Focus on gender-based violence

Report on the situation in Malawi by Pastor Bertha Munkhondya at the ELM Zoom event.

November 25 is the day on which an issue that usually remains hidden behind the doors of homes comes to the public's attention. On the "International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women", the ELM also focussed on gender-based violence with a Zoom event. "We must not stop talking about it and looking for solutions. It's an issue all over the world," said Gabriele De Bona, ELM Secretary for Ethiopia and International Gender Work, welcoming participants from four continents.

She had invited Pastor Bertha Munkhonya from Lilongwe/Malawi to report on the situation in her country and to present a project with which the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Malawi is working. Figures can only ever provide a partial picture of the complexity of the problems, but they give an idea of the omnipresence of the gender-based violence in Malawi:

For the district of Mangochi, where Munkhondya works, the pastor cited the figure of 15,343 early pregnancies within one year. This includes girls who become pregnant between the ages of 10 and 19. Malawi has 28 districts and a population of almost 22 million. According to UNICEF, 42 percent of women in the country have experienced violence from their partner. The global average is 27 percent.

"One problem is women's lack of financial independence. When they experience violence, they say to themselves: 'If I report it, my husband will leave me. Or he'll be arrested.' But the men are the breadwinners," said Bertha Munkhondya. She also talked about the men's problems - they are often unable to talk to their wives about their own worries and needs. The suicide rate is high.

Regarding early pregnancies, the theologian does see a positive development in terms of social and political conditions: "Girls used to stay at home when they were pregnant. Now they can continue to go to school." "What is the government doing to combat gender-based violence?" a participant from India wants to know on Zoom. "There are so-called one-stop centres," reports Munkhondya. Here, women and girls receive medical, counselling and legal support in one place.

Her work in the ELCM project, which is financially supported by the ELM, consists primarily of education, sensitisation and awareness training. "Women should not be told by the church that they should submit. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that men have a higher status than women. Much of what was written there about the relationship between men and women has to be seen in a historical context, and it can no longer function in the same way today."

Her own story is the best example of how women can determine their own lives and achieve their goals. Bertha Munkhondya is the first and so far only ordained woman in the ELCM and a single mother of a daughter. When asked what it was like for her to be the only female pastor, she says: "It wasn't so easy. Many pastors didn't like it. But I had support, for example, from our bishop and our general secretary." This experience and her faith encourage her to encourage other women, too.