusion.

The three day  convention, from 3rd to 6th December  brought a unified voice of faith  as change makers, in affirming human dignity, justice and freedom for all.

A blog post by Simagaliso Hove,  Lutheran Development Service  (Zimbabwe) and ACT Governing Board member

Why is crucial for Faith-Based organizations to work on the intersections of economic and gender justice?

Economic inequality and injustice remain one of the major obstacles to gender justice as women in most countries continue to be disproportionately disadvantaged when it comes to equitable access and distribution of economic and financial resources and privileges. Therefore, economic gender justice issues are part of fundamental human rights.  By their nature, Faith Based Organizations are in a better position to influence traditions and norms in most communities as religion plays an important role in most people’s everyday lives.  FBOs are also respected by governments and other duty-bearers and participate in platforms where they can influence necessary changes in policies that continue to perpetuate discrimination. A lot of work is already happening with FBOs raising awareness and working towards the prevention of GBV, child marriages, gender pay gaps, and unjust legislation among many others.  However, to be able to achieve more sustainable results, FBOs should start focusing on where gender justice and economic justice intersect rather than continue with fragmentation or compartmentalization.

What are the main learnings on this intersection, that you can share from your work in Zimbabwe?

• A lot of women will continue to suffer from gender-based violence and young girls forced into early marriages if they do not have economic and financial means to survive daily. Women need to have livelihood options that provide income security to enable them to make decisions about their lives, and their bodies and escape from domestic violent relationships. Traditionally, women in Zimbabwe take more responsibility for childcare and household chores than their male partners.  This may mean that mothers take less-paying or less stressful jobs than they are qualified for.  Attaining their career goals is delayed due to these family responsibilities that they are neither paid for nor can they include in their curriculum vitae.  In Zimbabwe paid maternity leave is 90 days only and one has to return to work and leave the child with a paid carer, at times this is someone the family doesn’t even know and as a mother it is in our nature to worry about the safety and quality of care your child gets in your absence.   Women of childbearing age with young children may not perform as well as their colleagues, male or female, who have nothing to worry about hence these women may not move up the ladder as fast as their colleagues.  There is a need to have programs (employer-led or government-led) to help women reach their potential and not be limited should they choose to be mothers.
• Women need income to take care of their special needs like sexual and reproductive health necessities like contraceptives, menstrual hygiene, and other well-being needs. Medical care is very expensive in the country and medical insurance is a luxury that can be accessed by a privileged few.  There is a need for special allowances or allocations for women either through income tax reduction (being gender-responsive in the national budget) or employer-assisted allocation or even family budget allocations for these special needs.
• In rural Zimbabwe, women earn their incomes from farming activities. This implies that they need access to land. Most Zimbabwean rural women are discriminated against in land ownership, particularly, in rural areas due to customary restrictions and patriarchal culture.   Although rural women work tirelessly in their fields, they are aware they may lose it once their husbands marry another wife or divorce them.  Gender equality and economic justice are at the centre of land ownership for these women, it is not an either-or case but both, for them, there is a seamless connection with the land as a major economic resource and gender-inclusive laws in its allocation and ownership.  If they do not own the land, they work they will continue to be under the control and influence of sometimes abusive partners or guardians.

What this has taught us is that there cannot be a real struggle for gender justice without addressing issues of economic justice.

What are the main challenges?

• Inconsistencies in the law and practice; in the cities, land ownership is through title deeds and anyone (regardless of gender) can buy land, whereas in rural areas most women have access to land through their husbands, husbands’ families or their own families as land is communal owned. In rural areas, land ownership is traditionally a male privilege.
• The national budgets are not gender-responsive as nothing is providing for special needs for women and girls.
• Women and girls remain marginalized both in church and society as there are still practices that discriminate against their access to resources, and decision-making positions (positions of power and influence) as well as blocking their appointment to higher offices.

How economic justice and gender justice are grounded in faith, from a diaconal perspective?

The current LDS Strategy 2019 – 2023 is titled “And by our actions, we demonstrate our faith”.  Faith influences a lot of the diaconal actions we do, it influences how we engage with communities and duty-bearers.  It moves us into action.

Our actions are motivated by the fact that ‘every being is created in God’s image’ and is therefore equal in the eyes of the Creator.  If all are equal, no one should be discriminated against in accessing opportunities and protection.  Our environment should be able to listen to all voices without discrimination or preference.  This is how our actions can demonstrate our faith.  It is the practice of our faith through diaconal initiatives that transform us to achieving the “leaving no one behind” commitment.  Our diaconal activities are supposed to work hard in promoting equal opportunities for economic empowerment – an economy where no one is left behind, responding and preventing GBV – an economy where if one member is injured all work together to repair and get rid of the hurting, empowering women to rise to higher decision-making positions (in the church, in society and in politics) – an economy where all voices are equally important, as well as advocating for more caring and inclusive economic systems that do not discriminate against gender.

Picture credit: Karin Hugsén , Act Church of Sweden

Over 25 diverse faith-based organisations attended Women Deliver 2023, which concluded yesterday in Rwanda. ACT Alliance co-convened a ‘meet and greet’ at the conference, for faith actors to connect, share, and strategize on our collective work for gender justice.  
Rising fundamentalisms, which are pushing back hard against women’s rights at every level and across the world, religion can often be perceived as only contributing to the problem of gender inequalities. Patriarchal gender norms continue to be packaged in the language of religion because it legitimises them, it makes them appear divinely ordained and unchangeable. Anti-rights actors are mobilising religious language to block or even reverse progress on gender equality.  

Nearly 84 per cent of the world’s population identifies with a religious group. Many faith-based organisations, who participated in Women Deliver, are advocating for the importance of engaging in faith-based partnerships to advance gender justice.   

A focus of the Women Deliver conference is advancing Sexual and reproductive health and rights, which will not be achieved simply by changing laws, reducing poverty, or improving education and health care services. While these are all essential steps, we also need to challenge and eliminate discriminatory social norms that constrain bodily autonomy, agency and rights. To this end, the ACT Gender Justice Programme is working closely with our members, national and regional forums and platforms to harness the value-based power of faith actors to advance Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights.  

For example, the ACT Argentina Forum is confronting fundamentalist and hateful discourses which oppress, manipulate, and deny the fundamental freedoms of women and girls in all their diversity. The forum is developing and sharing liberating faith narratives and theological perspectives that encourage the rereading of sacred texts and cultural contexts. It is also creating safe spaces of trust, which are open, intimate and focused on active listening without judgement. Together, we are working to support and amplify those prophetic voices who are courageously calling for transformative action to achieve justice for all.  

In the report, ‘Looking Back to Look Forward: The Role of Religious Actors in Gender Equality since the Beijing Declaration’, which ACT Alliance co-published, we argue that understandings of the gender-religious nexus is critical for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 5, and make the following recommendations:  

• Choosing partners who are leaders on gender issues in their contexts: International collaboration and partnerships are pivotal for achieving all SDGs, especially now as the world tries to recover from the global COVID-19 pandemic. Achieving SDG 5 is deeply interconnected with achieving all SDGs. 

• Encourage religious literacy: Development agencies need to provide training throughout their organizational structures that convey a basic understanding of the ways in which religious discourses are context-specific, historically situated, internally diverse, continually reinforced and altered by both internal and external factors. 

• Conducting comprehensive gender analyses prior to projects and partnerships: A comprehensive, context-specific, and theory-based gender analysis can highlight the religion-gender intersection in each locality and facilitate the inclusion of religious actors. It can also uncover the patriarchal power dynamics behind religious arguments supporting gender inequality.