Faith leaders from all over Africa are urging churches to welcome more women into ministry and to advocate for gender equality.
As the world observes 16 days of activism against violence against women, they have also urged the church to speak out against violence against women in the church and in families.
Following a press conference in Nairobi from November 28 to December 2, they concluded that the church had failed women.
In reading the statement on behalf of the clergy, Reverend Uzoaku Williams of Nigeria said that all of society, including the church, is to blame for gender-based inequalities women face.
“Our sacred texts are frequently misquoted and misused to entrench socio-cultural norms that promote gender inequality and undermine women’s dignity and agency,” she explained.
Williams said churches are not always the safe spaces God has called them to be and women and girls continue to face violence, exclusion and marginalization.
“Our structures have often excluded women from key decision-making processes. Theological institutions do not easily include women and their curricula remain gender-biased,” she said.
The cleric said the church has not decisively advocated for gender equality or an end to gender-based violence before, making them oblivious to the sufferings of women and girls.
Williams said God is a God of love and justice, who created all human beings equal in His own image and thus we are called to be each other’s keepers.
