Apostolic churches in historic pledge to fight GBV
Providence Moyo
Apostolic church members have vowed to abolish structural malpractices that perpetuate the abuse of women and children in their spiritual societies.
The resolution was symbolised by the lighting of candles during the launch of 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence (GBV), at the Church of Nazarene in Bulawayo. The event, organized by Zimbabwe Christian Alliance in partnership with The Union for the Development of Apostolic Church Zimbabwe (UDACIZA), was officiated by Bishop Michael Dube from Evangelical Lutheran Church in Zimbabwe’s Western Diocese.
“Let us unite with the world in combating injustices towards women and children. This candle serves as a symbol of our enlightenment, signifying our readiness to embrace it and progress forward as bearers of the light, for Christ himself is the embodiment of such radiance,” declared Dube as he took the lead in lighting the candles.
The Bulawayo provincial chairperson of The Union for the Development of Apostolic Church Zimbabwe (UDACIZA) urged apostolic churches to challenge structural customs that negatively affect women and children.
“As members of apostolic churches, we must unite against the practice of prohibiting infants from leaving their homes before they turn one week. This has resulted in numerous infant deaths due to lack of access to professional medical care. Additionally, it is unacceptable to discourage pregnant women from seeking attention from scientific medical structures by arguing that male professionals will touch them in private areas. We recommend home births through our trained personal midwives. However, this has also caused complications where midwives are sometimes forced to choose between saving either the mother or child’s life. We must abolish these practices and ensure that women and children receive necessary medical attention whenever needed.
Bishop Shamu also denounced child marriages and power imbalances that have hindered women from taking up leadership roles in churches.
“As a church, we believe that women cannot be appointed as leaders due to their natural monthly menstrual cycle, which has been associated with bad luck. Today, I challenge you to change your perspective regarding the menstrual cycle,” he added.
Ward 17 Councillor Skhululekile Moyo demanded the closure of “bush” where women and minors allegedly suffer sexual gender-based violence at the hands of self-styled prophets.
In a speech read in her absence, Minister of State for Bulawayo, Judith Ncube called for a holistic approach to end GBV.
Some strict apostolic church sects in forbid members from seeking conventional medical facilities and demand that members seek healing through prayer and faith this has likely contributed to maternal mortality. However, some church leaders are now openly encourage the use of conventional treatments, childhood immunization programs and allowing women to give birth at medical facilities.
